PMO suggests changes in cadre allocation of civil servants

The central government is considering a major change in the allocation of services to successful candidates of civil services examination. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is considering if service allocation/cadre allocation to probationers selected on the basis of the examination can be made after foundation course.

"Examine the feasibility of giving due weightage to the performance in the Foundation Courses and making service allocation as well as cadre allocation to All India Service Officers, based on the combined score obtained in the civil services examination and the foundation courses," says the letter.

The duration of foundation course for officers of almost all the services is three months. At present, service allocation to the candidates selected on the basis of civil services examination, conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), is made well before the commencement of the foundation course.

If the proposal is accepted, marks scored in the civil service exam and interview may not be the only criteria for allocation of a service or cadre to probationers of three All India Services - IAS, IPS, and Indian Forest Service (IFS).

An anonymous source told OneIndia, "There are no pros in this new proposal but only cons. Already candidates are selected through gruelling process. UPSC is far more transparent than regular bureaucratic recruitment. If the new proposal gets implemented a lot of power gets into the hands of trainers in the academy. Then they will get to decide your service."

"The Directors of the training academy going to get huge power at the cost of UPSC. Then you cannot avoid caste, regional and linguistic discrimination while allocating service/cadre allocation. This is going to play havoc in the career of bureaucrats," the source said.