CBI, IB Face IPS Crunch: 3 Officers Cleared for Central Deputation Against 178 Vacancies at DIG, SP Levels

Three officers of the ranks of Deputy Inspector General (DIG) and Superintendent of Police (SP) are currently available for central deputation against a vacancy of 178 officers. According to the “offer list”, last updated on November 21, there are 11 senior IPS officers, who are cleared for central deputation by their respective state cadres and governments, out of which, one is DIG ranked officer and two SP ranked officers.

The central police organisations and central forces have a total of 215 vacancies, which include positions at the level of DG, ADG, IG, DIG and SP ranks. However, the crunch is acute at the DIG and SP levels. According to the vacancy status report of the home ministry (MHA), of the total 215 vacancies, 178 positions are vacant at the level of DIG and SP ranks across central police agencies and organisations.

The CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) and the IB (Intelligence Bureau) are the worst hit as these two organisations have maximum vacancies at the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) and Superintendent of Police (SP) level.

Crunch Management

The scarcity of police officers across central government organisations is not new. The government has been trying different ways to address the issue such as inducting officers in CBI from central police forces like BSF on a ‘lateral shift’ basis, and also tweaking the IPS tenure rules.

Earlier, the IPS tenure policy had the provision of inducting an IPS officer, who served for five years, in R&AW, IB and NIA at the level of SP. In October, the government amended the tenure policy and said “officers with a minimum of five years’ service will, however, be eligible for induction in R&AW, IB, NIA and CBI”. News18 has accessed all relevant documents and circulars.

At present, 44 positions at the level of DIG and SP are vacant in the CBI. The numbers of the IB is, however, higher. There are 73 such positions are vacant in the IB. Both CBI and IB are the most crucial police organisations in the country.

In 2022, government inducted non-IPS officers including officers from the Indian Revenue Service (IRS), the Indian Telecom Service (ITS) and Indian Defence Account Service (IDAS) in CBI in a supervisory role. This was the beginning of full-fledged “lateral entry” to the agency from other government services. However, there have been some limited precedents of recruiting non-IPS officers since 2014.

Speaking with the News18, a senior serving IPS officer said, “The crunch will ease out slowly with more officers being elevated to the SP and DIG ranks. But the state governments also need to comply with the central deputation quota rules and clear the officers for the same. The government will also conduct cadre review if needed. The crunch is acute because earlier the induction through UPSC was low. The batches were smaller. Since 2013, the strength of the IPS batch was around 150 and post 2020, the batches became bigger with 200 officers”.