Central Staffing Scheme
The Central Staffing Scheme under DoPT OM No. 36/77/94-EO(SM-I) of 5 January 1996: posts, services, eligibility, tenure, cooling off, debarment and CDTA.
The Central Staffing Scheme is the Government of India’s arrangement for filling secretariat posts of Under Secretary and above in the ministries by borrowing officers, on a fixed tenure, from the All India Services and the participating organised Group A services. It rests on Department of Personnel and Training Office Memorandum No. 36/77/94-EO(SM-I) dated 5 January 1996, and it is run by the Establishment Officer in that department.
The scheme decides who staffs the policy tier of the Union government. A Deputy Secretary, Director or Joint Secretary in a ministry is usually an Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service or Group A officer on a four or five year tenure, drawing the pay of the post or parent-cadre pay plus an allowance, and due to revert at the end. Paragraph 5(iii) of the 1996 Scheme makes the point in terms: no post filled by an All India Services officer on tenure deputation “can be deemed to be a cadre post”.
For the officer, the scheme fixes five things the general deputation rules do not: who may apply, how long the posting lasts, how long the officer must wait before the next one, the five year debarment for declining an ordered posting, and the Central Secretariat (Deputation on Tenure) Allowance of 10% of basic pay up to Rs. 9,000.
The 1996 Scheme and the 2024 compilation
The operative text of the Central Staffing Scheme is DoPT OM No. 36/77/94-EO(SM-I) dated 5 January 1996, headed “Procedure for selection and appointment of officers to Secretariat posts of and above the rank of Under Secretary”. It consolidated the instructions issued over 25 years and superseded the basic circular, Department of Personnel (Cabinet Secretariat) O.M. No. 33(1)-EO/70 of 27 October 1970. Paragraph 2 of the 1996 Scheme ties it to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, constituted under rule 6(1) of the Government of India (Transaction of Business) Rules, 1961.
The scheme has never been reissued as a single text. DoPT OM No. DOPT-1705650752584 dated 19 January 2024, titled “Central Staffing Scheme and related guidelines”, is an index. Its preamble records that instructions issued from time to time “have now been compiled”, and it links nine instruments without restating any of them.
| Instrument | Date | What it settles |
|---|---|---|
| OM No. 36/77/94-EO(SM-I) | 5 January 1996 | The scheme: posts, eligibility, boards, tenure, cooling off, debarment |
| OM No. 36/15/2001-EO(SM-I) | 20 July 2001 | Additional Secretary and Secretary eligibility re-based on 5th CPC scales; two year IAS differential |
| OM No. 36/58/2012-EO(SM-I)(1) and (2) | 9 January 2013 | Movement between CSS and non-CSS posts; cadre clearance |
| OM No. 26/4/2011-EO(SM-I)(Pt.II) | 15 January 2015 | Additional Secretary tenure in four cases |
| OM No. 27/15/2015-EO(SM.I) | 3 July 2015 | Extended cooling off waived for an officer recalled as Chief Secretary |
| OM No. 36/9/2017-EO(SM-I)(15) | 18 May 2017 | Chief Vigilance Officer postings |
| No. 27(38)-EO/87(SM) | 20 May 1987 | Leave on completion of tenure |
Two further instruments sit outside the compilation and change the money: DoPT OM No. 2/10/2017-Estt.(Pay II) dated 24 April 2018 on the allowance, and its amendment of 4 June 2025. The annual nomination circular, most recently D.O. No. 33/2025-EO(MM.II) dated 17 December 2024, carries the current eligibility and the list of participating services.
Posts inside and outside the scheme
Paragraph 3 of the 1996 Scheme states that posts “of the rank of Under Secretary and above” in the Government of India secretariat are filled under the Central Staffing Scheme “by borrowing officer from the All India Services and participating Group ‘A’ services”. The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions described the working range in a written Rajya Sabha reply of 20 July 2017 as Deputy Secretary, Director, Joint Secretary, Additional Secretary and Secretary.
Three groups of posts are outside the scheme even at those levels:
- Central Secretariat Service posts. Paragraph 3 of the 1996 Scheme states that Under Secretary and Deputy Secretary posts counted in the Central Secretariat Service cadre “stand outside the Central Staffing Scheme”. Office Memorandum No. 19/1/2008-CS.I(P) dated 20 July 2010 later diverted 160 Deputy Secretary and Director posts from the scheme into that cadre.
- Encadred posts. A post encadred in an organised Group A service is filled from that service’s own cadre, under its recruitment rules.
- Posts filled through the Commission. Paragraph 3(a) of the DoPT deputation consolidation dated 28 March 2024 excludes posts filled by recruitment through the Union Public Service Commission, which places open-market Joint Secretary and Director appointments outside the scheme.
The exclusion runs the other way too. Paragraph 2.2(b) of the same 28 March 2024 consolidation takes officers appointed under the Central Staffing Scheme out of the general deputation guidelines, so the Deputation (Duty) Allowance terms and the general five year limit do not apply to them. The tenure of several non-CSS categories, including statutory bodies and central public sector undertakings, is nonetheless fixed by reference to the CSS tenure.
Participating services
Appendix-IV of the DoPT circular dated 17 December 2024, signed by the Establishment Officer, lists 38 participating services. Serial 7 is the Indian Administrative Service, serial 17 the Indian Forest Service and serial 22 the Indian Police Service. Thirty-four serials are organised Group A central services, including the Indian Revenue Service. Serial 38 is the Central Secretariat Service “for JS level only”. Paragraph 3 of the circular reads: “only officers belonging to services participating in the Central Staffing Scheme (Appendix-IV) may apply for CSS.”
The 7th Central Pay Commission counted the same list. Paragraph 7.3.42(g) of its report gives “34 participating Group ‘A’ Services and 3 AIS”, and Annex 1 to Chapter 7.3 lists the 37 without the Central Secretariat Service line. The 38th entry is the cadre’s own route to Joint Secretary, which its officers reach through empanelment and not through a Director or Deputy Secretary offer.
An All India Services officer reaches the Centre through the cadre rules as well as the scheme. Rule 6(1) of the Indian Administrative Service (Cadre) Rules, 1954 lets a cadre officer be deputed to the Central Government with the concurrence of the State Government, and the Central Government decides any disagreement. The Central Deputation Reserve of 40% of senior duty posts is the head room in each state cadre that makes those movements possible.
Eligibility by level
The current service thresholds are in Appendix-I of the 17 December 2024 circular. They differ from the 1996 text, which counted Director and Joint Secretary eligibility by pay scale.
| Level | Current condition (circular of 17 December 2024) | 1996 Scheme, paragraph 6 |
|---|---|---|
| Under Secretary | No current nomination route | 5 years |
| Deputy Secretary | 9 years of Group A service | 9 years |
| Director | 14 years of service and Level 13 (Grade Pay Rs. 8,700) | By pay scale |
| Joint Secretary | Empanelled or adjudged suitable for Joint Secretary level | By pay scale (Rs. 5,900 to 6,700) |
| Additional Secretary | Empanelment | 25 years, re-based by OM of 20 July 2001 |
| Secretary | Empanelment | 30 years, re-based by OM of 20 July 2001 |
Paragraph 9 of the 2024 circular lets a Deputy Secretary appointee who is granted Level 13 in the parent cadre be re-designated Director on completing 14 years. Paragraph 10 asks cadres not to nominate an officer likely to be recalled for promotion within two years. The benchmark is an APAR grading of “Very Good” and above for the last five years.
The 7th Central Pay Commission recorded the Joint Secretary threshold at paragraph 7.3.31: 17 years of Group A service plus the Senior Administrative Grade for a central service officer, and, for an All India Services batch, eligibility once one officer of the batch reaches that grade. Paragraph 7.3.42(b) refers to “the edge of two years available to IAS officers for empanelment”. The DoPT instrument that states a two year differential, OM No. 36/15/2001-EO(SM-I) dated 20 July 2001, does so for Additional Secretary and Secretary empanelment.
The offer list and the selection machinery
An officer enters the scheme by being placed on the offer list. The cadre-controlling authority nominates the officer in response to a DoPT circular, now through a single online interface on persmin.gov.in under paragraph 2 of the 2024 circular. The Rajya Sabha reply of 20 July 2017 records that the circulars issue twice a year. Paragraph 7 of DoPT Office Memorandum No. 104/33/2024-AVD-IA dated 9 October 2024 makes inclusion in the offer list one of the ten occasions that require vigilance clearance.
The Civil Services Board matches offered officers to vacancies at Deputy Secretary, Director and Joint Secretary. Paragraph 20 of the 1996 Scheme constitutes it as the Cabinet Secretary as Chairman, the Secretary (Personnel), one Secretary appointed for a year, the Secretary of the administrative ministry co-opted for its posts, and the Establishment Officer as Member-Secretary. Paragraph 21.2 keeps the Board out of Additional Secretary, Special Secretary and Secretary appointments.
The steps under paragraph 21 are fixed:
- The Establishment Officer, “acting on behalf of the Boards”, offers a panel of three names for each vacancy, which may fall to two or one where fewer suitable officers are available (paragraph 21(ii)).
- The panel goes to the Minister-in-charge of the ministry, who chooses normally within 7 days (paragraph 21(v) and (vi)).
- The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approves the appointment, and the cadre relieves the officer.
Paragraph 22 makes the Establishment Officer an officer of Additional Secretary status in DoPT, Secretary to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, and Member-Secretary of both the Civil Services Board and the Central Establishment Board. Paragraph 23 requires every requisition for an All India Services or Group A officer to be “canalised through the Establishment Officer”, which stops a ministry from borrowing a named officer directly.
Empanelment at Joint Secretary and above
Empanelment is a finding of fitness, and it is a separate step from the posting. Under paragraphs 8 and 9 of the 1996 Scheme the Civil Services Board, “assisted by a Screening Committee of Secretaries”, finalises the Joint Secretary panel for the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, and inclusion in the panel “would not confer any right to such appointment”. Under paragraph 14, Additional Secretary and Secretary panels go to the Committee on the Cabinet Secretary’s proposal, with a Special Committee of Secretaries assisting where constituted.
The records are read before the Screening Committee sits. Expert panels of retired Secretary-level officers, constituted with the approval of the Appointments Committee, assess the confidential report dossiers, and the Committee of Secretaries then weighs grading, reputation, the types of assignment held, variety of experience and vigilance status. The Rajya Sabha reply of 20 July 2017 adds two conditions tied to the scheme itself: two years under the scheme are mandatory for foreign and captive posts, and an officer needs at least three years under it for empanelment at Additional Secretary level.
A departmental promotion committee plays no part in Joint Secretary empanelment. Joint Secretary is not a grade of the Central Secretariat Service, so an officer of that service who is empanelled reaches the level in one of two ways: appointment as Joint Secretary (in-situ) against the ceiling of 40 such posts, or a Joint Secretary posting under the scheme, which serial 38 of the 2024 list permits.
Tenure by level
Paragraph 17.01 of the 1996 Scheme fixes the tenure of each central post. Paragraph 17.03 allows no extension after the full tenure.
| Post | Tenure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Under Secretary | 3 years | Paragraph 17.01 |
| Deputy Secretary | 4 years | Paragraph 17.01 |
| Director | 5 years | Paragraph 17.01 |
| Joint Secretary | 5 years | Paragraph 17.01 |
| Additional Secretary, direct | 4 years | Paragraph 17.02; OM of 15 January 2015, paragraph 2(a) |
| Joint Secretary promoted to Additional Secretary | Combined 5 to 7 years | OM of 15 January 2015, paragraph 2(b) to (d) |
| Secretary | No fixed tenure | Paragraph 17.02 |
The Additional Secretary rule turns on when the promotion comes. DoPT OM No. 26/4/2011-EO(SM-I)(Pt.II) dated 15 January 2015 gives a combined Joint Secretary and Additional Secretary tenure of 5 years where the officer became Additional Secretary within 2 years of becoming Joint Secretary, 3 years from the Additional Secretary appointment where the gap was 2 to under 4 years, and a combined 7 years where it was 4 years or more.
Three provisions bend the fixed term. Paragraph 17.03 lets an officer revert on 31 May before the tenure ends, for reasons such as a child’s schooling. Paragraph 17.06 lets a Joint Secretary or Additional Secretary with one year or less to superannuation at the end of tenure stay until retirement. Paragraph 21(x) allows a move from a CSS post to a non-CSS post, or back, with 3 years on the second post and a maximum continuous tenure of seven years across both; DoPT OM No. 36/58/2012-EO(SM-I)(1) dated 9 January 2013 restates the additional two years, “subject to at least two years on either post”.
Cooling off between tenures
Paragraph 18.1 of the 1996 Scheme requires an officer from Under Secretary to Joint Secretary level to have served 3 years in the state or parent cadre before the proposed date of a fresh central appointment. The interval is 2 years for officers of the North-East All India Services cadres and Jammu and Kashmir, 1 year for Additional Secretary, and nil for Secretary.
Paragraph 19.1 excludes leave taken on completion of tenure from the count, and Appendix-I of the 17 December 2024 circular runs the period from the date the officer reports to the cadre. The same appendix allows up to six months of the cooling off to be waived for a woman officer whose husband is posted at the Centre. DoPT OM No. 27/15/2015-EO(SM.I) dated 3 July 2015 waives the extended cooling off for an officer repatriated early to become a state’s Chief Secretary.
Premature reversion and debarment
Paragraph 17.11 of the 1996 Scheme lets the Establishment Officer order premature reversion where the officer is to take a promotion in the cadre. On compassionate or personal grounds, the Establishment Officer may order it with the Cabinet Secretary’s approval where six months or less of the tenure remain.
The penalty for declining is in paragraph 19.3. An officer who fails to take up an assignment ordered by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet is “ordinarily … debarred for further Central deputation for a 5 years period”. A cadre may withdraw a name from the offer list without penalty only before the Civil Services Board approves it, and under paragraph 19.3(c) a representation against debarment is decided by the Minister of State and the Cabinet Minister for Personnel. Paragraph 5 of the 17 December 2024 circular restates the five years and adds that a debarred officer is also refused cadre clearance for foreign service and international assignments, citing letters No. 14/1/98-FA(UN) of 26 February 1998 and No. 1/1/2003-FAS of 8 May 2003.
Pay, protection and the tenure allowance
An officer posted under the scheme at Under Secretary, Deputy Secretary or Director has an option. Paragraph 1 of DoPT OM No. 2/10/2017-Estt.(Pay II) dated 24 April 2018 entitles an officer of the All India Services or an organised Group A service either to pay fixed in the level of the central post or to parent-cadre basic pay plus the Central Secretariat (Deputation on Tenure) Allowance, known as CDTA. The order took effect from 1 July 2017 under its paragraph 2.
| Term | Position | Clause of the OM of 24 April 2018 |
|---|---|---|
| Rate | 10% of basic pay | 1(c) |
| Ceiling | Rs. 9,000 a month from 1 July 2017 | 1(c) |
| Escalation | Ceiling rises by 25% each time DA rises by 50% | OM of 4 June 2025, paragraph 3 |
| Joint Secretary and above | No allowance | 1(e) |
| Extension or re-employment after superannuation | No allowance | 1(f) |
| Basic pay | Level of the post held substantively in the parent cadre, excluding personal pay | 1(g) |
| Proforma promotion or NFU in the cadre | Ignored for CDTA | 1(h) |
The 4 June 2025 amendment, issued with Department of Expenditure concurrence under ID note No. 916/2024-E.II(B) dated 29 April 2025, states the escalator but no rupee figure and no date of effect. Dearness allowance reached 50% of basic pay from 1 January 2024, so the arithmetic gives a ceiling of Rs. 11,250, the same figure DoPT fixed for the change-of-station Deputation (Duty) Allowance from that date.
The allowance was once narrower. DoPT OM No. 2/8/97-Estt.(Pay II) dated 11 March 1998 paid it at a fixed Rs. 800 for an Under Secretary and Rs. 1,000 for a Deputy Secretary or Director, to Group A officers only, from 1 August 1997. The tenure allowance article covers the 1998, 2008, 2018 and 2025 orders in sequence.
Pay protection sits on top of the option. Rule 12 of the CCS (Revised Pay) Rules, 2016, amended by Department of Expenditure notification No. 1-2/2016-IC dated 15 June 2017 with effect from 1 January 2016, protects as personal pay any shortfall between the pay fixed on the central post and the pay the officer would have drawn in the parent cadre. Clause 1(i) of the 2018 OM makes an officer upgraded to Level 14 in the cadre while on deputation choose between Rule 12 personal pay without CDTA and the earlier pay with CDTA. Under the non-functional upgradation instructions, an officer already at the Centre when the upgradation falls due gets one increment and keeps the pay of the central post. DoPT OM No. 34/1/2022-EO(MM-II) dated 22 February 2023 extended the office pick-up and drop facility for Deputy Secretaries and Directors under the scheme for three years from 15 February 2023; an officer who uses it forgoes transport allowance.
Under Secretary posts
Under Secretary is in the scheme on paper and absent from it in operation. Paragraphs 3 and 6 of the 1996 Scheme cover Under Secretary with a 5 year eligibility, paragraph 17.01 gives it a 3 year tenure, and the 2018 and 2025 CDTA orders still pay the allowance at that level. Paragraph 20(a)(i) of the 1996 Scheme, however, confines the Civil Services Board to Deputy Secretary, Director and Joint Secretary. The 17 December 2024 circular also sets eligibility only for those three levels.
Grade I of the Central Secretariat Service is the Under Secretary grade, and paragraph 3 places those posts outside the scheme. The CDTA orders still provide for the level, but the offer list no longer feeds it.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the Central Staffing Scheme?
Which Office Memorandum governs the Central Staffing Scheme?
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What service is needed for Deputy Secretary and Director under the scheme?
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What is the cooling off period after central deputation?
What happens if an officer refuses a Central Staffing Scheme posting?
What is CDTA and how much is it?
Does an IAS officer on central deputation get CDTA?
Is pay protected when an officer moves to the Centre under the scheme?
Are Under Secretary posts still filled under the Central Staffing Scheme?
Is empanelment the same as a Central Staffing Scheme posting?
Are lateral entry posts part of the Central Staffing Scheme?
Does the general deputation OM apply to Central Staffing Scheme officers?
Related Articles
- Deputation to central government
- Deputation (Duty) Allowance
- Tenure allowance
- Headquarters allowance
- Department of Personnel and Training
- Appointments Committee of the Cabinet
- Civil Services Board
- Cabinet Secretary
- Empanelment
- All India Services
- Indian Administrative Service
- Indian Police Service
- Indian Forest Service
- Organised Group A services
- Indian Revenue Service
- Central Secretariat Service
- Union Public Service Commission
- Vigilance clearance
- Sealed cover procedure
- APAR
- Departmental promotion committee
- Promotion
- Non-functional upgradation
- Next below rule
- Proforma promotion
- Personal pay
- CCS (Revised Pay) Rules, 2016
- Pay fixation
- Basic pay
- Pay matrix
- Dearness allowance
- Transport allowance
- Lien
- Foreign service
- Under Secretary salary
- Deputy Secretary salary
- Director salary
- IAS salary
- IPS salary
- Cabinet Secretary pay
- Superannuation
- Retirement age for central government employees
- 7th Central Pay Commission
- 8th Central Pay Commission
- Central government employees
External references
- Department of Personnel and Training, Office Memorandum No. 36/77/94-EO(SM-I) dated 5 January 1996, the Central Staffing Scheme: documents.doptcirculars.nic.in
- Department of Personnel and Training, Office Memorandum No. DOPT-1705650752584 dated 19 January 2024, Central Staffing Scheme and related guidelines: doptcirculars.nic.in
- Department of Personnel and Training, Office Memorandum No. 26/4/2011-EO(SM-I)(Pt.II) dated 15 January 2015, Additional Secretary tenure: documents.doptcirculars.nic.in
- Department of Personnel and Training, Office Memorandum No. 36/15/2001-EO(SM-I) dated 20 July 2001: documents.doptcirculars.nic.in
- Department of Personnel and Training, Office Memorandum No. 2/10/2017-Estt.(Pay II) dated 24 April 2018, Central Secretariat (Deputation on Tenure) Allowance: documents.doptcirculars.nic.in
- Department of Personnel and Training, Office Memorandum No. 2/8/97-Estt.(Pay II) dated 11 March 1998: documents.doptcirculars.nic.in
- Department of Personnel and Training, Office Memorandum No. 27/15/2015-EO(SM.I) dated 3 July 2015: documents.doptcirculars.nic.in
References
- Department of Personnel and Training, Office Memorandum No. 36/77/94-EO(SM-I) dated 5 January 1996, Central Staffing Scheme, paragraphs 2, 3, 5(iii), 6, 8, 9, 14, 17.01 to 17.11, 18.1, 19.1, 19.3, 20 to 23; superseding O.M. No. 33(1)-EO/70 dated 27 October 1970.
- Department of Personnel and Training, Office Memorandum No. DOPT-1705650752584 dated 19 January 2024, Central Staffing Scheme and related guidelines (compilation).
- Department of Personnel and Training, D.O. No. 33/2025-EO(MM.II) dated 17 December 2024, nominations for the Central Staffing Scheme, paragraphs 2, 3, 5, 9 and 10, Appendix-I and Appendix-IV.
- Department of Personnel and Training, Office Memoranda No. 36/15/2001-EO(SM-I) dated 20 July 2001, No. 36/58/2012-EO(SM-I)(1) dated 9 January 2013, No. 26/4/2011-EO(SM-I)(Pt.II) dated 15 January 2015, and No. 27/15/2015-EO(SM.I) dated 3 July 2015.
- Department of Personnel and Training, Office Memorandum No. 2/10/2017-Estt.(Pay II) dated 24 April 2018, paragraphs 1(a) to 1(i) and 2; Office Memorandum of the same number dated 4 June 2025; Office Memorandum No. 2/8/97-Estt.(Pay II) dated 11 March 1998.
- Central Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 2016, Rule 12, as amended by Department of Expenditure notification No. 1-2/2016-IC dated 15 June 2017.
- Department of Personnel and Training, consolidated deputation guidelines, Office Memorandum dated 28 March 2024, paragraphs 2.2(b) and 3(a); Office Memorandum No. 104/33/2024-AVD-IA dated 9 October 2024, paragraph 7.
- Report of the Seventh Central Pay Commission (November 2015), paragraphs 7.3.31 and 7.3.42 and Annex 1 to Chapter 7.3.
- Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, written reply in the Rajya Sabha dated 20 July 2017 on the Central Staffing Scheme; Indian Administrative Service (Cadre) Rules, 1954, Rule 6(1).
- Department of Personnel and Training, Office Memorandum No. 34/1/2022-EO(MM-II) dated 22 February 2023, pick-up and drop facility for Deputy Secretaries and Directors under the Central Staffing Scheme.