The Union Public Service Commission, a Constitutional Body, is mandated to carry out a wide range of functions under Article 320 of the Constitution of India. These functions are advising the Government(s) / Ministries/ Departments, on the subjects which inter alia, include disciplinary matters affecting a person serving under the Government of India or the Government of a State in a civil capacity, including memorials or petitions relating to such matters.

The cases which are exempted from consultation with the Commission have been listed under Regulation 5 in Union Public Service Commission (Exemption from Consultation) Regulations, 1958. These Regulations are available on the website of DoP&T.

For expeditious disposal of disciplinary cases in the Commission and to reduce avoidable delays, a Single Window System (SWS) is functioning in the Commission. Under this System, a Ministry/Department/State Government which refers a disciplinary case to the Commission for advice, is also required to authorize an officer, not below the rank of Under Secretary, to hand over the case in person, with prior appointment, to the designated officer in UPSC. The cases so received from the Ministries/Departments/State Governments are initially scrutinized at the Single Window itself to ensure that the requisite information/ documents provided are in accordance with the check-list issued by the DoP&T. Only those cases which are found complete, in conformity with the check list, are accepted by the Commission for further examination and advice.

To facilitate easier access, the Commission has introduced e-appointment system w.e.f. 20.11.2018. Authorized representatives from Ministries/ Department/ State Government are required to book prior appointment online using the link highlighted under Single Window tab on the website of UPSC (www.upsc.gov.in) and hand over the disciplinary case to the designated Under Secretary (D&AC), UPSC in Room No.10-A located in the Annexe Building of the Commission. Prior appointment under the Single Window is fixed with the concerned Department to ensure undivided attention to the scrutiny of the records and to minimize the waiting time.

It is a mandatory requirement that all the case records so received at the Single Window, are as per the proforma check list issued vide DoP&T’s OM No.39011/08/2016-Estt.(B) dated 28.12.2018, are legible and are either in original or duly authenticated copies.

The Commission accepts authenticated versions of the documents either in English or in Hindi. The concerned administrative Ministry/ Department/ State Government is required to provide the authenticated translated version of the case records, in such cases, in which the original case records are in any other language other than English or Hindi.

The Commission considers this as a documentary lapse and such cases are returned, after pointing out the deficiency at the Single Window itself.

The Ministry/ Departments/ State Governments should provide to UPSC the full-form of all the acronyms referred in the case records.

The Ministry/ Department/ State Government is required to provide information relating to the admissible and provisional Pension along with the information regarding the gratuity admissible or withheld to the Government Servant while referring the case to the Commission for Advice.

The Commission expects to receive minor penalty cases at least three months before the date of superannuation of the Charged Officer.

DoP&T’s OM No.39011/08/2016-Estt.(B) dated 28.12.2018 provides that the complete reference is received in the Commission at least six months before the retirement of the Charged Officer in order to enable the Commission to consider and tender Advice timely so that all the required procedures can be completed before retirement.

In the Disciplinary proceedings relating to a pensioner, in accordance with the procedures as outlined under Rule 9 of the CCS(Pension) Rules, 1972 and other analogous Rules applicable to a pensioner, the President is required to come to a tentative conclusion that charges proved against the petitioner constitutes a “grave misconduct/negligence” warranting imposition of the penalty of withholding of pension.

Yes.

In cases involving directions of Court/CAT, the Ministries/ Departments/ State Governments must clearly inform the Commission, while making a reference regarding the present status in the Court/ CAT case, so that due priority is accorded to such cases. Since the disciplinary proceedings are quasi-judicial in nature, and the Commission has to consider all the facts, circumstances and records of the case in detail before tendering its Advice, the Ministries/ Departments/ State Governments should seek sufficient extension of time from the respective Hon’ble Court/ CAT to ensure that a minimum of 3-4 months time is available for UPSC to consider and advise in a disciplinary case.

Any information having a bearing on the disciplinary case which has been referred to the Commission should be sent immediately with the related original/authenticated document and detailed observations/comments of the concerned Ministry/ Department/ State Government.

The case records so received from the Ministries/ Departments/ State Governments are returned to the respective Ministries/ Departments/ State Governments along with the Advice of the Commission. No case records in original or copies thereof are retained in the Commission.

The case records of a Disciplinary case are returned to the Ministries/ Departments/State Governments along with the Advice of the Commission. Therefore, Commission cannot provide copies of the case records pertaining to any Disciplinary case.

DoP&T’s O.M. No. 39034/1/2009-Estt.(B) dated 12.01.2010 provides that the Disciplinary Authorities while referring the disciplinary cases to the UPSC for advice, should not propose the quantum of penalty.

These are as prescribed in the relevant rules eg. Rule 11 of CCS(CCA) Rules, 1965.

These are as prescribed in the relevant rules eg. Rule 11 of CCS(CCA) Rules, 1965.

Any of the penalties under Rule 11 of the CCS(CCA) Rules, 1965 and analogues Rules can be imposed in a major penalty disciplinary proceeding.

No.

The penalties which can be imposed on a delinquent Government Servant are prescribed in the relevant Rules eg. Rule 11 of the CCS(CCA) Rules, 1965.

In terms of Rule 16(1-A) of CCS(CCA) Rules, 1965, a Disciplinary Authority may hold an Inquiry under this rule [(manner laid down in sub-rules (3) to (23) of Rule 14)] only where the Disciplinary Authority is of the opinion that such Inquiry is necessary for imposition of certain penalties such as withholding of increments which is likely to affect adversely the amount of pension payable to the Government Servant or to withhold increments of pay for period exceeding three years or to withhold increments of pay with cumulative effect for any period.

DoP&T’s O.M. No.372/19/2011-AVD-III(Pt.1) dated 26.09.2011 provides that in those cases where consultation with UPSC is required as per extant rules/instructions, the second stage consultation with CVC in disciplinary matters may be dispensed with.

Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare’s O.M. No. 38/64/05-P&PW(A) dated 09.11.2006 provides that in order to meet the Principles of Natural Justice, it is a pre-requisite to issue a Show Cause Notice, on the basis of conviction by the Court, to the pensioner, before imposing any cut in his pension.

Department of Personnel and Training’s O.M. No. 371/23/92-AVD.III dated 04.03.1994 provides that when a person is convicted by a criminal court, the same shall remain in force until and unless it is reversed or set aside by a competent court in appeal. The mere filing of an Appeal and/ or stay of the execution of the sentence does not take away the effect of conviction. Therefore, an appeal in the appellate court against conviction/sentence does not put bar on imposing penalty on a retired government servant unless the appeal is allowed in the Appellate court and the
conviction is set aside.

The Commission tenders its advice after a thorough, judicious and independent consideration of all the relevant facts and circumstances of the case and original/authenticated case records which inter-alia include (i) Charge Memorandum, (ii) Evidence on records, (iii) Report of the Inquiry Officer, (iv) Representation of the Charged Officer,
(v) Comments of the Disciplinary Authority, etc. that are made available by the Ministry. In accordance with the DoP&T’s O.M. N0.39035/01/2011-Estt.(B) dated 10.05.2011, the average time taken by the Commission in tendering advice in Disciplinary proceedings is about 4 to 6 months and about 3 months when priority is attached due to direction of court.

DoP&T’s O.M. No. 11012/8/2011-Estt.(A) dated 19.11.2014 & Gazette Notification G.S.R. No. 769(E) dated 31.10.2014 stipulates that on receipt of the UPSC’s Advice, the Disciplinary Authority shall forward or cause to be forwarded a copy of the Advice to the Charged Officer who shall be required to submit, if he so desires, his written representation/ submission to the Disciplinary Authority within fifteen days.

The role of the Commission is to tender its Advice to the President in accordance with the requirement of consultation as laid down in Article 320 (3) (c) of the Constitution of India read with Regulation 5 (1) of the UPSC (Exemption from Consultation) Regulations, 1958. Therefore, an officer can not directly approach the Commission seeking any relief in the Disciplinary Proceedings initiated against him.

No representation lies to the Commission in this regard. The Officer can submit representations only to the concerned Disciplinary Authority.

Since the Disciplinary proceedings are quasi-judicial in nature, the Officer is required to submit his representation during the course of Disciplinary proceedings to IO/DA as provided for, under the applicable Disciplinary Rules. Hence, any interaction between the CO and functionaries of the Commission is strictly prohibited.

The procedure to be followed while disagreeing with the Advice of the Commission is stated in DoP&T’s O.M. No. 39023/02/2006-Estt.(B) dated 05.12.2006 and re-iterated vide DoP&T’s O.M. No. 39023/02/2006-Estt.(B) dated 02.03.2016.

According to Rule 11 of AIS (D & A) Rules, 1969, whenever there is any difference of opinion between a State Government and the Commission on any matter covered under these Rules, such matter shall be referred to the Central Government for its decision.

Such cases, where the Ministry/ Department/State Government disagree with the Advice of the Commission, are reflected in the Explanatory Memorandum along with the Annual Report of the Commission, which is laid before the Parliament.

Yes.

The procedure regarding closing of disciplinary cases in the event of death of the Charged official has been notified by DoP&T’s vide its O.M. No. 11012/7/99-Estt.(A) dated 20.10.1999.

The Disciplinary Proceedings come to a closure with the issue of the final Order imposing the penalty/ exoneration/ dropping of the Charges by the Disciplinary Authority.

No.

In terms of Rule 22 of CCS(CCA) Rules, 1965, no Appeal shall lie against any Order made by the President.

In terms of MHA’s OM No. 18/9/63-Estt(B) dated 4.8.1964, the Commission is required to be consulted only when the President proposes to pass an Order overruling or modifying, after consideration of any Petition or Memorial or otherwise, an Order imposing any of the penalties made by him or by a subordinate authority or an Order imposing any of the penalties in exercise of its powers of review and in modification of an Order under which none of the penalties has been imposed.

Department of Personnel & Training (DoP&T) is the Nodal Ministry for seeking any clarification on the implementation of the penalty.

The Department of Personnel & Training (DoP&T) is the Nodal Department with regard to interpretation and administration of CCS(CCA) Rules, 1965 and AIS(D&A) Rules, 1969.

As Disciplinary proceedings are quasi-judicial in nature, such information from the date of receipt of a case in the Commission, till final rendering of advice by the Commission, cannot be shared under Right to Information (RTI) Act.

In accordance with the extant rules, a copy of the Advice Letter is to be given to the Charged Officer by the Department/Disciplinary Authority to whom the Advice Letter is forwarded and therefore the concerned authority under the RTI to provide a copy of the Advice Letter would be the concerned Department/Disciplinary authority. However, a copy of the Advice Letter can be given to the applicant (Charged Officer in individual capacity or a third party) in such cases where final Order has been issued by the concerned Ministry/Department/Disciplinary Authority, and the relevant file is available with UPSC, as per the Record Retention Schedule. Advice of the Commission cannot be disclosed in such cases, where final Order has not been issued by the concerned Ministry/Department/Disciplinary Authority.

This information is contained in the Annual Report of the UPSC. Once the Annual Report is laid before in Parliament, a copy of the same is also uploaded under the heading “Annual Reports” on the Official Website of UPSC (www.upsc.gov.in).

The data relating to the number of cases received and the penalties advised by the Commission are published in the Annual Report of the Commission. The Annual Reports of the Commission are available in the public domain on the official website of UPSC (www.upsc.gov.in).

The applicants are advised to approach the concerned nodal Ministries for any such clarifications. For example in case of CCS (CCA) Rules, 1965, Ministry of Personnel, Pension and Public Grievances (Department of Personnel & Training) is the nodal Ministry.

Article 320 of the Constitution inter alia provides that the Commission shall be consulted in framing and amendment of Recruitment Rules for various services and posts under the Government of India and Union Territories. Accordingly, Ministries/Departments are required to consult Commission for framing/amendment of RRs for Group ‘A’ and ‘B’ except those which are exempted from consultations with UPSC under UPSC (Exemption from Consultation) Regulations, 1958, as amended from time to time.

As per constitutional provisions, Ministries/Departments are required to consult Commission for framing/amendment of RRs for all Group‘A’ and ‘B’ posts except those which are exempted from consultation with UPSC under UPSC (Exemption from Consultation) Regulations, 1958, as amended from time to time. In case RRs of any post for which consultation with UPSC is required, are notified without its consultation, they are treated as Non-est.

Recruitment is a process of selection of candidates to a designated post and Recruitment Rules are the provisions prescribed under the Statute, for executing the same. The UPSC is required to advise upon the Recruitment Rules for various Civil Posts which are mandated to it, under the Constitution of India or for equivalent posts through a specific Act governing a statutory organization.

Service Rules are framed for defined Organized Service(s) to the Union of India and are comprehensive statutory documents, which include among others the specification with regard to,
a). Title and definitions
b). Authorized / c). Initial / e). Liabilities
c).Initial constitution and future maintenance
d). Seniority, qualifying service for promotion, probation & method of recruitment
e).Liabilities and disqualification
f). Relaxation provisions
g). Savings clause Recruitment Rules are framed for posts which are not covered by Organized Services. The Recruitment Rules do not contain many Clause (s) of Service Rules of Organized Service(s) and contain a Notification along with a prescribed 13 Columns Schedule. The Schedule contains details of various provisions such as number of posts, Classification, Pay Level, Method of Recruitment, Educational Qualifications for direct recruits etc.

Clause 3 of Article 320 of the Constitution of India inter alia stipulates the matters on which UPSC is required to be consulted. Proviso to said clause provides for making regulations to specify the matters in which either generally, or in any particular class or case or in any particular circumstances, it shall not be necessary to consult Public Service Commission. Accordingly, Government has notified UPSC (Exemption from Consultation) Regulations, 1958, amended from time to time, specifying the services and posts which are exempted from consultation with UPSC in regard to matters specified in Article 320.

In accordance with the mandate assigned under Article 321 of the Constitution, the Organizations, established under an Act of the Parliament, where the requirement of mandatory consultation with the UPSC is specified under a designated Section of that Act, are required to seek the advice of the UPSC for purpose of framing and amendment of Recruitment Rules for posts under their organization(s) corresponding to Group A and Group B posts under the central government. Example of such organizations are :- the New Delhi Municipal Council, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Employees State Insurance Corporation, Employees Provident Fund Organization, Delhi Jal Board, etc.

Recruitment Rules prescribe various specifications relating to classification of post, pay structure, method of recruitment, composition of Departmental Promotion/ Confirmation Committee(s), essential qualifications & consultation process with the UPSC etc. These are based on extant Guidelines of the DoP&T, which are revised/ updated from time to time. The change(s) in the cadre structure and essential qualifications to a given post etc., also require due amendments in the specific column(s) of the Recruitment Rules. DoP&T guidelines accordingly provide that the Recruitment Rules may be reviewed once in every five years, to make necessary amendments as per changed position.

a). The proposal for framing or amendment of Recruitment Rules is initiated by the concerned Administrative Ministry with the approval of the Competent Authority. The Competent Authority can delegate the specified power(s).
b). Consequent upon the said approval, the proposal is required to be submitted to the DoP&T for concurrence.
c). After the concurrence of the DoP&T to the proposal for framing / amendment of recruitment rules, the proposal is submitted to UPSC for posts/ services which come within its purview. Advice of the UPSC is conveyed to the Ministry / Organization concerned.
d). The Recruitment Rules are then sent by the concerned Ministry to the Ministry of Law & Justice for vetting.
e). Subsequently, the Recruitment Rules are required to be notified in the Official Gazette of the government of India.

Before referring any proposal for framing/amendment of Recruitment Rules of a post to DOPT, Ministries/Departments are required to put up proposed Recruitment Rules on their website for 30 days for inviting comments from the stakeholders. Thereafter, taking into account the comments so received, the proposal is to be sent.

Single Window System (SWS) is now used for receiving proposals for framing/ amendment of Service Rules and Certain RRs, which are brought in offline mode by Competent administrative Deptt. for various reasons.
The Administrative Ministry is required to designate an Officer not below the rank of Under Secretary to bring the proposal under SWS. The Under Secretaries in RR Branch in the Commission are authorized to accept the proposals from Ministries / Departments assigned to them. The Proposal is evaluated through a preliminary scrutiny, based upon a pre-defined Check-List, which specifies the documents and information.
In case the proposal is found to be incomplete, the reasons thereof are recorded on-the-spot and intimated to the Official from the Ministry / Department concerned for necessary compliance. Proposals complete in all respects are accepted and processed by the Commission.

Recruitment Rules Formulation, Amendment and Monitoring System (RRFAMS) is an online portal for submission of proposals for framing / Amendment of Recruitment Rules and is operational in UPSC since 03.12.2018. RR proposals approved by DoP&T on RRFAMS portal are now being received in the Commission online. Proposals from concerned Statutory Organizations and Union Territories as well as proposals for one time mode of recruitment in the absence of recruitment rules are also being received in the Commission directly on the portal. Advice of the Commission on such proposals is also conveyed to the concerned Administrative Department online.
The proposals for framing/amendment of Service Rules are being received in offline mode through the Single Window System as RRFAMS was designed to capture fields of Recruitment Rules only. Proposals which necessitates processing on file are also being received by the Commission under the Single Window System. This system provides for preliminary scrutiny of proposals based upon a pre-defined check-list and ensures that proposals complete in all respect are accepted in Commission

RRFAMS portal includes enabling provision to seek clarification from Department online, if required. Ministry/Department can also upload documents in support of their responses. Further, there is mechanism to call Ministry/Department online for meeting at various levels in UPSC to discuss the proposal. Meeting is scheduled online and minutes of discussion held in the meeting are also conveyed through portal.

UPSC has devised a Check-list of the points on which necessary information/ documents are required to be provided while referring proposals to UPSC. The Check-list is available on the website of UPSC. It is being used for receipt of proposals with effect from 01.05.2015. It contains points relating to methods of recruitment, submission of annexures prescribed under DOPT guidelines, covering notification, educational qualifications, documents relating to creation, merger, redesignation of posts etc. Check list facilities the Department to furnish complete proposal. The points contained in check-list have been incorporated in RRFAMS portal. Accordingly, while submitting proposals online on RRFAMS portal, Department is required to furnish the relevant information / upload necessary documents on the portal.

The proposals, which are brought for consideration in the SWS or submitted online on RRFAMS Portal, are generally found to have the following deficiencies:-
a). Approval of the Competent Authority, authorized to approve the draft proposal, is not enclosed
b). Relevant document(s) required are not enclosed
c). Certificate of Court Case(s) (i.e., the proposal being not subjudice / under consideration of any Court), is not enclosed
d). Necessary orders relating to creation/abolition/merger of posts are not enclosed in support of change in no. of posts
e). Educational qualifications are not commensurate with duties and responsibilities of post.
f). Ambiguous domain experience in experience clause, which could result in difficulty of interpretation at the time of recruitment.

Qualifying Service is the minimum residency period prescribed in the Service Rules / Recruitment Rules that an incumbent has to serve in a Grade on a regular basis before being eligible to be promoted to the next higher grade. DoPT issues instructions from time to time presenting minimum eligibility service required for promotion from one level to another.

DOP&T guidelines dated 31.12.2010 on framing/amendment/ relaxation of Recruitment Rules provide that the Ministries/ Departments should clearly specify the educational qualifications and avoid usage of the term ‘or equivalent’. Ministries/Departments are required to clearly prescribe an exhaustive list of educational qualifications to match the duties and responsibilities of the post.

UPSC is associated with the DPC in all cases of promotion to Group ‘A’ posts except where promotion is from Level-10 to Level-11.

UPSC is not required to be associated with Departmental Confirmation Committee for considering confirmation.

In case of newly created Posts, for which Recruitment Rules are not yet framed,or posts for which RR are repealed, and these posts are required to be filled on urgent basis, concerned Ministry / Department can make a reference to UPSC for determination of one-time method of recruitment for filling up the post in the absence of Recruitment Rules. This method of recruitment is available once only and cannot be used again. Department is required to frame Recruitment Rules in the meantime for further filling up of posts. This mode cannot be invoked in cases where Recruitment Rules exist but have become inoperable for any reasons.

Recruitment Rules contain a ‘Power to Relax’ clause as per which relaxation of certain provisions in Recruitment Rules can be resorted to in respect of a class or category of persons. On the other hand, one time mode of recruitment is sought by Ministries / Departments in cases where Recruitment Rules for a post do not exist and there are overriding compulsions for filling up the post in the absence of Recruitment Rules.

Ministry / Department can seek review of advice of UPSC before notification, giving detailed justification for the same. In case justification is considered appropriate by the Commission, revised advice is conveyed to the Ministry / Department. However, in case reasons for review are not considered justified by the Commission, Ministry / Department is informed accordingly with the request to notify the Recruitment Rules already advised. Review mechanism is also available on RRFAMS portal in case of online proposals.

As stated above, Ministry/Department can seek review of advice of UPSC, if required. However, in case Ministry/Department notifies any recruitment rules at variance with the advice of UPSC, such cases are treated as non-acceptance of advice of the Commission. Details of such cases of disagreement are mentioned in Annual Report of UPSC.

The Recruitment Rules should be notified by the Ministry / Department concerned within ten weeks of the receipt of the Advice of UPSC. Ministries / Departments are also required to furnish a copy of the notified Rules to UPSC for record. In so far as proposals processed online on RRFAMS portal, Ministries are required to upload a copy of notification on RRFAMS portal. Cases, where notified Rules are not received / uploaded, are mentioned in the Annual Report of the UPSC, which is placed before the Parliament.

The main function of the All India Services Branch of the Commission is to assist the Commission in induction of State Services Officers into the All India Services through Promotion or by Selection.

No. AIS branch deals only with appointment by promotion of State Civil Service (SCS)/State Police Service (SPS)/State Forest Service (SFS) Officers to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS)/Indian Police Service (IPS)/Indian Forest Service (IFS) respectively and appointment by Selection of Non-State Civil Services (NSCS) Officers to the IAS.

There are two modes of recruitment to the All India Services;
(i) Direct Recruitment: Through the Civil Services Examination for IAS and IPS and the Indian Forest Service Examination for the IFS. These Examinations are conducted by UPSC.
(ii) Promotion/Selection: By way of promotion of the SCS/SPS/SFS officers to the respective All India Service and by way of selection of Non-State Civil Services (NSCS) Officers to the IAS.

The number of persons recruited by way of promotion/selection in any State or group of States shall not, at any time, exceed 33.33% of the total cadre strength of the All India Service in that State or group of States.

For any State or group of States, the number of persons recruited by way of selection shall not at any time exceed 15% of the number of persons recruited against promotion quota which is 33.33% of the cadre strength.

Promotions to the three All India Services viz. IAS, IPS and IFS are governed under the respective Recruitment Rules viz. Indian Administrative Service (Recruitment) Rules 1954, Indian Police Service (Recruitment) Rules 1954 and Indian Forest Service (Recruitment) Rules 1966 and the respective Promotion Regulations viz. IAS (Appointment by Promotion) Regulations 1955, IPS (Appointment by Promotion) Regulations 1955 and IFS (Appointment by Promotion) Regulations 1966. The selection of Non-State Civil Service (NSCS) Officers for appointment to IAS is governed by the IAS (Appointment by Selection) Regulations 1997. Copies of these Recruitment Rules and Promotion Regulations are hosted by Government of India, Department of Personnel & Training (DoP&T) on their Website www.persmin.gov.in.

In terms of the provisions of Promotion Regulations, a State Civil/Police/Forest Service Officer is eligible to be considered for promotion to IAS/IPS/IFS, provided on 1st January of the year for which the Select List is to be prepared, if he/she-
(a) is a member of the State Civil/Police/Forest Service, as the case may be; and
(b) has completed not less than eight years of continuous service (whether officiating or substantive) in the post of Deputy Collector or in any other post or posts declared equivalent thereto by the State Government for IAS/ Deputy SP or in any other post or posts declared equivalent thereto by the State Government for IPS/ post(s) included in the State Forest Service for IFS; and
(c) is confirmed in the State Service; and
(d) is within the zone of consideration which is equal to three times the number of vacancies in the order of seniority; and
(e) has not attained the age of 54 years (The cut-off age has been increased to 56 years which shall come into effect from the Select List of 2015, that is for the vacancies which may arise between 01.01.2015 and 31.12.2015, as per the amendments to the IAS/IPS/IFS Promotion Regulations dated 17.03.2015 and the clarification issued vide OM No. 14015/30/2015-AIS-I dated 20.03.2015 by the Department of Personnel & Training, Government of India).

In terms of the provisions of IAS (Appointment by Selection) Regulations 1997, a Non-State Civil Service Officer is eligible to be considered for selection to the Indian Administrative Service, provided he/she-
(a) is of outstanding merit and ability; and
(b) holds a Gazetted post in a substantive capacity; and
(c) has completed not less than 8 years of continuous service under the State Government on the first day of January of the year in which his/her case is being considered in any post which has been declared equivalent to the post of Deputy Collector in the State Civil Service; and
(d) has not attained the age of 54 years on the 1st day of the January of the year for which the Select List is to be prepared. (The cut-off age has been increased to 56 years which shall come into effect from the Select List of 2015, that is for the vacancies which may arise between 01.01.2015 and 31.12.2015, as per the amendments to the IAS Selection Regulations dated 17.03.2015 and the clarification dated 20.03.2015 issued thereto by the DoP&T, Government of India).

The crucial date for reckoning the eligibility of Officers for inclusion in the zone of consideration is to be taken as the 01st January of the year in which the promotion quota vacancies arise.

The notional date for reckoning the availability of eligible Officers in the State Services for consideration for promotion is to be taken as 31st December of the vacancy year.

The Central Government is the Cadre Controlling Authority for the three All India Services. In terms of the provisions of the respective IAS/IPS/IFS Promotion Regulations, the Central Government means Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Department of Personnel &
Training for IAS, Ministry of Home Affairs for IPS and Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change for IFS. The vacancies to be filled under the Promotion Quota for each year are determined by the Central Government in consultation with the respective State Government and the final appointments are also made by the Central Government.

For promotions to UT segment of Joint AGMUT Cadre the State Government means Ministry of Home Affairs for IAS and IPS and the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change for IFS.

Once the vacancies for promotion/selection to the All India Services have been determined by the respective Cadre Controlling Authorities in consultation with the State Governments concerned, the State Government forwards the proposal for promotion/selection for the relevant year(s) to the Commission through the Single Window System.
Thereafter, the proposal is examined by the Commission in detail and deficiencies, if any, are communicated to the State Government concerned for rectification of such deficiencies. After the proposal is complete in all respects, the meeting of the Selection Committee is convened by the Commission for preparation of a list of Officers as are suitable for promotion/selection. Upon receipt of the observations of the State Government and the Central Government on the recommendations of the Selection Committee, as required under relevant Regulations of respective Promotion/Selection Regulations, the recommendations of the Selection Committee are placed before the Commission for approval. The list as finally approved by the Commission forms the Select List of the members of the State Service Officers. Appointments to the All India Services are then made by the respective Cadre Controlling Authorities.

a) Latest Seniority List duly notified.
b) Eligibility List(s) of Officers to be considered.
c) Integrity Certificate duly signed by the Chief Secretary.
d) Statement of Disciplinary/Criminal proceedings pending against the Officers with date of issue of charge sheet/filing in the Court of law.
e) Statement of adverse remarks in the ACRs – which are yet to be communicated; ACRs communicated but the time limit to represent is not yet over; a representation against the adverse remarks is submitted but decision of the State Government is pending.
f) Statement of penalties imposed during the last 10 years with brief particulars, date of penalty and the currency period of penalty.
g) Statement of Court cases having a bearing on the preparation of the Select List.
h) Complete ACR dossiers containing original ACRs with ‘Non Recording Certificates’ indicating valid reasons for missing ACRs.
i) A statement of available ACRs with reasons for missing ACRs.

A meeting of the Selection Committee for the vacancies of a particular year can be convened at any time after the vacancies have been determined by the Central Government, provided a proposal, complete in all respects, is furnished by the State Government concerned to the Commission. However, Commission advises the State Governments from time to time, to complete this exercise as early as possible during the year.

Composition of the Selection Committee is specified in the Schedule of the Promotion Regulations which are available on Website of Government of India, Department of Personnel & Training (DoP&T) viz. www.persmin.gov.in. The absence of a Member, other than the Hon’ble Chairman or Hon’ble Member of the Commission, shall not invalidate the proceedings of the Committee if more than half of the members of the Committee have attended the Meeting.

The list of the Officers recommended for induction into the All India Services for a particular year vacancy by the Selection Committee forms the Select List for that year after it is finally approved by the Commission in terms of the relevant provisions of the Promotion/Selection Regulations. The number of officers in the Select List cannot exceed the number of vacancies notified for that year by the Cadre Controlling Authority concerned.

Yes, in case, the Selection Committee Meeting could not be held by 31st December of the previous year(s), year-wise Select Lists can be prepared as and when the Selection Committee meets again, in terms of proviso to Regulation 5(1) of the Promotion Regulations.

In terms of Regulation 7(4), the validity period of the Select List is up to 31st December of the year in which the Selection Committee Meeting is held or 60 days after the Select List is approved by the Commission, whichever is later.

Yes. If an Officer was eligible for the Select List of a particular year and also available for consideration on the 31st December of that year, he/she will be considered for inclusion in the Select List for that year even if he/she has retired from the service / expired in the meanwhile. For example, if an officer who was eligible for the Select List of 2010, retired/expired in, say, 2012 and the Selection Committee Meeting was conducted in 2013, this Officer would be considered for the Select List of 2010 as he was available for consideration on 31st December of the vacancy year, which is 2010.

No.

Yes, if he is otherwise found suitable by the Selection Committee by ignoring such adverse remarks. However, his inclusion will be provisional subject to expunction of such adverse remarks in terms of proviso to Regulation 5(5).

Yes, they can be included provisionally if otherwise found suitable. However, in the event of their exoneration or if the conditions leading to their provisional inclusion no longer subsist, their names can be made unconditional by the Commission in the Select List provided a proposal is received from the State Government within the validity period of the Select List. There is no ‘Sealed Cover Procedure’ in promotions to the All India Services.

Yes, the name of the Officer, whose Integrity Certificate has been withheld by the State Government may be included in the Select List by the Selection Committee provisionally, subject to grant of Integrity Certificate, if the Selection Committee finds the Officer otherwise suitable for promotion on the basis of an overall assessment of his/her ACRs.

No.

A disciplinary/ criminal proceedings shall be treated as pending only if a charge sheet has been issued to the Officer or filed in a Court as the case may be.

In accordance with Regulation 5(4) of the Promotion Regulations, the Selection Committee shall classify/categorize the eligible Officers as ‘Outstanding’, ‘Very Good’, ‘Good’ and ‘Unfit’ as the case may be on an overall relative assessment of their service records.

No. There is no concept of ‘bench mark’ or assessment as ‘fit/unfit’ in the preparation of Select List by the Selection committee. The Select List is prepared by including the required number of names first from amongst the Officers finally classified as ‘Outstanding’ then from amongst those similarly classified as ‘Very Good’ and thereafter from amongst those similarly classified as ‘Good’ and the order of names, inter-se, within each category are in the order of their seniority in the State Service.

The Selection Committee makes an assessment of the ACRs (and other service records) of the eligible Officers furnished by the State Government with special reference to the performance of the Officer during the last five years including the vacancy year.

As the overall assessment of the Officer cannot be withheld because of non-availability of ACRs, the Selection Committee makes the categorization on the basis of available ACRs. Thus, where one or more ACRs of an Officer have not been written for a year or more on account of his/her being on leave, training or because no officer supervised his/her work for more than three months or for any other valid reason during the relevant period, the Selection Committee consider the ACRs of the years preceding the period of five years.

Selection Committee is independent to make its own assessments. The Hon’ble Supreme Court have also upheld this power of the Selection Committee vide their judgments in UPSC Vs H.L. Dev and Others [1988 SC 1069] and UPSC Vs K. Rajaiah and Others [2005 10 SCC 15]. The detailed internal guidelines, framed by the Commission in this regard, are hosted on the website of UPSC at www.upsc.gov.in.

No. The Selection Committee make their own assessment while assessing an Officer’s ACR. If the Reviewing Authority or the Accepting Authority, as the case may be, has differed from the assessment made by the Reporting Officer or the Reviewing Authority, as the case may be, the remarks of the latter authority are taken as the final remarks for the purpose of assessment provided it is apparent from the relevant entries that the higher authority has come to a different assessment consciously after due application of mind.

Yes, the Selection Committee is a high powered statutorily constituted Committee and is vested with the power to make an independent assessment of the service records and ACRs of the Officers. The grading awarded by the Committee is based on the attributes indicated in various columns of the ACRs and at times may be at variance with the overall grading recorded in the ACR by the Reporting Officer/Reviewing Officer/Accepting Officer. The Hon’ble Supreme Court in their judgment in the case of K. Rajaiah [2005 10 SCC 15], have also held that the Selection Committee is not bound by the overall grading recorded in the ACRs.

No. The Selection Committee makes the assessments in terms of the provisions of the Promotion Regulations as per the guidelines of the Commission. The Hon’ble Supreme Court in their judgment dated 13.12.2007 in Civil Appeal No. 5883-5891 of 2007 filed by Shri M.V. Thimmaiah & Ors. Vs. Union Public Service Commission & Others have upheld the guidelines of the Commission for making the assessment of service records by the Selection Committees constituted under the Promotion Regulations. The Court have observed as under:
“Therefore, in view of the catena of cases, courts normally do not sit in the court of appeal to assess the ACRs and much less the Tribunal can be given this power to constitute an independent Selection Committee over the statutory Selection Committee. The guidelines have already been given by the Commission as to how the ACRs to be assessed and how the marking has to be made. These guidelines take care of proper scrutiny and not only by the Selection Committee but also the view of
the State Government are obtained and ultimately the Commission after scrutiny prepare the final list which is sent to the Central Government for appointment”.

While preparing year-wise Select Lists for more than one year pursuant to the 2nd proviso to Sub-Regulation (1) of the Promotion Regulations, the officer included provisionally in any of the Select List so prepared, shall be considered for inclusion in the Select List of subsequent year in addition to the normal consideration zone and in case he is found fit for inclusion in that Select List also on a provisional basis, such inclusion shall be in addition to the normal size of the Select List determined by the Central Government for such year.

No. An Officer can be declared ‘unfit’ only if the Officer has been imposed with a penalty which renders him unfit on overall assessment and not merely on basis of a disciplinary/ criminal proceedings pending against him. However, in case of disciplinary/criminal proceedings being pending against an Officer, he/she is to be included in Select List provisionally, if otherwise found fit, subject to clearance in the disciplinary/criminal proceedings.

The currency of penalty is taken from the date on which it is imposed to the date it ceases to be in force.

Yes. Suppose, an offence was committed by an Officer in the year 2000 but the penalty was imposed in 2008 and he/she was included in the zone of consideration for the Select List of 2010, he/she would be rendered ‘unfit’ as the currency of the penalty flows into the Assessment Matrix which spans from 2005-06 to 2009-10.

Yes. If the currency of the penalty flows into the SCM year, which is 2014 in this case, the Officer would be graded as ‘Unfit’ in the overall assessment for all the Select Lists being prepared.

The Selection Committee, while preparing the Select List(s), may take into account the effect of ‘Censure’ as under:
(a) If the date of imposition of the ‘Censure’ falls within any of the years in the Assessment Matrix, the Committee would categorize the Officer as ‘Unfit’ for the year in which it is imposed for the first Select List prepared in which he is eligible to be considered.
(b) If the date of imposition of the ‘Censure’ is subsequent to the last year in the Assessment Matrix, and upto the date of the Selection Committee meeting (SCM), the Committee would categorize the Officer as ‘Unfit’ in the overall assessment for the first Select List prepared in which he is eligible to be considered.
(c) The penalty of ‘Censure’ would be ignored for the subsequent Select Lists for which the Officer may be eligible to be considered.

Yes. In terms of provisions of Regulation 5(4) and 5(5) {5(3AA) and 5(4) for IFS} of Promotion Regulations, the selection for promotion to the All India Services is on the basis of merit.

It is 50:50. However, a minimum of 50% marks in each segment would be required to qualify for inclusion in the Select List.

No. The process of selection of Non-SCS Officers terminates at the end of the calendar year succeeding the vacancy year. If the Selection Committee Meeting could not be held by the end of that calendar year, the vacancy ceases to exist for Non-SCS Officers and, thereafter, for that particular year, no Meeting is possible.

No. There is no provision for reservation for any category of persons in the Promotion/Selection Regulations which govern the promotions/selections to the All India Services.

Yes, the minutes of the Selection Committee Meeting can be disclosed under the Right to Information Act, 2005.

No. The year-wise assessment sheet cannot be disclosed. However, in pursuance of the Interim Order passed by the Hon’ble Delhi High Court in the case of UPSC Vs Madhu Khare, the Commission has decided that the year-wise assessment of the individual concerned only can be revealed to him/her if specifically asked for under the Right to Information Act,
2005.

No. There is no provision in the Promotion Regulations for review of Select Lists for promotion to the All India Services for any reason whatsoever. A Select List can be reviewed only on specific directions of the Court.

If any Officer has been included for the first time in the zone of consideration, he/she shall be considered for inclusion in the Select List. However, the Committee shall not consider the case of such member of the State Civil Service who had been included in an earlier Select List and had expressed his/her unwillingness for appointment to the All India Service.

However, he/she shall be considered for inclusion in the subsequent Select List, if before the commencement of the year, he/she applies in writing, to the State Government expressing his/her willingness to be considered for appointment to the Service.

The State Government has to forward a specific proposal to declare provisionally included Officer in the Select List as ‘Unconditional’, to the Commission during the period when the Select List is in force. The Commission shall decide the matter within a period of forty-five days or before the date of meeting of the next Selection Committee, whichever is earlier and if the Commission declares the inclusion of the provisionally included Officer in the Select List as unconditional and final, the appointment of the concerned Officer shall be considered by the Central Government.

If the Commission considers it necessary to make any changes in the list received from the State Government, the Commission shall inform the State Government and the Central Government of the changes proposed and after taking into account the comments, if any, of the State Government and the Central Government, may approve the list finally with such modifications, if any, as may, in its opinion, be just and proper.

Union Public Service Commission is a Constitutional Body constituted under Article 315 of the Constitution of India. The functions of the Commission are laid down in Article 320 of the Constitution. As per Article 320 {(3) (b)}, the Commission shall be consulted by the Government on the principles to be followed in making appointments to Civil Services and Posts and in making promotions and transfers by deputation from one service to another and on the suitability of candidates for such appointments, promotions, or transfer by deputation.

Proviso to clause (3) of Article 320 of the Constitution provides that the President as respects the All India Services and also as respects other services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union, may make Regulations, specifying the matters in which either generally, or in any particular class of case, or in any particular circumstances, it shall not be necessary for a Public Service Commission to be consulted.

Article 321 of the Constitution lays down that an Act made by the Parliament or, as the case may be, the Legislature of a State may provide for the exercise of additional functions by the UPSC or the State Public Service Commission as respects the services of the Union or the State and also as respects the services of any local authority or other body corporate constituted by Law or of any Public institution. By virtue of provisions made in the relevant Acts, the functions of the UPSC have so far been extended to consider the cases of appointment by direct recruitment/promotion/deputation of the following Corporations/Bodies:-
(i) The Employees State Insurance Corporation. (By way of ESI Act 1948)
(ii) The Employees Provident Fund Organisation. (By way of EPF Act, 1952)
(iii) The Delhi Municipal Corporation. (By way of DMC Act, 1957)
(iv) The New Delhi Municipal Council. (By way of NDMC Act, 1994)

Under the proviso to clause (3) of Article 320 of the Constitution, the President has framed the Union Public Service Commission (Exemption from Consultation) Regulations, 1958 specifying the matters in which it shall not be necessary for the Commission to be consulted. As per these Regulations it shall not be necessary to consult the Commission, save as otherwise expressly provided in the Rules governing recruitment by appointment/promotion to Civil Service or Civil Posts, in regard:
(a) to a post included in an All India Service, of any officer who is already a member of an All India Service;
(b) to a post included in a Central Service Group ‘A’, of any Officer in the Armed Forces of the Union or any officer who is already a member of an All India Service or a Central Service, Group ‘A’;
(c) to a Central Service, Group ‘B’, or to a post included in a Central Service, Group ‘B’, of any officer who is already a member of a Central Service, Group ‘B’, or Central Service, Group ‘C’, or of any officer to the Armed Forces of the Union; and
(d) To a tenure post included in a Central Service, Group ‘A’, or a Central Service Group ‘B’, of an officer of a State Service.

Transfer from one service/post to another is made by way of Deputation (including Short Term Contract) or on absorption.

UPSC advises Government(s)/ Ministries/ Departments on the suitability of the candidates for promotion and deputation by convening Departmental Promotion Committees (DPCs) in the case of promotion and Selection Committee Meetings (SCMs) in the case of deputation, in accordance with the provisions of the relevant Recruitment Rules.

The Recruitment Rules of the Service/Posts specifically provide for consultation with the UPSC for appointment to each post by way of promotion or deputation.

The following cases are referred to UPSC for holding DPC meetings:
(a) Cases of promotion within Group A and from Group B to Group A, where the Recruitment Rules provide for association of the Chairman or a Member of UPSC with the DPC.
(b) Cases of promotions under special enactments which, by virtue of provisions made in the Acts enacted under Article 321 of the Constitution provide for association of the Chairman or a Member of UPSC, with the DPC. Some of the examples are cases pertaining to the Delhi Municipal Corporation, the Employees State Insurance Corporation, the New Delhi Municipal Corporation etc.

It shall not be necessary to consult the Commission with regard to selection for a temporary or officiating appointment to a post, if:
(a) the person appointed is not likely to hold the post for a period of more than one year; and
(b) it is necessary in the public interest to make the appointment immediately and a reference to the Commission will cause undue delay, provided that-
(i) Such appointment shall be reported to the Commission as soon as it is made;
(ii) If the appointment continues beyond a period of six months, a fresh estimate as to the period for which the person appointed is likely to hold the post shall be made and reported to the Commission; and
(iii) If such estimate indicates that the person appointed is likely to hold the post for a period of more than one year from the date of appointment, the Commission shall immediately be consulted in regard to filling up of the post.

As provided in the Ministry of Home Affairs Office Memoranda No.18/18/48-Ests. dated 20.8.1949 and 18/1/59-Estt.(B) dated 24.2.1959, all references on matters where consultation with the Commission is obligatory, should be made to the Commission by the administrative Ministry/Department concerned in the form of a self-contained official letter with which all relevant papers or copies of papers should be forwarded. D.O. reference (I.D. notes) should not be made to the Commission. Heads of attached and subordinate offices, to whom powers to make appointments are delegated, may correspond with the Commission on matters relating to recruitment/promotion to the posts for which they are the appointing authorities.

Proposal of any Ministry/ Department for convening DPC meeting is to be brought by the Departmental representatives for scrutiny under Single Window System (SWS), with prior appointment. The names, designation and contact details/ telephone numbers of the officers of the Appointment Branch dealing with the receipt of proposals of DPC from different Ministries/ Departments under SWS are given on the website of the UPSC (www.upsc.gov.in).

Single Window System is a mechanism for receipt and scrutiny of proposals from the Ministries/ Departments/ UTs for convening DPC Meetings. It affords direct interaction between the Departmental representative and the concerned Officer of UPSC at the time of scrutiny of the DPC proposal, with reference to a prescribed checklist. This system was introduced in the Commission w.e.f. August, 2010.

Under SWS, a DPC proposal is received in the UPSC from the Departmental representative. The concerned officer of UPSC scrutinizes the proposal in the presence of the Departmental representative, keeping in view the DPC Guidelines/instructions and the checklist prescribed in this regard. Deficiencies, if any, are brought to the notice of the Departmental representative, who is then advised to bring the proposal after rectifying the deficiencies. In case the proposal is found to be complete, it is accepted. The proposal is thereafter, examined in detail with reference to the extant guidelines/ instructions of the DOP&T.

The Single Window System has helped in substantially reducing the time taken in disposal of the proposals in the Commission.

Yes. Proposals for appointment by deputation (ISTC), absorption and composite methods are also to be submitted by the Ministry / Department concerned under the Single Window System, to the Commission.

The list of documents to be submitted along with a proposal for promotion / deputation to the Commission under Single Window System can be accessed at the UPSC website www.upsc.gov.in

The DPCs convened in the Commission are Chaired either by the Hon’ble Chairman or by an Hon’ble Member of UPSC.

The SCMs held in the Commission are Chaired either by the Hon’ble Chairman or by an Hon’ble Member of UPSC.

According to para 15 of the DPC guidelines provided in OM dated 10.4.1989, the proceedings of the DPC shall be legally valid and can be acted upon notwithstanding the absence of any of the members other than the Chairman provided that the member was duly invited but he/she absented himself/herself for one reason or the other and there was no deliberate attempt to exclude him/her from the deliberations of the DPC and provided further that the majority of the members constituting the DPC are present in the meeting.

According to the instructions for determining the zone of consideration issued by DOP&T vide O.M. dated 06.01.2006, the zone of consideration for one vacancy is five (05) officers, for vacancies from two (02) to ten (10), the zone of consideration is twice the number of vacancies + four (04) and for vacancies exceeding 10, the zone of consideration is one and a half times the number of vacancies rounded off to the next higher integer + three (03) but not be less than the size of the zone of consideration for 10 vacancies. In other words, the normal zone of consideration for ten (10) to fourteen (14) vacancies is twenty four (24) and for vacancies exceeding fourteen (14) the zone is one and a half times the number of vacancies rounded off to next higher integer + three (03). The extended zone of consideration for SC/ST officers is five (05) times the total number of vacancies.

Provisions regarding consideration of officers on deputation are contained in Paras 4.3.1 and 4.3.2 of the DOP&T O.M. dated 10.4.1989, which are as under:
(i) The names of the officers who are on deputation, either on their own volition or in public interest (including foreign service), should also be included in the list submitted to the DPC for consideration for promotion, in case they come within the field of choice for promotion and fulfill the prescribed eligibility conditions.
(ii) Very often a certain number of years of service in the lower grade is prescribed as a condition for becoming eligible for consideration for promotion to a higher post/grade. In such cases, the period of service rendered by an officer on deputation/foreign service, should be treated as comparable service in his parent department for purpose of promotion. This is subject to the condition that the deputation/foreign service is with the approval of the competent authority and it is certified by the competent authority that but for the deputation/foreign service, the officer would have continued to hold the relevant post in his parent department. Such a certificate would not be necessary if he was holding the departmental post in a substantive capacity.

Para 4.4 of the DOP&T O.M. dated 10.4.1989 provides that an officer proceeding on study leave should be treated on the same basis as an officer proceeding on deputation if the study leave was duly sanctioned by the competent authority and the competent authority certified that the officer would have continued to officiate but for her/his proceeding on study leave. Such a certificate would not be necessary if the officer was holding the said departmental post in a substantive capacity. These instructions would also apply in the cases of government servants who are granted special leave for training abroad under the various training schemes.

The DOP&T, in consultation with the Department of Legal Affairs, has clarified in OM No.22011/14/98-Estt.(D) dated 12.10.1998 that it would not be in order if eligible employees, who were within the zone of consideration for the relevant year(s) but are not actually in service when the DPC is being held, are not considered while preparing year wise zone of consideration/panel and, consequently, their juniors are considered (in their places) who would not have been in the zone of consideration if the DPC(s) had been held in time. Consideration of such officers is, therefore, considered imperative to identify the correct zone of consideration for relevant year(s). Names of the retired officers may also be included in the panel(s). Such retired officials would, however, have no right for actual promotion. The DPC(s) may, if need be, prepare extended panel(s) following the principles prescribed in the DOP&T O.M. No.22011/18/87-Estt.(D) dated 09.04.1996. The DoP&T have brought out further instructions/guidelines vide O.M No.22011/3/2013-Estt (D) dated 25.01.2016 and 15.11.2018 in regard to grant of notional promotion in eligible cases of retired officers.

Provision of an extended panel is governed by the provisions of DOP&T O.M. No. 22011/18/87-Estt.(D) dated 09.04.1996 wherein it has been stipulated that the DPC will prepare an extended panel in the following circumstances:
(a) When persons included in the panel are already on deputation or whose orders of deputation have been issued and will be proceeding on deputation shortly for a period of more than a year; or
(b) When persons included in the panel have refused promotion on earlier occasions and are under debarment for promotions; or
(c) When officers included in the panel have retired/are retiring within the same year provided there is no change in the zone of consideration by the expected date of their retirement.

The crucial date for determining eligibility of officers for promotion, as prescribed by the DOP&T O.M No.22011/9/98-Estt.(D) dated 08.09.1998, was 1st January of the vacancy year, irrespective of whether the vacancy year commenced from 1st January or 1st April or from any other date, unless otherwise provided for in the statutory Recruitment Rules.
In terms of DOP&T O.M No.22011/6/2013-Estt(D) dated 28.05.2014 from vacancy year 2015-16 onwards the crucial date of eligibility shall be 1st April of the vacancy year, in case of financial-year based vacancy year i.e. where the Annual Performance Appraisal Reports (APARs) are written financial year-wise. In case of calendar year based vacancy year, i.e. where APARs are written calendar year-wise, the crucial date of eligibility shall remain as 1st January of the vacancy year. These instructions have come into force in respect of vacancy year 2015-16 (financial year) commencing from April 1, 2015 and vacancy year 2015 (calendar year) commencing from January 1, 2015 and shall, accordingly, be applicable to all such subsequent vacancy years. The DOP&T vide their OM No.22011/4/2013-Estt(D) dated 8th May, 2017, in partial modification to the previously existing instructions on the subject, have issued detailed guidelines to the Ministries/Department which, inter alia, contain a Model Calendar envisaging time schedule to be followed by the Ministries/Departments in sending the cases to UPSC for convening DPC. The revised guidelines, among others, envisage the following:
(i) The vacancy year may be shifted to Calendar Year from the year 2018 onwards, wherever the financial year based vacancy year being followed now.
(ii) The crucial date of eligibility will be 1st of January of the Vacancy year w.e.f 2019.
(iii) The APARs for five years preceding T-2nd year may be taken as reckoning APARs, i.e. for the vacancy year 2019 (January 2019 to December, 2019), the reckoning APARs shall be 2016-17, 2015-16, 2014-15, 2013-14 and 2012-13.
(iv) The year of 2018 being the transitional year, the vacancy period shall be from 1st April 2018 to 31st December, 2018. The reckoning APARs for this vacancy year shall be 2015-16, 2014-15, 2013-14, 2012-13 and 2011-12. The crucial date of eligibility shall be 1st April, 2018 for the transitional year.

The DOP&T O.M. No. 22011/4/91-Estt.(A) dated 14.09.1992 provides that at the time of consideration of the cases of Government servants for promotion, details of Government servants in the consideration zone falling under any of the following categories should be specifically brought to the notice of the DPC:
(a) Govt. servants under suspension;
(b) Govt. servants in respect of whom a charge sheet has been issued and the disciplinary proceedings are pending; and
(c) Govt. servants in respect of whom prosecution for a criminal charge is pending. The DPC shall assess the suitability of the Government servants coming within the purview of the circumstances mentioned above along with other eligible candidates without taking into consideration the disciplinary case/ criminal prosecution pending. The assessment of the DPC, including ‘Unfit for promotion’ and the grading awarded by it will be kept in Sealed Cover.
The same procedure as outlined above will be followed by the subsequent DPCs convened till the disciplinary proceedings/ criminal prosecution against the Government servant concerned is concluded.

If any penalty is imposed on the Government servant as a result of the disciplinary proceedings or if he is found guilty in the criminal prosecution against him, the findings of the sealed cover(s) shall not be acted upon. His case for promotion shall be considered by the next DPC in the normal course and having regard to the penalty imposed on him.

However, on the conclusion of the disciplinary proceedings/criminal prosecution which results in dropping of charges against the Government servant, the sealed cover or covers are to be opened.

According to DOP&T O.M. No. 22012/1/99-Estt. (D) dated 25.10.2004, if the conditions indicated in para-2 of DoPT OM dated 14.9.1992 arise only after the DPC has made its recommendations and therefore, the recommendations could not be placed in the sealed cover, para-7 of the said OM provides that the recommendations of the DPC shall be deemed to have been placed in the sealed cover and the officer shall not be promoted until she/he is exonerated of the charges. To ensure this, the OM dated 25.10.2004 provides that after the recommendations of DPC have been approved by the competent authority, it is necessary to again seek the status/position from the concerned vigilance division before issuing promotion order in respect of any officer included in the approved panel of names, to ensure that there is no hindrance in issuing the promotion order in respect of the concerned officer.

The Supreme Court of India has, in a number of judgements, held that the decision of the duly constituted DPC cannot be interfered with and a review of assessment in respect of an officer made by it cannot be directed except on the limited ground of malafide or procedural irregularity. Some of such cases are as follows:-
(a) R.S. Dass Vs UoI & Ors. [1986 (Supp.) SCC 617];
(b) UPSC Vs H.L Dev and Ors. [AIR 1988 SC 1069];
(c) Dalpat Abasahab Solanke Vs B.S. Mahajan [AIR 1990 SC 434];
(d) Nutan Arvind Vs UoI & Anr. [(1996) 2 SUPREME COURT CASES 488];
(e) Anil Katiyar Vs UoI and Ors. [1997(1) SLR 153];
(f) Durga Devi & Anr. Vs State of Himachal Pradesh & Ors. [(1997) 4 SCC 575]
(g) UPSC Vs L.P. Tiwari & Ors. [2006 (12) SCALE 278];
(h) Union of India and Anr. Vs. S.K. Goel and Ors. In Appeal (Civil) No.689 of 2007.

The following provisions in DOP&T OM dated 10.4.1989 are relevant in the context of independence of the DPCs in making the assessment of suitability of officers for promotions:
(a) Para 6.1.2 provides that the DPCs enjoy full discretion to devise their own methods and procedures for objective assessment of the suitability of candidates who are to be considered by them.
(b) Para 6.1.3 stipulates that while merit has to be recognized and rewarded, advancement in an officer’s career should not be regarded as a matter of course, but should be earned by dint of hard work, good conduct and result oriented performance as reflected in the ACRs and based on strict and rigorous selection process.
(c) Para 6.2.1(e) provides that the DPC should not be guided merely by the overall grading, if any, that may be recorded in the CRs but should make its own assessment on the basis of entries in the CRs, because it has been noticed that sometimes the overall grading in a CR may be inconsistent with the grading under various parameters or attributes.

The following provisions in DOP&T OM dated 10.4.1989 are relevant in the context of assessment of ACRs/APARs by the DPC in making the assessment of suitability of officers for promotions:
(a) Para 6.2.1(a) provides that the DPC should consider CRs for equal number of years in respect of all officers considered for promotion (subject to the provisions contained in para 6.2.1(c) of the OM).
(b) Para 6.2.1(c) provides that where one or more CRs have not been written for any reasons during the relevant period, the DPC should consider the CRs of the years preceding the period in question and if in any case even these are not available, the DPC should take the CRs of the lower grade into account to complete the number of CRs required to be considered as per para 6.2.1(b) of the guidelines. If this is also not possible, all the available CRs should be taken into account.
(c) Para 6.2.1(f) provides that if the Reviewing authority or the Accepting authority, as the case may be, has overruled the Reporting Officer or the Reviewing authority, as the case may be, the remarks of the latter authority should be taken as the final remarks for the purposes of assessment provided it is apparent from the relevant entries that the higher authority has come to a different assessment conclusively after due application of mind. If the remarks of the Reporting Officer, Reviewing authority and Accepting authority are complementary to each other and one does not have the effect of overruling the other, then the remarks should be read together and the final assessment made by the DPC.

According to DOP&T OM No.22011/7/98-Estt.(D) dated 6th October, 2000 the DPC should assess the suitability of the employees for promotion on the basis of their service records and with particular reference to the CRs for five preceding years irrespective of the qualifying service prescribed in the Service/Recruitment Rules. The preceding five years for the aforesaid purpose shall be decided as per the guidelines contained in the DOP&T OM No.22011/9/98-Estt. (D) dated September 8, 1998, which prescribe the Model Calendar for DPC, read with OM of even number dated June 16, 2000. (If more than one CR have been written for a particular year, all the CRs for the relevant years shall be considered together as the CR for one year.)
DOP&T O.M. dated September 8, 1998 read with O.M. dated June 16, 2000 provides that only such ACRs should be considered by the DPCs which became available during the year immediately preceding the vacancy/panel year even if DPCs are held later than the schedule prescribed in the Model Calendar. For example, for the vacancy/panel year 2000-01, ACRs upto the year 1998-99 are required to be considered irrespective of the date of convening of DPC. The DOP&T vide their OM No.22011/4/2013-Estt(D) dated 8th May, 2017, in partial modification to the previously existing instructions on the subject, have issued detailed guidelines to the Ministries/Department which, inter alia, contain a Model Calendar envisaging time schedule to be followed by the Ministries/Departments in sending the cases to UPSC for convening DPC. The revised guidelines envisage the following:
(i) The vacancy year may be shifted to Calendar Year from the year 2018 onwards, wherever the financial year based vacancy year being followed now. (ii) The crucial date of eligibility will be 1st of January of the Vacancy year w.e.f 2019. (iii) The APARs for five years preceding T-2nd year may be taken as reckoning APARs, i.e. for the vacancy year 2019 (January 2019 to December, 2019), the reckoning APARs shall be 2016-17, 2015-16, 2014-15, 2013-14 and 2012-13. (iv) The year of 2018 being the transitional year, the vacancy period shall be from 1st April 2018 to 31st December, 2018. The reckoning APARs for this vacancy year shall be 2015-16, 2014-15, 2013-14, 2012-13 and 2011-12. The crucial date of eligibility shall be 1st April, 2018 for the transitional year.

The DOP&T vide O.M. No. 21011/1/2005-Estt.(A) (Pt.II) dated 14.05.2009 in pursuance of Supreme Court judgement dated 12.5.2008 in the case of Dev Dutt Vs Union of India (Civil Appeal No. 7631 of 2002) have decided that the nomenclature of the Annual Confidential Report will be modified as Annual Performance Assessment Report (APAR) and the APAR for the year 2008-09 onwards shall be communicated to the concerned officer after the Report is complete with the remarks of the Reporting Officer, Reviewing Officer and the Accepting Authority wherever such system is in vogue. The Ministries/Departments while sending proposals for DPCs are also required to furnish a certificate to the effect that in accordance with the above O.M, the APARs from 2008-09 onwards have been communicated to the officers in the Eligible list and, representations, if any, have been disposed of with speaking orders. Copies of such representations and speaking orders shall also be sent along with the DPC proposals.

As regards the ACRs prior to the period 2008-09, detailed instructions have been issued by the DoP&T vide O.M. No. 21011/1/2010-Estt.A dated 13.04.2010. According to these instructions, if an employee is to be considered for promotion in a future DPC and his ACRs prior to the period 2008-09, which would be reckonable for assessment of his fitness in such future DPCs contain final grading which are below the benchmark for his next promotion, before such ACRs are placed before the DPC, the concerned employee will be given a copy of the relevant ACR for his representation, if any, within 15 days of such communication. The Ministries/Departments while sending proposals for DPCs are required to furnish a certificate to the effect that in accordance with the above O.M below Bench Mark ACRs pertaining to the period prior to 2008-09 [in case such ACRs would be coming up for assessment in the case of Officer(s) included in the Eligibility list] have been communicated to the officers included in the Eligibility list and, representations, if any, have been disposed of with speaking orders.

Para 17.11 of the DOP&T O.M. dated 10th April, 1989 provides that in cases where the recommendations for promotion are made by the DPC presided over by a Member of the UPSC and such recommendations do not require to be approved by the Commission, the date of Commission’s letter forwarding fair copies of the minutes duly signed by the Chairman of the DPC or the date of actual promotion of the officers, whichever is later, should be reckoned as the date of regular promotion of the officer. In cases where the Commission’s approval is also required, the date of UPSC’s letter communicating its approval or the date of actual promotion of the officer whichever is later will be the relevant date. In all other cases, the date on which promotion will be effective will be the date on which the officer was actually promoted or the date of the meeting of the DPC whichever is later.

Appointments to posts falling within the purview of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) can, however, be treated as regular only from the date of approval of ACC or actual promotion whichever is later except in particular cases where the ACC approves appointment from some other date.

Para 6.4.4 of the DOP&T O.M. dated 10th April, 1989 provides that while promotions will be made in the order of the consolidated select list, such promotions will have only prospective effect even in cases where the vacancies relate to earlier year(s).

Review DPC is a DPC convened to review the recommendations of a Regular DPC held earlier in respect of any particular vacancy year.

The circumstances under which Review DPC can be held, are as under:
(a) Non-reporting of vacancies due to error or omission (i.e. though the vacancies were available or could be anticipated at the time of holding of DPC, but these were not reported to the DPC); or
(b) Where eligible persons were omitted to be considered; or
(c) where ineligible persons were considered by mistake; or
(d) Where the seniority of a person was revised with retrospective effect resulting in a variance of seniority list placed before the DPC; or
(e) Where some procedural irregularities were committed by the DPC; or
(f) Where adverse remarks in the CRs were toned down or expunged after the DPC had considered the case of the officer. (These circumstances are only illustrative and not exhaustive.)

A Supplementary DPC is a DPC held again in respect of a vacancy year when unforeseen additional vacancies for the same year occur after holding of the first DPC. The instructions issued by DOP&T vide OM No. 22011/5/86-Estt (D) dated 10.4.89 [para 6.4.2 (i)] provide that vacancies occurring due to death, voluntary retirement, new creations etc. which cannot be foreseen at the time of placing facts and material before the DPC, would warrant another meeting of DPC. Supplementary DPC should be held for drawing up a panel for these vacancies.

Supplementary DPC is governed by the same set of instructions which govern the original DPC. Instructions issued by DOP&T vide OM No. 22011/2/2014-Estt.D dated 30.01.2015 illustrates certain significant aspects of Supplementary DPC as under:
(i) The zone of consideration, in case of holding supplementary DPC, shall be fixed as per the provisions DOP&T OM No. 22011/2/2002-Estt(D) dated 6.1.2006 keeping in view total number of vacancies arising in a particular vacancy year i.e. vacancies accounted in Original DPC + additional vacancies becoming available subsequently during the same year.
(ii) The eligibility list for supplementary DPC shall be prepared by removing the names of all such officers who have already been assessed by earlier DPC as fit, unfit or placed in the sealed cover by the original DPC before placing the same for consideration by the supplementary DPC.
(iii) The officers who have already been empanelled or placed in the extended panel but could not be promoted due to these vacancies not actually becoming available; need not be re-assessed by the supplementary DPC as the assessment matrix remains the same. They may be appointed against the additional vacancies of the same vacancy year as per recommendations of the earlier DPC. In such situation the number of vacancies for supplementary DPC shall be accordingly adjusted.

The DOP&T vide O.M. No.35034/7/97-Estt.(D) dated 8.2.2002 has dispensed with supersession in promotions at all levels. As per these instructions the mode of promotion is ‘Selection’ and the element of selectivity is to be determined with reference to the relevant Benchmark (Very Good or Good) prescribed for promotion.

The DOP&T vide O.M. No.35034/7/97-Estt.(D) dated 8.2.2002 stipulates that the DPCs shall determine the merit of those being assessed for promotion with reference to the prescribed Benchmark and accordingly grade the officers as ‘Fit’ or ‘Unfit’. Only those graded ‘Fit’ (i.e. who meet the prescribed Benchmark) by the DPC shall be included and arranged in the select panel in order of their inter se seniority in the feeder grade. Those officers who are graded ‘Unfit’ (in terms of the prescribed Benchmark) by the DPC shall not be included in the select panel. Thus, there shall be no supersession in promotion among those who are graded ‘Fit’ (in terms of the prescribed Benchmark) by the DPC.

The DOP&T vide their OM No.22011/9/98-Estt.D dated 8.9.1998 read with OM of even number dated 13.10.1998 have issued detailed guidelines to the Ministries/Department which, inter alia, contain a Model Calendar envisaging time schedule to be followed by the Ministries/Departments in sending the cases to UPSC for convening DPC. This Model Calendar provides separate time schedule for cases requiring approval of ACC and cases which do not require such approval. The underlying idea in framing this time schedule is that the DPCs are not only convened in time but sufficiently in advance so as to utilise the prepared panel as and when the vacancies arise during the course of vacancy year. The Model Calendar not only provides specific time frame for the Ministries/Departments for processing the proposal after compiling relevant information/documents and, thereafter, sending the case to UPSC but also provides specific time lines for holding of DPC and seeking approval of ACC etc.
The DOP&T vide their OM No.22011/4/2013-Estt(D) dated 8th May, 2017, in partial modification to the previously existing instructions on the subject, have issued detailed guidelines to the Ministries/Department which, inter alia, contain a Model Calendar envisaging time schedule to be followed by the Ministries/Departments in sending the cases to UPSC for convening DPC. The revised guidelines, among others, envisage the following:
(i) The vacancy year may be shifted to Calendar Year from the year 2018 onwards, wherever the financial year based vacancy year being followed now.
(ii) The crucial date of eligibility will be 1st of January of the Vacancy year w.e.f 2019.
(iii) The APARs for five years preceding T-2nd year may be taken as reckoning APARs, i.e. for the vacancy year 2019 (January 2019 to December, 2019), the reckoning APARs shall be 2016-17, 2015-16, 2014-15, 2013-14 and 2012-13.
(iv) The year of 2018 being the transitional year, the vacancy period shall be from 1st April 2018 to 31st December, 2018. The reckoning APARs for this vacancy year shall be 2015-16, 2014-15, 2013-14, 2012-13 and 2011-12. The crucial date of eligibility shall be 1st April, 2018 for the transitional year. This Model Calendar provides separate time schedule for cases requiring approval of ACC and cases which do not require such approval. The underlying idea in framing this time schedule is that the DPCs are not only convened in time but sufficiently in advance so as to utilise the prepared panel as and when the vacancies arise during the course of vacancy year. The Model Calendar not only provides specific time frame for the Ministries/Departments for processing the proposal after compiling relevant information/documents and, thereafter, sending the case to UPSC but also provides specific time lines for holding of DPC and seeking approval of ACC etc.

The above instructions also require the Ministries/Departments to strictly adhere to the time schedules prescribed in the model calendar with a view that panels for promotion are ready on the first day of the vacancy year.

The recommendations of DPC are advisory in nature and should be duly approved by the Appointing Authority. Where the posts fall within the purview of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, the approval of ACC should also be obtained.

The procedure to be followed in cases of non-acceptance of the Commission’s recommendations are contained in O.M. No. 39023/02/2006-Estt.(B) dated 05.12.2006 which is also available at the below mentioned link: http://ccis.nic.in/WriteReadData/CircularPortal/D2/D02est/39023_02_2006-Estt.B-05122006.pdf
According to the DOP&T O.M. No. 39023/02/2006-Estt. (B) dated 5.12.2006 where the ACC has disagreed with the advice of UPSC or of the Departmental Promotion Committee /Selection Committee in which Chairman/Member of the UPSC is the Chairman of the Committee, the decision of the ACC should be intimated by the Ministry concerned to the UPSC by endorsing a copy of the order issued in pursuance of the ACC decision. Where the appointing authority proposes to disagree with the advice of UPSC for any valid reasons, case(s) should be referred to the ACC, along with a self contained note, through EO’s office in the DOP&T for decision. In respect of cases, where the final decision by the ACC involved disagreement with the advice of UPSC, reasons for non-acceptance of the Commission’s advice will also be intimated by the Ministry/Department/concerned Division of DOP&T to the UPSC while communicating the decision of the ACC, unless it has been decided to withhold the reasons for disagreement in public interest. After receipt of reference as above from the Department concerned, details of such cases are considered for inclusion in the next Annual Report of the Commission.

Para 3 of the DOP&T O.M. No.AB-14017/71/89-Estt.(RR) dated 03.10.1989 provides as under:-

When the field of deputation for Group A post consists of Central Government Group A officers only, prior consultation with the UPSC is not necessary for selection of an officer. When the field for consideration includes State Government officers also, prior consultation with the Commission is necessary before appointing a State Government officer. When the field for consideration is made more broad based and consists of not only Central/State Government officers but also officers from non-Government Institutions, the selection shall always be made in consultation with the UPSC.

The UPSC are to be consulted for appointment of a Central Government Group B officer on deputation to a Group A post.

When Composite Method of recruitment is prescribed for Group A or Group B post, i.e. the departmental candidate is to be considered along with the outsiders, the selection shall be made by the Commission only.

When an officer is appointed from outside the cadre or from outside the direct line of promotion for a limited period by the end of which he will have to revert to his parent cadre, he is known to be on deputation or on short-term contract. Short-term contract is also in the nature of deputation and this method is followed when services of suitable officers belonging to Non-government Organizations, e.g. Universities, Recognized Research Institutions, Public Sector Undertakings etc., are required for appointment to Teaching, Research, Scientific or Technical posts.
When an officer working outside the cadre or outside the direct line of promotion is regularly absorbed in the post/grade, the post is treated as having been filled by the method of absorption.

In cases where the field of promotion consists of only one post, the method of recruitment by deputation (including short-term contract)/promotion is prescribed so that the departmental officer holding the feeder post is considered along with outsiders who have applied for appointment on deputation basis. This method is known as the Composite Method. If the departmental candidate is selected for appointment to the post, the post is to be treated as having been filled by promotion; otherwise the post is filled by deputation/contract for the prescribed period of deputation/contract at the end of which the departmental officer is again afforded an opportunity to be considered for appointment to the post.

According to DOP&T O.M. dated 3.10.1989 (para-6), the crucial date for determination of eligibility will be as follows:-
(i) In the case of a vacancy already existing at the time of issue of the communication inviting nominations, the eligibility may be determined with reference to the last date prescribed for receipt of nominations in the Ministry/Department/Organization responsible for making appointment to the post, i.e. originating Ministry etc.
(ii) In the case of an anticipated vacancy, the crucial date for determining eligibility should be the date of occurrence of the vacancy.

DOP&T OM No.6/8/2009-Estt.(Pay-II) dated 17th June, 2010, as amended from time to time including OM No.2/6/2018-Estt. (Pay-II) dated 18.05.2018, prescribe the following:-
1. The period of deputation/ foreign service shall be as per the Recruitment Rules of the ex-cadre post or 5 years in case no tenure regulations exist for the ex-cadre post.
2. In case where the period of deputation / foreign service prescribed in the recruitment rules of the ex-cadre post is 5 years or less than 5 years, the Administrative Ministry/ borrowing organisation may grant extension up to the 6th year after obtaining orders of their Secretary (in the Central Government)/ Chief Secretary (in the State Government)/ equivalent officer (in respect of other cases) and for the 7th year with the approval of the Minister of the borrowing Ministry/ Department and in respect of other organisations with the approval of the Minister of the borrowing Ministry/ Department with which they are administratively concerned, subject to the following conditions:
(i) The extension would be subject to the prior approval of the lending organization, the consent of the official concerned and, the approval of the UPSC/State Public Service Commission and Appointment Committee of Cabinet (ACC), wherever necessary.
(ii) If the borrowing organization wishes to retain an officer beyond the prescribed tenure, it shall initiate action for seeking concurrence of lending organization, individual concerned etc. six month before the date of expiry of tenure. In no case it should retain an official beyond the sanctioned term unless prior approval of the competent authority to grant further extension has been obtained.
(iii) No extension of deputation beyond 7 years is to be allowed unless provided in the relevant Recruitment Rules of such deputation post.
(iv) In case where the necessity to have deputation tenures longer than seven years is felt, the concerned administrative Ministries/ Departments/ Borrowing organizations may amend the relevant Recruitment Rules of such deputation post accordingly, after following the requisite procedure.
(v) No case for extension shall be referred to DoPT.
(vi) For computing the total period of deputation, the period of deputation including the period of deputation in another ex-cadre post held immediately preceding the current appointment in the same or some other organization/department of the Central Government shall also be taken into account.
(vii) If during the period of deputation, the basic pay of an employee exceeds the maximum of the scale of pay of the post or the fixed pay of the post on account of proforma promotion in his cadre under the Next Below Rule or otherwise, the deputation of the employee should be restricted to a maximum period of 6 month from the date on which his pay thus exceeds such maximum and he should be reverted to his parent department within the said period.

The DOP&T vide its O.M. No. AB.14017/28/2014-Estt.(RR) dated 02.07.2015, has prescribed the revised proforma in which the candidates are required to fill their Bio-data/ Curriculum Vitae for applying for Deputation posts. This proforma, which has been revised on the basis of the suggestions of the UPSC, is available at the following link: http://ccis.nic.in/WriteReadData/CircularPortal/D2/D02est/14017_28_2014-Estt.RR-02072015.pdf

DOP&T vide its O.M. No. AB.14017/28/2014-Estt.(RR) dated 02.07.2015, has enumerated the following points to be noted by the Borrowing / Parent Department/ Office for compliance by the Ministries/ Departments:
(i) Vigilance Clearance will not normally be granted for a period of 3 years after the currency of punishment, if a minor penalty has been imposed on an officer. In case of imposition of a major penalty, Vigilance Clearance will not normally be granted for a period of 5 years after the currency of punishment in terms of DOP&T O.M. No.11012/11/2007-Estt.(A) dated 14.12.2007.
(ii) While forwarding applications in respect of officers who are about to complete their ‘cooling-off’ period shortly the instructions of DOP&T as contained in O.M. No.2/1/2012-Estt.(Pay.II) dated 04.01.2013 may be strictly adhered to.
(iii) A copy of the Application format may be provided by the Borrowing Department in their website in a downloadable form as Word Document along with the advertisement.
(iv) In the case of a vacancy already existing at the time of issue of communication inviting nominations/ publication in the Employment News, the eligibility may be determined with reference to the last date prescribed for receipt of nominations in the concerned administrative Ministry/Department. In the case of an anticipated vacancy, the crucial date for determining eligibility should be the date on which the vacancy is expected to arise.
(v) It shall be prominently mentioned in the vacancy circular/ advertisement that the applications/CV not accompanied by supporting certificates/ documents in support of Qualification and Experience claimed by the candidates would not be processed for determining the eligibility of the candidates for the selection.
(vi) Crucial date for determining the eligibility of the applicants will be counted after excluding the first date of publication of the vacancy/ post in the Employment News. Ie., For the vacancy published in the Employment News of 18-24 Jan. 2014, the crucial date will be counted from the 19th Jan. 2014 (excluding the first date of publication).
(vii) To facilitate determination of eligibility of the applicants working in Public Sector Undertakings/ Autonomous organizations not following the Central Government Scales, their equivalent scales of pay/posts may be confirmed by the borrowing Department. Where necessary, details in this regard may also be ascertained from the lending Department. (These are only some of the salient points which have been highlighted in the DoP&T circular.)

Ministries/Departments submit their proposal/requisition for recruitment containing information regarding number of vacancies, reservation (including reservation for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBDs)), essential and desirable qualifications for the post, duties attached to the post, etc. to UPSC. After due examination in the Commission, the vacancies are published for inviting Online Applications on the Website of the Commission as well as an Indicative Advertisement is also published in the Employment News/Rozgar Samachar.

A candidate can apply for a post Online only. The Website of the Commission, especially, for this purpose is – www.upsconline.nic.in

One recruitment advertisement generally invites applications for a number of posts, and in special cases for a single post. A Candidate who wishes to apply for more than one post can do so, by applying separately for each post and paying the fee for each post in the manner prescribed for that post. For example, if in an Advertisement, applications are invited for posts of (i) Stores Officer (ii) Administrative Officer and (iii) Public Prosecutor, a candidate intending to apply for two posts i.e. for Stores Officer and for Public Prosecutor, is required to submit separate applications and pay the fee for each of the two posts separately.

The candidate should refer to UPSC’s official Website www.upsc.gov.in, where the lists of finally submitted Online applications (containing Name of the Post, Vacancy No., Roll No., Application No. and Name corresponding to the related posts) are displayed Advertisement number wise.

No. Applications once submitted are final and no changes can be made after submission. However, in case a candidate has submitted an application with incorrect entries, he/she can submit a fresh application within the closing date with correct entries and a fresh fee, which will supersede his previous application(s). Thereafter, the application submitted later, i.e. with the higher application number only will be considered and earlier one would be rejected.

Relevant Desirable Qualification(s) possessed by the candidate may be mentioned under ‘Desirable Qualifications’, irrespective of whether they are already mentioned under ‘Essential Qualifications’ or not.

Recognition of Universities, Courses or Degrees does not fall within the purview of the UPSC. This matter lies within the domain of the respective authorities mandated for the purpose e.g. University Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), etc.

The Commission, considering the number of vacancies and number of applications received, decides on merit and on a case to case basis, whether the candidates shall be recommended through interviews only or through Recruitment Test followed by interview. Generally, Recruitment Tests are held where the number of applicants is large or in cases where manual short listing is not feasible.

The candidates must fulfill the prescribed minimum essential qualifications required for a particular post to get shortlisted. However, the prescribed essential qualifications are the minimum and the mere possession of the same does not entitle candidates to be shortlisted or called for interview. In case there are a large number of Applications, the Commission adopts a short listing criteria to restrict the number of candidates to be called for interview to a reasonable number in accordance with the methods mentioned in the detailed advertisement (Note-II under “INSTRUCTIONS AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO CANDIDATES FOR RECRUITMENT BY SELECTION”).

The Syllabus and the Scheme of Recruitment Test (RT) are published on the UPSC’s official Website – www.upsc.gov.in, for the recruitment cases where RT is to be conducted.

The call letter will be sent on your e-mail provided in the Online application. The practice of sending interview Call letters by post has now been discontinued. The candidates who have applied are, therefore, advised to check their e-mails regularly. An indicative SMS is also sent on the registered mobile number of the candidate.

The candidates are informed about the list of documents required to be produced at the time of interview. This list is annexed to their Interview Call Letter sent through e-mail.

No. Such gadgets are strictly prohibited during interviews or for Recruitment Tests.

(a) The objective of the interview is to assess the personal suitability of the candidate for the post for which he/she has been called for interview. The idea is to judge the candidate through a fair and impartial assessment and award marks based on his/her overall performance.
(b) The interview is not merely a test of knowledge (whether general or in subject matter) but an attempt to assess the potential of the individual for being shaped into a competent, dedicated and honest officer who can be entrusted with the tasks and responsibilities associated with public service.
(c) Candidates are judged on the basis of their overall records (educational qualifications, knowledge, experience, interests, activities etc.) and performance in the interview by consensus of the Interview Board Members. However, marks are awarded on an overall basis by consensus and not on individual attributes separately.

An Interview Board is headed by a President, who is generally assisted by two or three Advisers who are Experts in their respective field(s)/discipline(s).

No. These details are not disclosed in compliance with Orders of Hon’ble Supreme Court in Civil Appeal No. 9052 of 2012 [arising out of SLP(C) No. 20217 of 2011], filed by BPSC Vs Saiyed Hussain Abbas Rizwi & Anr.

Candidates are given marks in the Interview out of 100. The marks for minimum standard of suitability, category wise, are as below:

• General, EWS: 50
• OBC: 45
• SC, ST & PwBD: 40

No. Marks are assigned by consensus.

A candidate belonging to one of the reserved categories can be recommended against an unreserved vacancy if he/she meets the criterion adopted for the unreserved category candidates and does not avail of any relaxation applicable to reserved category candidates.

The UPSC recommends selected candidates in the order of merit. The fixation of seniority of recommended candidates in their respective cadres/grades falls within the purview of the Ministries/Departments concerned and is determined by them.

Though UPSC compares and checks the supporting documents submitted by the Candidates with the originals, its veracity is not checked. The Ministries/Departments concerned and the Cadre Controlling Authorities are responsible for verification of the character and antecedents and veracity of documents submitted in respect of the candidates recommended by the UPSC.

The maximum number of names to be kept in the Reserve List is 50% of the total number of posts/vacancies being filled in each category to which recruitment is being made, subject to a minimum of 05 (five) names in each category, depending upon the availability of candidates who fulfill the minimum cut-off marks for each category i.e. 50 marks for General and EWS, 45 marks for OBC and 40 marks for SC/ST/PwBD, in order of merit. In case 50% of the total number of posts/vacancies in any category works out to a fraction, this will be rounded off to the next higher whole number.

The Reserve List is operated on receipt of a formal request from the requisitioning Ministry/Department. The validity of Reserve List is 2 years from the date of issue of Recommendation Letter. The date of the list becoming invalid is indicated in Recommendation Letter. The Reserve List also becomes null and void upon finalisation of selection for filling up subsequent vacancies/post(s) in the same grade.

You may contact the requisitioning Ministry/Department for addressing any further queries such as pre-appointment formalities, time taken in the appointment, etc.