JOIN USCentre to recruit more babus from this year
Talking to Deccan Herald, Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar said: ''We will recruit 150 IAS officers this year but we still require 6-7 years to bridge the gap. The problem, however, will continue.''
The government took a conscious decision to increase the number of IAS and IPS appointments because of the shortage it was facing over the last few years, Chandrasekhar said.
A decision to restrict the inflow of IAS and IPS intake was taken in the late 1990s as per the Geetakrishnan committee report. Following this, recruitments went down drastically – from about 150 annually in the 1980s, to around 55-60 in the mid and later part of 1990s.
“The recruitments were halved. As a result, now we are not able to get director level officers at the Centre. The states have difficulty in posting officers at the district level. There is shortage of IPS officers at Superintendent and Deputy Inspector General levels too, Chandrasekhar said.
“Union Home Minister P Chidambram has also talked about this,” he added.
According to the cabinet secretary, more number of civil service officers were required as the population has grown and the number of government welfare schemes have also increased. “We need more hands to handle grievances of the people. The load on district collector or deputy commissioner is huge.”
New system
On civil service reforms, he said the Union Public Service Commission will soon come out with a new system reducing the total period for the selection process from nine to six months.
Civil service examinations have a three-stage selection process consisting a preliminary exam, a main exam, and an interview.
“The Administrative Reforms Commission, which has come out with valuable recommendations, has suggested recruiting people after Plus 2. These are larger issues, which may be difficult to implement. It will mean creating a new structure, but we will examine them.” The cabinet secretary said the present system of appraisal of officers will also undergo a change.
“We need to work harder at this weak appraisal system. We don’t give much time in writing the annual confidential report. We are working on a new system of proper appraisal. What we have already introduced is that a group of experts who evaluate officers and give report to us.”
Asked about creating experts out of officers, he said this was being given more importance. “We encourage our officers to develop expertise in a particular field. The domain system is important.”
The Union Government will soon introduce a legislation which will elaborate steps to enhance the standards, professionalism and integrity of various spheres of civil service, he said. The Civil Service Bill, 2010, which is being drafted, will be ready in 2-3 months’ time and will cover different streams of civil services.
Staff shortage
There is shortage of director level officers at the Centre
The states have difficulty in posting officers at the district level
A decision to restrict the inflow of IAS and IPS intake was taken in the late 1990s as per the Geetakrishnan committee report
Following this, recruitments went down drastically – from about 150 annually in the 1980s, to around 55-60 in the mid and later part of 1990s
To solve the crisis, the Centre will recruit 150 IAS officers this year