Govt proposes 7 years long posting in Delhi, abroad for officers on deputation

THE Centre has proposed to allow a seven-year-long posting on central deputation and foreign assignments, a move that will cut down the number of requests from serving bureaucrats to extend their tenure beyond the usual five years. For most of the foreign postings, the current tenure is just three years and officers get extension if there is a delay in selection of the successor. According to a draft proposal released by the DoPT, the extension of deputation tenure to seven years could now be decided by…
ministries or departments or other organizations who borrow all India service officers on deputation. Also, if the draft proposals are accepted, individual departments or ministries would be able to formulate rules to extend the deputation tenure even beyond seven years. This will lessen the burden on DoPT which often receives requests from the officers to extend their tenure citing exigencies.
The new norms, if accepted, will be a major departure from the existing rules. Currently, no officer is encouraged to stay on central deputation beyond five years.
There were instances earlier in which officers manipulate the system and shift to non-CSS (Central Staffing Scheme) posts after completion of their tenure under CSS, thereby lengthening their stay in Delhi.
During the UPA time, the then government also found instances in which the officers managed over-stay in deputation without required approval from DoPT. In an office memorandum dated October 17, 2013, the government then cautioned All India Services officers who have managed to stay in Central deputation beyond the stipulated tenure without the approval of the competent authority, “sometimes even beyond the maximum stipulated limit of seven years outside the cadre”.
“…officers have continued to stay beyond the stipulated tenure without the approval of the competent authority, sometimes even beyond the maximum stipulated limit of seven years outside the cadre. …It has also come to notice that some of the officers who after their stint under the CSS (Central Staffing Scheme) had shifted to non-CSS posts were allowed to go prematurely to their cadre without seeking the approval of the ACC,” the October 2013 OM added.
 The current proposal of seven years tenure for officers in central deputation will have both spin-offs and fallout. Whereas officers wishing to stay in Delhi longer will find the rules encouraging, the states suffering from shortage of officers are likely to object those.