As part of the new initiative by the Centre to groom bureaucrats at the Central Government departments before they move out to their respective State cadres, a total of 178 new IAS officers will be appointed as Assistant Secretaries in different ministries based in the National Capital. This is second year in a row that such a move has been taken.
These officers of the 2014-batch will start their career from Delhi, instead of cadre States allocated to them, on central deputation for three months beginning August 1, a senior official in Department of Personnel and Training said.
The DoPT had for the first time allowed the newly- inducted IAS officers to work at the Centre last year, when a total of 158 IAS officers were posted to different ministries. “This decision will give an opportunity to IAS officers to be groomed at the Centre before they move over to their respective state of posting,” the official said.
The DOPT has earmarked about 200 posts of Section Officer's grade to accommodate these officers against the newly-created posts of Assistant Secretaries.
The rationale behind allowing these young officers to start their career from Delhi is to familiarise them with the functioning of the Union Government and enable them to get themselves introduced to various functionaries and officials in the Central Government hierarchy.