Govt frames new rules to impose 10 years cap on officers working in minister's personal staff

THE government has decided not to permit an official to work in personal staff of a minister beyond 10 years. The 10 years cap with a sub-limit of five years for private secretary (PS) or Officers in Special Duty (OSD), imposed recently by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), will not however be applicable in case of personal staff appointed in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

The new rules were framed understandably to discourage a large number of officers who have stayed as personal staff of ministers for a long period, and dissuade them to get rooted in a minister’s coterie.

“Every time an appointment in the personal staff is made, the cadre authorities may check whether the officer has worked in the personal staff of a minister earlier and if so, his total tenure be restricted to not more than 10 years in his entire career. Further, his tenure as Private Secretary and OSD to the Minister should be limited to five years within this overall limit, on the personal staff of the Minister,” the new rules say.

The department of personnel and training (DoPT) in an office memo dated March 4, 2010, further reiterated that the 10-year cap would be inclusive of any stint that the officer may have worked in, earlier at under secretary or lower levels also in the personal staff of any minister.

Read, the OFFICE MEMO, dated March 4, 2010

“Tinoo Joshis” of Pakistan identified

The National Accountability Bureau of Pakistan named five officers against whom major corruption cases are being clamped, Pakistan media has reported. Significantly, the same Bureau, headed by acting chairman Irfan Nadeem, decided not to pursue any action against politicians.

The allegations against these five Pakistani officials including the retired ones, are mainly related to incomes beyond their known sources of income, and allotments and transfer of plots. One of the former DG of police, for example, could not explain expenditures worth over 8.5 million Pakistan rupees, and bank transactions amounting to over 6.5 million rupees.

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Action and Appointments

The ACC has approved the proposal for the extension of Central deputation tenure of BS Bhullar, a 1986 batch UP cadre IAS and joint secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs for a period upto completion of 50th Training Programme on Defence/Internal Security at National Defence College, New Delhi commencing from 4th January, 2010.