Fifty six IAS officers have left their central postings prematurely for their respective state cadres since May 2014 when the Narendra Modi-led BJP government took office.
Most of the officers who have opted for repatriation are senior -in the rank of joint secretary and above. This `back-to-the-parentstate' movement is rare. According to details available on the department of personnel and training (DoPT) website, just three IAS offi cers left the Centre prematurely in 2013 and only one between August and December 2012. The numbers spiked to 13 between January and May 2014, in the lead up to the Lok Sabha polls, which resulted in a regime change.
A top DoPT official argued that the “exodus“ did not necessarily signal an unwillingness to serve under the Modi regime which has sought to change the way the government functions. “It may have been to take up assignments at senior levels, including as chief secretary, in the state,“ he said. An examination of DoPT's repatriation orders shows that seven officers went back to take up chief secretary's position in their respective states.
A source the defence ministry said at least four joint secretary-rank officers had left for their parent cadre because it had become difficult for them to put in the “hard work“ required under the present dispensation.
Normally , after reaching a certain level of seniority , officers tend to stay in Delhi where there are more avenues of advancement.As against the 30 vacancies in the joint secre tary rank this year, only four IAS officers have come forward; and of them one has picked Bengaluru as her preferred choice of posting.