Study Leave for Central Government Employees

Study leave is up to 24 months in a career, at full leave salary, for an approved course of study, under Rules 50 to 63. Conditions, pay, allowance and bond.

Updated 20 July 2026 · Reviewed by Salary-Calculator.in

Study leave is leave granted to a central government employee for a recognised course of study or training in the public interest, under Rules 50 to 63 of the CCS (Leave) Rules 1972, for ordinarily 12 months at a time and a maximum of 24 months across the whole service, on full leave salary and not debited to the leave account, subject to a bond to serve the government on return.

Study leave is the leave the government gives an employee to go and learn something it wants the employee to know. Where earned leave is the planned holiday and half pay leave the reserve for illness, study leave is purposive: it is sanctioned only for a special course of higher study or specialised training that has a direct and close connection with the employee’s work, or that is certified to be of definite advantage to the government. It is paid, on a full-pay basis rather than the half-pay rate that some long leaves carry, and it is not charged to the leave account, so the employee does not spend earned leave or half pay leave to take it. In return the employee commits, by a bond, to come back and serve for a fixed period, and to refund the cost if they do not.

This article sets out what study leave is and the course it is granted for, who is eligible and the service they must have, the maximum period, the leave salary and the study allowance for study abroad, the bond and the refund obligation, the effect on the leave account, pension and increment, and how study leave is combined with other leave. The wider leave code, and study leave’s place among the recognised heads, is in the CCS (Leave) Rules article.

What study leave is

Study leave is a recognised head of leave under Chapter VI of the CCS (Leave) Rules 1972, Rules 50 to 63. Under Rule 50 it may be granted to a government servant, in or out of India, to undergo a special course of study consisting of higher studies or specialised training in a professional or technical subject, where the course has a direct and close connection with the sphere of the employee’s duty. It may also be granted for a course of study or a study tour that, while not having that close a connection, is certified by the competent authority to be of definite advantage to the government from the point of view of public interest. The common thread is public purpose: study leave is not for a course the employee wants for private reasons, but for study the government has an interest in the employee undertaking.

That purpose sets study leave apart from the other long leaves. Where extraordinary leave can be taken for a private course with no pay, and commuted leave drawn on a medical certificate, study leave is the dedicated, paid head for approved higher study, granted on the footing that the training will benefit the service when the employee returns. It is this public-interest footing that justifies the full leave salary and the study allowance, and that also explains the bond: the government pays for the study on the understanding that it gets the trained employee back.

Eligibility and the service required

Study leave is not open to a new entrant. Under Rule 50 an employee must have satisfactorily completed the period of probation and rendered not less than 5 years of regular continuous service before study leave can be granted, so the head is for the settled employee whom the government has an interest in developing further, not for someone at the start of service.

There is also a bar near retirement. Study leave is not granted where the employee is due to reach the age of superannuation within 3 years of the date on which they are expected to return to duty after the leave. The reason is the bond: the government sanctions study leave on the promise of service in return, and if the employee would retire before the bond period could be served, the promise cannot be kept, so the leave is refused. For a Central Health Service officer granted the longer 36 months, where the bond period is correspondingly longer, the retirement bar is 5 years rather than 3. In each case the rule ties the grant to the employee’s remaining service, so that the training the government pays for is followed by the service it is meant to buy.

The maximum period

The quantum of study leave is capped in two ways, both in Rule 51. It may ordinarily be granted for up to 12 months at any one time, so a single spell of study leave is a year, though a ministry may sanction a longer stretch up to the career ceiling where the course requires it. And across the whole service it is capped at 24 months in all, taken together and inclusive of any similar study or training leave granted under other rules, so the 24 months is an outer ceiling for a career and not a fresh entitlement for each course.

One category has a higher ceiling. A Central Health Service officer who takes study leave to acquire a recognised postgraduate qualification may be granted up to 36 months in all, in recognition of the length of medical postgraduate training. Outside that category the 24-month career maximum holds, and an employee who has used it cannot draw further study leave, whatever the merit of a later course.

The leave salary during study leave

Study leave is paid, and paid well by the standards of the long leaves. Under Rule 56 the leave salary during study leave is on a full-pay basis, that is the pay the employee drew while on duty, and it carries dearness allowance and house-rent allowance. There is a floor: the leave salary is not reduced below the amount that would be payable as leave salary during half pay leave , so study leave can never pay less than half pay leave would, and in the ordinary case it pays the full rate. This is a real distinction from half pay leave, which pays half of basic pay plus the dearness allowance on that half, and from extraordinary leave , which carries no leave salary at all.

The one difference the rule draws is between study within India and study outside India. For a course within India the leave salary is the full-pay figure with dearness allowance and house-rent allowance, and nothing more. For a course outside India the same leave salary is payable, and a study allowance may be granted in addition, on the terms set out below. So the pay during study leave is the same full-pay leave salary wherever the study is done; what the location changes is only whether a study allowance is payable on top.

The study allowance for study abroad

A study allowance is provided under Rules 57 to 60, and it is confined to study outside India. Rule 56 states in terms that no study allowance is paid during study leave for a course of study in India, so the allowance is a feature of foreign study only. Where an employee takes study leave for a course outside India that is not covered by a scholarship, a fellowship or other assistance, a study allowance may be granted for the period of the course, which cannot exceed 24 months, to help meet the living cost of studying abroad.

The rates in Rule 58 are the old sterling per-day figures fixed decades ago, differing by country, and they are expressly subject to revision by the Central Government. In practice the study allowance is largely notional: it is not paid where a scholarship or fellowship already meets the cost of the course, which most sponsored study abroad now carries, and the archaic sterling rates have little modern application. An employee taking study leave abroad should therefore treat the study allowance as a residual provision that applies only where no other assistance is received, and confirm the current position with the sanctioning authority rather than rely on the bare-rule figures.

The bond and the refund obligation

The counterpart of paid study leave is the bond. Before the leave begins, the employee executes a bond, under Rule 53, to serve the government for a specified period after returning from the study leave, ordinarily 3 years (5 years for a Central Health Service officer granted 36 months). The bond is the government’s security for the money it spends on the study: it pays the leave salary and any study allowance and expenses on the understanding that the trained employee then serves for the bond period.

The refund obligation in Rule 63 gives the bond teeth. If the employee resigns, retires voluntarily, or otherwise quits the service without returning to duty after the study leave, or leaves within 3 years of returning to duty, or fails to complete the course for which the leave was granted, they must refund the leave salary drawn during the study leave, the study allowance, the cost of any fees paid, and the travelling and other expenses incurred, together with any amount paid by a foreign government, foundation or trust, all with interest. The President may waive or reduce the recovery in a deserving case. The effect is that study leave is paid study the employee keeps only by serving the bond: leave the service too soon after it, and the cost is recovered.

Not debited to the leave account, and the effect on pension and increment

Study leave sits outside the leave account. Under Rule 54 study leave is not debited against the leave account, so taking it does not reduce the earned leave or the half pay leave balance, and those keep accruing, which protects the earned leave available for encashment at retirement covered in the leave encashment article. In this it is like maternity leave and child care leave: a paid absence that does not run down the ordinary leave the employee has built up.

Because it is granted on full leave salary and is not a break in service, study leave also counts for the record. It counts as qualifying service for pension, since leave with allowances counts as qualifying service, and it does not defer the annual increment , so the employee loses nothing in pension or pay progression by taking it. The one cost is the commitment the bond imposes: study leave protects the leave balance, the pension and the increment, but binds the employee to serve on return or repay.

Combining study leave with other leave

Study leave can be joined to other leave, within a limit on the total absence. Under Rule 54 study leave may be combined with any other kind of leave due and admissible, such as earned leave , half pay leave or extraordinary leave, but the total continuous absence from duty must not ordinarily exceed 28 months, including any period of vacation. Where the study leave is for a course leading to a PhD, the outer limit on the continuous absence is 36 months rather than 28, in recognition of the length of doctoral study.

So an employee can prefix or suffix earned leave to a spell of study leave to cover travel or a break between terms, as long as the whole continuous absence stays within the 28-month limit, or the 36-month limit for a PhD course. The combination rule matters most for a long course abroad, where the study leave itself may run to the 24-month ceiling and the added leave must be kept within the total-absence cap.

Applying for study leave

Study leave is applied for well before the course, because the sanction turns on the course being recognised and in the public interest. An employee applies to the sanctioning authority with the details of the course, the institution and its duration, and a case that the study has a direct and close connection with their duty or is of definite advantage to the government. The authority satisfies itself on the public-interest footing, on the employee’s eligibility (probation completed, 5 years’ service, not barred by the near-retirement rule), and on the availability of the employee for the leave, and then sanctions the study leave within the 12-month-at-a-time and 24-month-career limits.

The bond is executed before the leave begins, in the prescribed form, with sureties where required, and the study allowance for a course abroad is settled at the same time against whether a scholarship covers the cost. On return the employee resumes duty and serves the bond period, and the study leave then sits in the record as a paid, non-debited absence that counted for pension and did not touch the leave account. Planning the application around the course dates and the eligibility conditions, rather than treating study leave as leave available on demand, is the practical point, because the grant is discretionary and tied to the public interest in the course.

During and after the study leave

Study leave carries obligations while it runs and when it ends. During the leave the employee is expected to pursue the approved course and not to take up any employment or accept any position that would divert them from it, since the leave is granted for the study and the government is paying the leave salary for that purpose. Where the sanctioning authority requires it, the employee submits periodic reports on the progress of the course, and, for a course abroad, keeps the mission or the department informed as required, so that the government can satisfy itself that the study for which it is paying is being done.

On completion the employee resumes duty and serves the bond period. A course that ends in a qualification is evidenced by the certificate or the result, and a course that the employee fails to complete triggers the refund obligation, since the study leave was granted for the whole course. Study leave is, in this sense, conditional throughout: it is paid on the footing that the course is pursued and completed and the service given on return, and the bond and the refund provision are the mechanisms that hold the employee to that footing.

Common errors

A few misreadings recur, and each turns on a specific condition of the head.

Treating the 24 months as a fresh entitlement for each course. It is a career ceiling for all study leave taken together, inclusive of similar training leave under other rules; once used, no further study leave is admissible (36 months for a Central Health Service postgraduate qualification).
Assuming a new entrant can take study leave. It needs a completed probation and not less than 5 years of regular continuous service, so it is not open at the start of service.
Believing study leave pays the half-pay rate because it is a long leave. It is paid on a full-pay basis under Rule 56, with only a half-pay-leave floor, so in the ordinary case it pays the full leave salary, not half.
Expecting a study allowance for a course in India. The study allowance is for study outside India not covered by a scholarship; Rule 56 states in terms that none is paid for a course of study in India.
Thinking study leave is cost-free because it is not debited to the leave account. The leave balance is protected, but the bond can require a full refund of the leave salary and expenses, with interest, if the employee leaves the service too soon after returning or fails to complete the course.
Confusing study leave with earned leave taken for a course. Study leave is the dedicated, approved, non-debited head; ordinary leave taken for a private course runs down the balance or, for extraordinary leave, carries no pay.

Study leave and the alternatives

An employee who wants to study has more than one route, and study leave is the dedicated one. The table sets the routes side by side.

Route	Governing rule	Pay	Debited to account	Notes
Study leave	Rules 50 to 63	Full-pay leave salary (plus study allowance abroad)	No	Only for an approved course in the public interest; bond to serve on return
Earned leave	Rules 26 to 27	Full pay	Yes	Any purpose; runs down the earned-leave balance
Commuted leave	Rule 30	Full pay	Yes (twice the days from half pay leave)	Needs a medical certificate; not for study as such
Extraordinary leave	Rule 32	No leave salary	No (no balance)	Any purpose, including private study, but unpaid

The point the table makes is that study leave is the only route that pays full salary for study without spending the employee’s own leave, and it is available only for a course the government approves as in the public interest. An employee whose course does not meet that test, or who has used the 24-month ceiling, falls back on ordinary earned leave for a paid absence that runs down the balance, or on extraordinary leave for an unpaid absence that does not. Study leave is the privileged route, and the bond is the price of the privilege.

Applicability

Rules 50 to 63 apply to central government civilian employees governed by the CCS (Leave) Rules 1972. Members of the All India Services are governed by the All India Services (Leave) Rules 1955, which carry their own study-leave provision on broadly similar lines, and railway servants and the staff of some autonomous bodies are under rules that adopt or track the central provision. The higher 36-month ceiling is specific to Central Health Service officers taking a postgraduate qualification. An employee should confirm the entitlement under the leave rules that govern their own service, though for the great majority of central government civilian employees it is the study leave of Rules 50 to 63 set out here.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How much study leave can a central government employee take?

Ordinarily up to 12 months at any one time, and a maximum of 24 months in the entire service taken together, under Rule 51 of the CCS (Leave) Rules 1972. For a Central Health Service officer acquiring a recognised postgraduate qualification the aggregate is 36 months. The 24-month career limit is inclusive of any similar study or training leave taken under other rules, so it is an outer ceiling across the whole service, not a fresh 24 months for each course.

Who is eligible for study leave?

A government servant who has completed probation and rendered not less than 5 years of regular continuous service, under Rule 50. Study leave is not granted where the employee is due to retire on superannuation within 3 years of the date they are expected to return to duty after the leave, so that the bond period can be served before retirement (the corresponding figure is 5 years for a Central Health Service officer granted 36 months). The course must have a direct and close connection with the sphere of the employee’s duty, or be certified to be of definite advantage to the government.

Is study leave paid?

Yes. During study leave the employee draws leave salary on a full-pay basis, that is the pay drawn while on duty, with dearness allowance and house-rent allowance, under Rule 56, subject to a floor that it is not reduced below the leave salary payable during half pay leave. For study outside India a study allowance is payable in addition where the course is not covered by a scholarship; for study within India no study allowance is paid.

Is study leave debited to the leave account?

No. Study leave is not debited against the leave account under Rule 54, so it does not consume earned leave or half pay leave, and those balances keep accruing. Because it is full-pay leave and is not a break in service, it counts as qualifying service for pension and does not defer the increment, so an employee loses nothing in leave balance, pension or pay progression by taking it, subject to serving the bond.

What is the study leave bond?

Before the leave begins the employee executes a bond to serve the government for a specified period after returning, ordinarily 3 years (5 years for a Central Health Service officer granted 36 months), under Rules 50 and 53. If the employee resigns, retires voluntarily or otherwise quits service without returning to duty, or leaves within 3 years of returning, or fails to complete the course, they must refund the leave salary, the study allowance, the cost of fees, and the travelling and other expenses drawn during the study leave, with interest, under Rule 63. The President may waive or reduce the recovery.

Is a study allowance still paid?

A study allowance is provided under Rules 57 to 60 for a course of study outside India that is not covered by a scholarship or other assistance, for a period not exceeding 24 months. No study allowance is paid for a course of study in India. The per-day rates in Rule 58 are the old sterling figures fixed decades ago and are subject to revision by the Central Government, so in practice the study allowance is largely notional and is not paid where a scholarship or fellowship already meets the cost of the course abroad.

Can study leave be combined with other leave?

Yes. Study leave may be combined with other kinds of leave, such as earned leave, half pay leave or extraordinary leave, under Rule 54, but the total continuous absence from duty must not ordinarily exceed 28 months, including any vacation, and 36 months where the study leave is taken for a course leading to a PhD. So an employee can add earned leave to a spell of study leave, within that outer limit on the length of the continuous absence.

What is the difference between study leave and taking earned leave for a course?

Study leave is a distinct head under Rules 50 to 63, granted only for a recognised course of study or training in the public interest, on full leave salary, not debited to the leave account, and tied to a bond to serve on return. Taking earned leave, commuted leave or extraordinary leave for a course is drawing ordinary leave from the account for a private purpose: earned leave and commuted leave run down the balance, and extraordinary leave carries no pay. Study leave exists so that higher study the government wants an employee to pursue does not have to be funded out of the employee’s own leave.

External references

References

Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972, Rules 50 to 63 (study leave), Chapter VI.
CCS (Leave) Rules, 1972, Rule 50 (purpose and eligibility: probation completed and 5 years’ service; near-retirement bar) and Rule 51 (12 months at a time; 24 months in a career; 36 months for Central Health Service officers taking a postgraduate qualification).
CCS (Leave) Rules, 1972, Rule 54 (study leave not debited to the leave account; combination limit of 28 months, 36 months for a PhD course) and Rule 56 (leave salary on a full-pay basis, with the half-pay-leave floor; no study allowance for study in India).
CCS (Leave) Rules, 1972, Rules 57 to 60 (study allowance for study outside India not covered by a scholarship; Rule 58 rates subject to revision).
CCS (Leave) Rules, 1972, Rule 53 (execution of the bond) and Rule 63 (refund of leave salary, study allowance, fees and expenses with interest on resignation, failure to return, or leaving within 3 years of return; power to waive).