The Rise Of The Non-IAS Bureaucrats: Government's New Way Of Running The Administration

However, of late, particularly since 2014 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over the reins of power at the Centre, the trend appears to have changed with the selection of officers to key positions from cadres other than the IAS.

Among the cadres who have found a favoured place nearer the sun, the Indian Revenue Service seems to be a favourite with the NDA government, with several of officers from that cadre being elevated to key positions including that of the Chief Election Commissioner and in the Central Vigilance Commission.

Sushil Chandra, a 1980-batch IRS officer, the second from his service after TS Krishnamurthy, held the position of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) from April 12, 2021 to May 14, 2022 and during his tenure oversaw the conduct of assembly elections in five states - Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur.     

In another surprise pick, the government in 2022, appointed senior IRS officer Amit Kumar Singal as Director of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) for a period of five years. It is to be noted here, that of late the government has started empanelling officers from all services, elevating them to crucial positions in important ministries.

No Post Reserved For Any Service

A senior Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT) official said when asked about this trend, “The government can bring any civil service officer to any position, depending on the officer’s merit and performance. No position is reserved exclusively for IAS officers. The government has empanelled officers from all services and appointed them according to their efficiency.”

The official also said that since the states are increasingly refusing to let IAS and IPS officers from their state cadre to go on central deputation, the Centre is trying to improvise and that is the reason why provisions like lateral entry and drawing talent from other services are being implemented.

Last year, IRS officer PC Mody, the former chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes, was appointed  Rajya Sabha secretary-general. In December 2021, Mritunjaya Sharma, another IRS officer, was named deputy secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

In a recent order, the government has appointed 1992 batch IRS officer Navaljit Kapoor as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and his batchmate Manoj Pandey as Additional Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

In the same order issued by the DoPT, Mayank Mishra, a 2009-batch IRS officer has been appointed as the Director of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. All these appointments were made under the Central Staffing Scheme for a tenure of five years from the date of assuming the post’s charge or until further orders, whichever occurs earlier.

From IAS To IRS In Enforcement Directorate 

Meanwhile, a major shift of power is being seen in the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which has been hogging the limelight with its aggressive probes against leaders of opposition parties.

The IRS officers are seen trying to reclaim their position in the premier investigative body from their IAS and IPS counterparts and this began when Sanjay Kumar Mishra, a 1984-batch IRS officer, became the Director of the ED, who pushed for key vacancies in the agency to be filled with officers from his service.

Incidentally, the agency for nearly 15 years remained under IAS and IPS officers, despite the fact that the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance controlled the ED administratively.

The agency was formed in the 1950s to tackle foreign exchange-related violations, a civil provision, but its mandate was extended to probe money laundering, a criminal offence, after the introduction of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in 2005.

Mishra, who took over in 2018 October, was preceded in office by a series of IAS and IPS officers: Karnal Singh, his immediate predecessor, was a 1984-batch IPS officer. The three officers who led the ED before Singh were all IAS officers — Arun Mathur (UT cadre), Sudhir Nath (MP cadre) and SS Dabra (Punjab cadre).

It is to be noted here that the IPS pool in the ED has also been shrinking. Out of 22 joint directors in the agency, only three are from the coveted IPS, while the remaining 19 are IRS officers.