By Dilip Cherian
Scratch the surface of sarkari rules, and they quickly become about power, career pathways, and the familiar tug-of-war between the Centre and the states.
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The Ministry of Home Affairs’ latest directive fits that pattern neatly. IPS officers from the 2011 batch onwards will now need at least two years of central deputation at the SP or DIG level to be empanelled for senior posts like Inspector General at the Centre. No central stint, no climb up the ladder.
This marks a quiet but important shift. For years, district policing was seen as the real proving ground, while central postings were useful but optional. That balance has now flipped. Central experience is no longer a value-add but a prerequisite.
Officially, the reason is straightforward. Central forces and agencies are short of officers at the middle and senior levels. Vacancies are mounting, and the Centre believes states aren’t sending enough suitable officers. The solution, then, is to make deputation unavoidable.
But the implications go well beyond staffing gaps. Making central deputation mandatory risks skewing senior leadership towards officers with stronger bureaucratic exposure than sustained field experience. That may not sit well in a country where policing challenges are anything but desk bound.
There’s also a clear contradiction with the Supreme Court’s direction to gradually reduce IPS deputation to the CAPFs and create space for cadre officers. The Centre’s push for more IPS officers into these roles sits awkwardly with that intent.
And then there’s federalism. States have always been protective of their IPS officers, for both administrative and political reasons. Tying promotions to central postings looks less like neutral reform and more like the Centre tightening its grip over police careers.
The irony is hard to miss. Officers now need central experience to move up, but actually getting that experience still depends on state governments releasing them. That is never assured.
From Patna to paradise
It wasn’t a rumour. In the run-up to the New Year, a group of IAS and IPS officers from Bihar went abroad on approved leave, fanning out to destinations including the US and Bali. The trips were officially sanctioned and fully within the rules, and in some cases stretched to 42 days, long enough for the files back home to feel truly abandoned.
No laws were broken, no procedures bypassed. The paperwork was in order, permissions granted, and the system did exactly what it was designed to do. This wasn’t a case of babus slipping out unnoticed. Everything was neat, legal and impeccably documented.
And yet, context has a way of ruining a good technical defence.
Bihar isn’t exactly coasting. Administrative pressure, law-and-order challenges and routine governance headaches are the state’s permanent background score. Against that, the sight of a significant chunk of senior bureaucracy holidaying overseas was bound to jar.
No one disputes the right to a break. But when too many senior officers are simultaneously off the grid, the optics shift from “well-earned leave” to “collective getaway.” That’s when public patience thins, even if the rulebook stays silent.
The babus are back now, passports tucked away and inboxes overflowing. One hopes they returned refreshed. Next destination: Arctic cruises, perhaps!
PSU power scare
When you head a Maharatna heavyweight like SAIL, even a minor tech glitch can spark major conspiracy theories.
That’s exactly what played out on the last working day of January, when the name of SAIL Chairman and Managing Director Amarendu Prakash briefly disappeared from the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) website. In Delhi’s tightly wound PSU ecosystem, that was enough to set alarm bells ringing. Speculation spread rapidly — was he being shown the door, or was it some big decision about to drop?
For much of the day, the rumour mill worked overtime, and industry watchers indulged in a bout of enthusiastic kite-flying. Ironically, Prakash’s details remained unchanged on SAIL’s own website throughout. But the PESB portal, often treated as the final authority on top PSU appointments, had glitched.
The brief disappearance gave fresh ammo to critics who have, from time to time, hinted at a premature end to Prakash’s tenure. Supporters, meanwhile, endured a few hours of unnecessary suspense.
Context matters here. Prakash has been under pressure in recent weeks and firmly in the public spotlight, making him an easy target for speculation. Some insiders point to vested interests that have been eager to cast doubts over his leadership. The technical lapse on the PESB site simply handed them a convenient trigger.
By evening, the mystery resolved itself. The missing name was quietly restored, and it was back to business at SAIL headquarters.
