Major JS-Level Reshuffle: 35 Officers Appointed, Over 50% From Non-IAS Cadre

According to the list issued by the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) only 17 out of 35 officers posted as Joint Secretary in central ministries and departments belong to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), while the remaining18 officers are from other central services including the Indian Police Service, Indian Revenue Service, Indian Railways Service, Indian Forest Service, Indian Telecom Service and a few others.    

It is to be noted here that for decades since Independence, the IAS remained the most prestigious and coveted among over two dozen other class-1 central services. The IAS officers held positions of chief secretaries and district magistrates in the states, or secretaries and joint secretaries at the Centre. 

However, things began changing since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over power at the Centre and the hegemony of the IAS officers appears to have started dwindling.   

According to sources even before the appointments of the current lot of Joint Secretaries in the government, out of 236 officers at JS level, who play the pivotal role in policymaking, only 80 were IAS officers, which meant their strength was just 33 percent. 

In the current lot of appointments at the JS level, besides 17 IAS, there are three each belong to IRS and IFoS, two each from Indian Telecom Service and Indian Defence Accounts Service and one each from IPS and Indian Economic Service. One officers each from the four services of Indian Railways including Administrative, Traffic, Electrical Engineering and Store are also appointed as JS. One officer has been drawn from the Indian Post & Telecommunication Accounts and Finance Service (IP&TA&FS) and another a promoted Central Secretariat Service (CSS) officer.

Among the IAS officers, who have been given important assignments include 2000-batch IAS officer Madhup Vyas of Union Territory cadre as Deputy Election Commissioner (DEC) in the Election Commission of India for a tenure of five years, or until further orders. He replaces 1996-batch IAS officer Nitesh Kumar Vyas of Madhya Pradesh cadre. 

Another important appointment is of 2004-batch IAS officer Prasana R of Chhattisgarh cadre in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs for a tenure of five years, or until further orders. He will replace 1999-batch IAS officer Ashutosh Agnihotri of Assam-Meghalaya cadre. If sources in the MHA are to be believed, Prasana is likely to head the anti-Naxal division in the Ministry. Another officer, who will join the MHA as JS is 2009-batch IAS of UT cadre Sushma Chauhan, who will replace BC Joshi, an IOFS of 1992-batch.

The only IPS officer in the list is Sushil Mansing Khopde, who belongs to Bihar cadre from 1995-batch and he has been appointed as Additional Director General (JS level) in the Directorate General of Shipping under the Ministry Ports, Shipping & Waterways, for a tenure up to the date of his superannuation or until further orders. He will replace Kumar Sanjay Bariar, a 1993-batch IP&TA&FS officer.

An officer belonging to Indian Economic Service from 1999-batch, Kamala Kant Tripathy has been placed as Joint Secretary in the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), for a tenure of five years. He will replace 2005-batch UT cadre IAS officer Pawan Kumar Sain. 

Incidentally, two 2009-batch IAS officers are promoted and given the position of the JS in situ by upgrading the post of Director they are holding in the Office of Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India, under the MHA. They are M Ramachandrudu from Bihar cadre and T Mithra from Kerala cadre. 

One of the most interesting names is that of Samir Kumar, an Indian Railways Traffic Service officer of 1999-batch, who has been placed in the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) under the MHA as JS for a tenure of five years, He replaces 1990-batch IRS officer Anita Sinha.