But there is a hitch.

While the Centre needs officers, the states want to retain their own officers, and the officers themselves want the choice to decide what is best for their career. 

“Central deputation is no longer simply an ‘opportunity to move to Delhi’ for some officers. It can also be a career trade-off,” said a retired IAS officer.

This trade-off is affecting the bureaucracy.

The Vacuum

There is a shortage of officers on Central deputation — at the Deputy Secretary and Director levels, which serve as a link between the senior policy leadership and ground-level administration. 

When a senior-level post remains vacant, its impact is immediately visible. But when there are not enough experienced officers at the middle level, the problem builds up gradually. The workload increases, coordination slows down, and the pressure on policy processing builds up.

A senior IAS officer said, “Having officers with state-level experience at the Centre can help reduce the gap between policy design and ground-level implementation. But if experienced middle-level officers become scarce in Delhi, coordination may take longer. More consultation, communication, and follow-up with states may be required during implementation. A vacant Director-level post may not make a major headline, but if multiple such posts remain vacant for a prolonged period, they could gradually affect the administrative capacity of the Centre’s policy machinery.”

It Starts From The States

The career trade-off dilemma for bureaucrats persists because Central deputation, essentially, begins from the state cadre. Under the Central Staffing Scheme (CSS), the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) seeks nominations from states for suitable officers willing to go on Central deputation.

There are various criteria: the officer must be eligible and willing, the cadre must provide the nomination/sponsorship, and, ultimately, the state must relieve the officer to move to the Centre. 

If any one of these links weakens, filling a vacant post in Delhi can become difficult.

“For an IAS officer, working in the state and working at the Centre offer different kinds of experience. In the state, an officer may hold positions ranging from Collector to Secretary, with direct administrative authority over a department or field administration. In Delhi, an officer becomes part of national policymaking and inter-Ministerial coordination. The career value of the two is different,” the retired IAS officer explained.

Central Deputation Reserve

There is often confusion regarding the Central Deputation Reserve. Under Cadre Rules, up to 40% of the Senior Duty Posts in a state cadre may be earmarked for the Central Deputation Reserve. 

But this does not mean that 40% of IAS officers in a state are mandatorily required to go. The use of Central Deputation Reserve may be higher in some cadres and lower in others.

The changes made to Rule 6(1) of the IAS (Cadre) Rules, 1954, are also important in the debate over Central deputation. The framework strengthens the Centre’s position in situations where there is a disagreement between the Centre and a state over deputation. 

The amended framework provides that, in certain circumstances, the decision of the Central government can be final. If a State does not relieve an officer within the prescribed period, provisions also exist under specified circumstances for the officer to be treated as “Deemed Relieved”. The Centre can also seek an officer in “public interest”.

When IAS Officers Refused

In 2021, West Bengal IAS officer Alapan Bandyopadhyay was ordered by the Centre to report to New Delhi after being appointed Chief Secretary, but he did not. The state government also did not relieve him. He remained in West Bengal until his retirement.

Sanjay Kumar, a 1988-batch IAS officer of the Punjab cadre, was posted as Deputy Secretary in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. However, he had sought withdrawal of his name from Central deputation. He did not join the post and was subsequently debarred from the Central Staffing Scheme for five years. The matter eventually went before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT).

B. Ashok, an IAS officer of the Kerala cadre, was ordered on deputation to the Local Self Government Reforms Commission in 2025. He expressed his disinclination and submitted a representation stating the deputation was being imposed without his consent. The matter subsequently reached CAT.

A Gujarat IAS officer of Principal Secretary rank, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “Rather than going to the Centre, I would prefer to remain in Gujarat. Even though one gets the opportunity to handle administration at the State level, the working environment and conditions are more conducive. Going on deputation to the Centre also means having to deal with political pressures from other States, which can often become challenging for one's career.”

Lateral Entry Experiment

A Principal Secretary-rank officer said, “The Central government has also experimented with lateral entry into the bureaucracy over the past few years. Attempts have been made to bring domain experts and experienced professionals from the private sector into policy roles in areas such as finance, technology, and other specialised fields. Lateral entry cannot be described as a direct cause of the shortage of Central deputation. In the coming years, the Centre may need both generalist administrators and domain specialists.” 

The Centre needs experienced officers. States want to retain enough officers within their Cadres. Officers want to choose the option that works best for their careers. Balancing the three requirements is becoming the new calculus of Central deputation.