Rotational Transfer Policy for CSSS Officers

Rotational Transfer Policy applicable to Central Secretariat Stenographers’ Service (CSSS) Officers – Review of the Policy

Department of Personnel and Training has issued an OM on Rotational Transfer Policy applicable to CSSS Officers and the periodic review of the policy.

No. 25/28 /20 14-CS-II(A)
Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension
Department of Personnel and Training
CS-II Division

3rd Floor, Lok Nayak Bhawan,
Khan Market, New Delhi- 110003
Dated: 22nd July, 2015

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Subject: Rotational Transfer Policy applicable to CSSS Officers – Review of the Policy reg.

The undersigned is directed to refer to the subject mentioned above and to say that the draft Rotational Transfer Policy (RTP) for CSSS officers was uploaded on the website of this Department vide OM of even number dated 21.10.2014 seeking comments from the stakeholders. Subsequently, certain modifications to the policy were also notified vide OM of even number dated 04.11.2014 and CS-I Division’s OM dated 15.05.2015. Keeping in View the comments received from the stakeholders and on the basis of pilot run, the RTP has been modified and is hereby notified for information of all concerned.

(Kameshwar Mishra)
Under Secretary to the Govt. of India
Telefax : 24623157

Rotational Transfer Policy for Central Secretariat Stenographers’ Service (CSSS)

The cadre management of Central Secretariat Stenographers’ Service (CSSS) is centralized in CS.II Division of Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT). Officers are posted by DoPT to 45 participating cadre units of CSSS. A few of the cadre units are a group of Ministries / Departments for the purpose of cadre management of CSSS.

2. CSSS officers provide secretarial and office support to Officers and constitute a permanent bureaucratic set up in the Central Secretariat. As per the scheme of things, they Can be posted to any Cadre Unit/ Ministry/Department as well as to the offices participating in CSSS and located outside Delhi.

3. Rotational Transfer Policy for CSSS officers has been there for quite some time. There is divergent opinion about rotational transfer of CSSS Officers. There is an opinion that transfer of the officers results in loss of institutional memory and experience and creates work related difficulties for the officers with whom they are posted. Another opinion is that transfers are necessary to avoid development of vested interests. Further, for overall growth of an officer, exposure to different organizations and aspects of working of the Government is very important. Rotational Transfer Policy aims to harmonize these seemingly opposite objectives by prescribing a fixed tenure in a Cadre Unit / Ministry/ Department.

4. The existing Rotational Transfer. Policy of CSSS prescribes maximum tenures up to which officer remains posted in a Cadre Unit/ Ministry/ Department. A need has been felt to review the existing rotational transfer policy. Rotational Transfer Policy (RTP) applicable to Central Secretariat Stenographers’ Service personnel has since been reviewed in this Department. After due consultations with the stakeholders and participating Ministries/ Departments of Government of India, the RTP has been revised and updated. The provisions of revised RTP are in supersession of the provisions of the RTP issued vide this Department’s OM No. 13/ 1/2009-CS- II dated 15.07.201 1. The revised RTP is as in the following paragraphs.

5. Tenure The maximum tenure prescribed for a Central Secretariat Stenographers’ Service (CSSS) officer in a particular cadre unit/ Ministry/ Department in various designations will be as under

S.No	Grade	Revised
1.	Stenographer Grade ‘D’	10 years
2.	Personal Assistant (PA)	8 years
3.	Private Secretary (PS)	8 years
4.	Principal Private Secretary (PPS)	6 years
5.	Senior Principal Private Secretary ‘(Sr.PPS)	6 years
6.	Principal Staff Officer(PSO)	6 years

(a) Officers posted in specified Ministries / Departments will have a reduced tenure by one year as indicated in para 10 (c).

(b) PS, PA and Steno Gr. ‘D’ on completion of six year tenure in a Cadre Unit/ Ministry/ Department may request for transfer which will be considered as mentioned in para 16.
6. Transfer on promotion and exemption thereof :
(a) On promotion, an officer at any level shall be posted out of the Cadre Unit/ .Ministry/ Department, if he / she has served in the same Ministry/ Department in any capacity for a period exceeding the prescribed tenure for the promotion post.

(b) If the officer is due for superannuation within two years he / she will be retained in the same Cadre Unit/ Min/ Dept against an existing vacancy of the promotional post. In case of no vacancy of the promotional post then the officer will be transferred to another Min / Dept.

(c) If the officer is due for superannuation within six months on promotion he/ she will not be transferred as in such a short period one cannot be expected to contribute usefully in another Ministry/ Department. Further, such a transfer may result in delay of finalizing pension papers. Such an officer will be retained in the same Ministry/ Department against an available vacancy of the promotional post. In the absence of a vacancy, the post held by him / her will be upgraded on personal basis by keeping one post in another Ministry/ Department vacant so as not to exceed the cadre strength. On retirement the post will revert to its original level.
7. Officers exempted from transfer under RTP
(a) Officers of all grades within two years of superannuation will be exempted from rotational transfers.

(b) Officers likely to be promoted within one year shall be exempted from. the RTP as on promotion officers are transferred if they have completed the prescribed tenure for the promotional post.
8. Offices exempted under RTP: Officers serving in PMO, Cabinet Secretariat, Offices of Attorney General, Solicitor General and Addl. Solicitor General will be exempted under RTP. It is considered necessary that these offices may be allowed to retain officers of choice beyond the prescribed tenure under RTP. However, before issue of transfer orders under RTP, these offices will be notified about the officers matured for transfer and if the office concerned decides to retain any of the officers also keeping in view the willingness of the officers concerned, it will inform DoPT and such officers will be exempted from RTP. This exercise will be repeated every year.

9. Surrender of officers Unilateral surrender of officers on any ground will not be allowed as surrender of an officer poses several problems to the Cadre Controlling Authority. If an officer is not performing, Ministries/ Departments concerned are expected to initiate appropriate action either to penalize or to reform the officer. Moreover, the officer surrendered has to be posted. somewhere and it will be difficult for the Ministry/ Department where he is posted to work with such an officer. ‘If situation warrants that an officer has to be surrendered then a request should be made to DoPT with detailed reasons and DoPT will consider the request on merits, whether to transfer the officer or not.

9.1 If despite the instructions, any Ministry/ Department surrenders an officer unilaterally, then such surrender would be presumed to have been made along with the post and the sanctioned strength of the concerned Ministry/ Department would be reduced accordingly and no replacement would be provided to the cadre unit concerned for one year. After expiry of one year, the position will be reviewed for restoration of the post and posting of an officer.

10. Grouping of Min/Depts
(a) Ministries / Departments will be divided in to two groups – Group ‘A’ and Group ‘B’. The proposed lists are at Annexure-I & II. If an officer has served his tenure in List A, he /she will be transferred to List B and vice versa.

(b) However, an officer posted in Group “A’ Ministry/ Department may also opt for posting to another Ministry/ Department in Group ‘A’ on promotion. On his posting in the new Ministry/ Department in Group A, tenure will be counted afresh for future transfer under RTP.

(c) Officers serving in certain Departments which are largely regulatory in nature, namely, DoPT, MHA, Defence, DOLA and D / o Expenditure will be given a reduced tenure by one year prescribed for the grade. The list of such Ministries/ Departments is given in Annexure-III.

(d) The lists as above may be modified at any time by the competent authority in DoPT.
11. Officers returning from deputational long leave long term training etc.: An Officer returning from deputation, long leave / long term training will be posted back to the same Ministry/ Department he last served for the balance period of the tenure prescribed for the grade subject to availability of a vacancy and subject to the condition that at least one year of balance tenure is left. In the absence of a vacancy in the last Ministry/ Department served, he will be allowed to exercise option for posting treating the last served Ministry/ Department as his current group. On expiry of the retention for the balance tenure, the officer will be transferred on rotational transfer in the annual rotational transfer.

11.1. Period of leave / training exceeding six months will be treated as long leave / long term training for the purpose of posting under RTP.

11.2. Officers to be retained on promotion in the same Ministry/ Department in terms of the RTP would be adjusted first and only thereafter officers returning from deputation, long leave or training would be considered for retention, subject to availability of vacancy.

12. Posting to the Ministry / Department earlier worked: An officer who is to be transferred out on promotion from the current Ministry/ Department on completion of prescribed tenure or for want of a vacancy of the promotional post as the case may be, and on rotational transfer may also be allowed option for posting in a Ministry/ Department where he earlier served subject to the condition that there is a gap of period which is equal to tenure prescribed for the post.

13. Preference for posting
(a) Promotion shall be made against available vacancies. Preferences for posting on promotion shall be accommodated as far as possible within the available vacancies and in the order of seniority.

(b) The list of officers who are in the approved panel for promotion and to be promoted in the next order will be notified on the website of this Department along with the vacancy position. Officers concerned may furnish three preferences for, posting within the available vacancies within 7 days of notification of vacancies.

(c) Occasions arise that Some vacancies are to be filled up immediately on functional needs, and on such occasions, it is not possible to wait for the next promotion order. As such vacancies are filled up by the next officer in the panel approved for promotion and in such cases the question of seeking preferences will not arise.

(d) Posting on promotion/ transfer will be recommended by a Placement Committee and its recommendations will be approved by the Competent Authority.

(e) The Placement Committee will recommend posting of officers either on promotion or under rotational transfer keeping in view relevant factors viz. vacancies, past experience, seniority, specialized training done, preference for posting etc. In case of isolated postings involving few officers returning from long leave, long term training, repatriation from deputation etc., approval of the Competent Authority will be obtained without the Placement Committee procedure to avoid delay in posting of officers.

(f) For posting of officers to PMO and Cabinet Secretariat, as identified by these offices, no willingness will be sought and the officers will be posted to these offices even without their completion of tenure in the Cadre Unit / Ministry/ Department.
14. Outstation postings: The offices of the Central Ministries/ Departments participating in the Central Secretariat Stenographers’ Service (CSSS) are mostly located in the National Capital Region (N CR). However, there are a few posts of CSSS which are located outside NCR in the various regions of the country. The CSSS being a transferable service, members of the CSSS are liable to be posted to such posts located outside NCR also. Posts of CSSS located outside NCR will be filled up as under:
(i) Private Secretary, Personal Assistant and Steno Grade ‘D’
(a) The cadre-unit will fill up the post from amongst the officers of the Ministry/ Department by circulating the post. In case of non-availability of officers within the Ministry/Department, the cadre unit will approach DOPT. DoPT will circulate the post and invite applications from eligible CSSS officers in all the Ministries/ Departments and post the selected officer to the outstation vacancy.

(b) Once posted to an outstation office, an officer will have the prescribed tenure for the grade irrespective of the tenure rendered in the Ministry/ Department at Delhi. Prescription of an assured tenure in such outstation posting is considered necessary as officers seek outstation posting generally on compelling family circumstances.

(c) If no application is received after circulation by DoPT, the present incumbent will be allowed to continue on the post for one more year after which the post will be re-circulated till a new incumbent is selected.
(ii) PPS and above. level posts

For PPS and above level vacancies in offices located outside NCR, CS.II Division will invite applications from willing officers. On the basis of applications received, an officer will be posted with the approval of the competent authority keeping in View the posting profile of the officer/ his family circumstances requiring posting to the particular station etc. The tenure of the officer in the outstation posting will be six years.

(iii) On conclusion of outstation posting, officers of all grades will report to DoPT for further posting, provided they had completed the prescribed tenure under RTP i.e. tenure in the Ministry/ Department
at Delhi + outstation office of the same Ministry/ Department.

(iv) In the absence of willing officers, DoPT may also post an officer of its choice for such an outstation posting as CSSS carries all India service liability.
15. Mutual Transfer Request for mutual transfer of officers may be considered by the Department of Personnel & Training subject to the following conditions:
(a) Both of the officers applied for mutual transfer should have completed at least 50% of the tenure prescribed for the post;

(b) The request has been recommended by the Secretary of the Departments concerned.

(d) Requests for mutual. transfers will be considered on case-to-case basis keeping functional considerations in mind.

(e) Tenure on mutual transfer in the new Ministry/ Department will be counted afresh for further transfer under RTP.
16. Transfer on request: PS, PA and Steno Gr. ‘D’ on completion of six year tenure in a Ministry / Department may on their own volition request for transfer. However, such transfers. will be restricted to the Ministries/ Departments in List A i.e. the transfer will be allowed within List A or from List B to List A and shall further be subject to availability of vacancies. On such transfer their tenure in the new Ministry/ Department will be counted afresh and they will be required to serve the prescribed full tenure for the post before they are considered for transfer.

17. Leave vacancy: Substitute officer will be posted in case of leave vacancy exceeding six months; however, this will be subject to availability of officers for posting.

18. Differently abled officers: Physically handicapped persons suffer from a range of problems on account of mobility. There may be many peculiar issues viz., the location of bus stop / metro station near their office, the area where they reside and the conveyance they are using to reach office etc., which may have a bearing on the performance of their official duties. Although these are minor issues for persons without disability, these can have a very huge effect on the day to day activities of a disabled person. Requests from differently abled officers will, therefore, be considered for posting on case-to-case basis.

19. Cut-off date and tentative schedule of transfer
(a) The cut-off date for calculating the period of residency in a Ministry/ Department will be 1st July of the year in which rotational transfer is carried out. An officer for being covered under RTP should have completed prescribed tenure as on this date of 1st July. The cut-off date for calculating two year / six months (in case of promotion) in respect of officers superannuating will be calculated as on the last date of the month in which rotational transfer order is issued.

(b) The rotation under RTP in each grade will be undertaken once in a year.

(c) To ensure smooth transition from outgoing to incoming staff, rotation will be done phase-wise and grade-wise once in a year as under (indicative schedule):

15th May – Sr.PPS ./ PS0

15th July – PPS

15th October – PS

15th December – PA & Stenographer Grade ‘D’

(d) The phased implementation of the transfer policy will be carried out from 2015 onwards.

(e) Officers who have completed the normal prescribed tenure in both the Groups would transferred first and then officers posted in Ministries/ Departments qualifying for one year reduced tenure would be considered for transfer.

(f) Equal number of officers will be transferred and posted to ensure relievers are available for the officers transferred out. This is possible only if the number of officers covered under rotational transfer in both the groups is equal to ensure provision of relievers in place of transferred officers. If there is a mismatch between the number of officers covered under rotational transfer between the Groups, only equal number of officers will be transferred on the basis of higher length of service and the remaining left out officers will be covered in the next round of rotational transfer in the subsequent year.
20. Non compliance of. orders, issued by DoPT: Department of Personnel and Training, being the cadre controlling authority for CSSS, is the competent authority to transfer a cadre officer of any Grade from one cadre unit to another cadre unit and the cadre unit concerned is required to relieve the officer concerned within 45 days of the transfer order.

20.1. Henceforth, DoPT will issue promotion/ transfer orders on the last working day of the week (generally Friday) and the officer concerned stands relieved immediately. and he /she will be required to join the allocated Ministry/ Department on the first working day of the next week (generally Monday). This will be equally applicable to officers posted in attached offices of the Ministries / Departments. The onus to join the allocated cadre unit/ Ministry/ Department on the basis of the order issued by DoPT will be on the officer concerned and failure to do so may attract punitive action by DoPT. It will also be incumbent upon the cadre unit / Ministry/ Department and the officer concerned not to draw salary beyond the stipulated date.

21. Saving clause: Any proposal for modification/ relaxation in implementation of the provisions of RTP will be considered by a Committee comprising of Secretary (P), Establishment Officer and AS (S&V) and its recommendations will be approved by MOS (PP). Speaking orders will be issued in such cases.

Download Personnel Ministry OM No. 25/28 /20 14-CS-II(A)dated 22.07.2015