Deputation is the appointment of a Government servant, by transfer and on a temporary basis, to a post outside their normal line of work (an “ex-cadre post”), in the public interest. The employee continues to belong to their parent cadre and returns to it at the end of the assignment.

Three conditions must all be satisfied for an appointment to count as deputation or foreign service: the appointment is made by transfer, it is temporary, and the post is outside the employee’s normal field of deployment and in the public interest. The authority that controls the post from which the employee is transferred decides whether a transfer is outside the normal field of deployment.

“Foreign service” is the technical term used in the Fundamental Rules. FR 9(7) defines it as service in which a Government servant receives pay, with the sanction of the Government, from a source other than the Consolidated Fund of India, a State or a Union Territory.

In everyday use, “deputation” and “foreign service” are treated together. When an officer is deputed to another Government department drawing pay from the same Consolidated Fund, it is generally called deputation. When sent to a public sector undertaking, autonomous body, State Government or any organisation paying from a different source, it is foreign service. The deputation O.Ms. apply to both.

On deputation, the officer keeps a lien on the parent post and returns to the parent cadre at the end of the tenure. On permanent absorption, the officer is permanently inducted into the borrowing organisation and severs the connection with the parent cadre. Under FR 13, a Government servant ceases to retain a lien on the parent post from the date of permanent absorption in a post or service outside the parent service, cadre or post.

Absorption is a one-way, permanent move; deputation is temporary and reversible. Where the rules of a post allow appointment by “deputation/absorption” (the composite method), an officer may first join on deputation and later be considered for permanent absorption if both sides agree.

The following are specifically excluded:

• Appointment of serving employees by promotion or by direct recruitment against open-market vacancies.
• Permanent appointment by transfer (this is absorption, not deputation).
• A temporary appointment made on the personal request of the employee.
• Arrangements made to deal with staff imbalances when offices are reorganised — no deputation (duty) allowance is admissible.

“Deemed deputation” arrangements made in the exigencies of service with the condition that no duty allowance is payable — such as interim arrangements when a Government office is converted into a PSU or autonomous body — are also outside the scope of the deputation terms.

The consolidated O.M. dated 17.06.2010 applies to all Central Government employees regularly appointed, per the Recruitment Rules of the ex-cadre post, on deputation/foreign service — within the same or another Central Government department, or to a State Government, Union Territory, local body, or a Central/State PSU or autonomous body. It also covers the reverse direction: employees of State Governments, PSUs, autonomous bodies and local bodies regularly appointed in the Central Government.

It does not cover the following, for which separate orders exist:

• Members of the All India Services and posts governed by specific statutory rules.
• Officers appointed to posts under the Central Staffing Scheme (Under Secretary, Deputy Secretary, Director, Joint Secretary and above in the Central Secretariat).
• Deputation to posts outside India.
• Specified categories such as the personal staff of Ministers.
• “Deemed deputation” arrangements where no duty allowance is admissible.

The parent cadre (or lending authority) is the service, department or organisation to which the employee permanently belongs and which controls the post the employee holds on a regular basis. The borrowing authority is the department or organisation that takes the officer on deputation and where the officer works during the deputation period.

The employee’s substantive rights — lien, seniority, promotion in the parent cadre — remain with the lending authority, while the borrowing authority controls the day-to-day work and pays (or reimburses) the salary as per the agreed terms.

As a rule, no. FR 110(a) provides that no Government servant may be transferred to foreign service against their will. The one exception is a transfer to a body — incorporated or not — that is wholly or substantially owned or controlled by the Government; consent is not a bar in that case.

The deputation guidelines also stress that deputation is taken up only with the consent of the officer and the approval of the cadre controlling authority, and that foreign service is never a mandatory posting.

Deputation serves the public interest in several ways: it places specialised skills and experience where they are needed, gives officers exposure to different organisations and levels of government, and allows posts in other departments, PSUs, autonomous bodies and constitutional bodies to be filled with experienced people without permanent recruitment.

The overriding test in every case is public interest — deputation is not an entitlement and is not meant primarily for the convenience of the individual.

Eligibility depends on where the officer is being deputed.

For deputation to an ex-cadre post in the Central or a State Government, the eligibility conditions (the grade held, and the years of regular service in that grade) are those written into the Recruitment Rules of the ex-cadre post. An officer must meet those requirements on the crucial date.

For deputation/foreign service to a State Government, Union Territory, autonomous body, trust, society, or a PSU not controlled by the Central Government, a Central Government employee is eligible only after completing nine years of service and being clear from the vigilance angle.

Yes. With the approval of the Minister-in-charge:

• After completing seven years of service, an employee may go on deputation to any State of the North-Eastern Region, and to the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep (or to bodies located there).
• On spouse grounds, deputation to State Governments and Union Territories is allowed after completing six years of service in the cadre.

For deputation of Group ‘B’ officers to State Governments, the same relaxations apply — seven years for the North-East and specified UTs, and six years on spouse grounds.

The crucial date fixes the point in time at which an applicant’s eligibility (years of regular service in the grade) and age are judged. As reiterated by DoPT O.M. No. Misc-14017/06/2019-Estt.(RR) dated 16.04.2020:

• For a vacancy that already exists when nominations are invited, the crucial date is the last date prescribed for receipt of applications/nominations by the Ministry/Department/Organisation making the appointment.
• For an anticipated vacancy, the crucial date is the date on which the vacancy is expected to arise.

The same crucial date is used both for eligibility and for the age limit, and it also applies to the composite (deputation/promotion) method of recruitment.

Yes. The maximum age limit for appointment on deputation is the limit prescribed in the Recruitment Rules of the post being filled. In most Central Government Recruitment Rules the maximum age for deputation is 56 years, reckoned as on the crucial date.

Always check the specific Recruitment Rules of the post, because the limit can differ from post to post.

A deputation proposal typically requires:

• Vigilance clearance / integrity certificate — the officer must be clear from the vigilance angle.
• No Objection Certificate (NOC) / cadre clearance from the cadre controlling authority. For All India Service officers a prior “No Objection” is mandatory, and an appointment made without it can attract disciplinary action.
• The consent / willingness of the officer.
• For deputation to a State Government, the NOC / consent of the borrowing State Government.
• Confirmation that the officer meets the eligibility and age conditions on the crucial date.
• Details of any earlier deputation and confirmation that the mandatory cooling-off period has been completed.
• Where foreign donations are involved, FCRA clearance.

Establishment staff usually compile these through a prescribed check-list / proforma, increasingly via e-Office.

The borrowing organisation circulates the vacancy and invites nominations through the cadre controlling authorities. Selection may be by advertisement, by nomination, or by a direct offer, depending on the post. Cadre controlling authorities forward the names of eligible and willing officers, with vigilance clearance, after satisfying themselves that the officer can be spared.

For senior posts the selection passes through committees — a Civil Services Board or a Search-cum-Selection Committee — and, for Joint Secretary level and above under the Central Staffing Scheme, through the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC). The lending department should not sponsor an officer who will not have completed the mandatory cooling-off period by the likely date of selection.

The cooling-off period is a mandatory gap an officer must spend back in the parent cadre between two spells of deputation. Its purpose is to ensure officers do not stay away from their cadre for long, unbroken stretches, so the parent cadre retains experienced officers and the officer stays connected with cadre work.

After every period of deputation/foreign service:

• Three years of cooling-off for deputation posts up to Joint Secretary level (a post carrying pay in Level-14 of the pay matrix) and below.
• One year for Additional Secretary level posts (Level-15).
• Nil at Secretary level.

The consolidated guidelines also contain service-length relaxations (not a cooling-off waiver) for movement to State / UT Governments and entities under them: the general 9-year cadre-service requirement is reduced to 7 years for deputation to any State of the North-Eastern Region and to the UTs of Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep, and to 6 years on spouse ground, with the approval of the Minister-in-charge.

Officers may respond to vacancy circulars for posts for which they are eligible, but every application must be routed through and forwarded by the cadre controlling authority. The parent department controls how many officers, and which officers, can be spared at a given time.

An application that is not forwarded by the competent authority, or that is sent on a “loan” or informal basis outside the prescribed channels, is not valid.

The period of deputation/foreign service is whatever is laid down in the Recruitment Rules of the ex-cadre post. Where the Recruitment Rules do not prescribe any tenure, the default period is five years. Before the 2018 amendment the default was three years; it was raised to five years with effect from 18.05.2018.

In computing the total period of deputation, any continuous earlier deputation to another ex-cadre post (without a break) is also counted.

Yes. Where the period prescribed in the Recruitment Rules is five years or less, the tenure may be extended as follows:

• Up to the sixth year — with the orders of the Secretary of the borrowing Ministry/Department (Chief Secretary in a State Government, or an equivalent officer in other cases).
• For the seventh year — with the approval of the Minister of the borrowing Ministry/Department.

The maximum tenure on deputation is therefore seven years at a stretch. Extension must be strictly in the public interest, with the willingness and vigilance clearance of the officer, the NOC of the lending authority, and the approval of the UPSC and the ACC wherever applicable. Action to retain an officer beyond the sanctioned tenure must begin at least six months before the tenure expires. No extension beyond the seventh year is permitted.

Extension up to seven years is approved within the borrowing Ministry/Department — Secretary level for the sixth year, Minister level for the seventh year. Since the delegation of powers made by O.M. dated 17.02.2016, no case of extension of deputation tenure is to be referred to DoPT.

If the borrowing organisation needs to retain an officer for longer than seven years, it cannot do so by extension — it must amend the Recruitment Rules of the post to provide for a longer tenure.

Even though a deputation can run up to seven years, deputation (duty) allowance is admissible only up to the fifth year. An officer who has opted to draw the allowance and continues into the sixth and seventh years will not receive deputation (duty) allowance for those two extra years.

An officer who opted for the pay scale of the deputation post continues to draw that pay throughout the tenure.

Premature reversion is the return of a deputationist to the parent cadre before the sanctioned tenure ends. Normally an officer is repatriated only at the end of the tenure, but the borrowing or lending authority may return the officer earlier when a situation requires it.

In that case the officer’s services are sent back to the parent department after giving reasonable advance notice — at least three months — to the lending Ministry/Department and to the officer concerned.

At the end of the tenure the officer is repatriated — the services are placed back at the disposal of the parent cadre, and the officer rejoins a post there. The borrowing organisation may grant the officer leave not exceeding two months at the time of reversion; any further leave must be applied for to the parent cadre’s leave-sanctioning authority.

The officer is treated as relieved on the date the deputation period expires unless a valid written extension has been sanctioned before that date.

An officer should not continue on the post merely in anticipation of an extension. Unless the competent authority has formally extended the deputation period in writing, before the date of its expiry, the officer is deemed to have been relieved on the date the deputation period expired. The immediate superior officer is responsible for ensuring there is no overstay.

Where overstay occurs without formal approval, the officer is liable to disciplinary action and other adverse civil / service consequences, including: the period of unauthorised overstay is not counted as qualifying service for pension, and any increment falling due during the overstay is deferred, with cumulative effect, until the officer rejoins the parent cadre. For deputation to State Governments, deputation orders now carry an express endorsement that an officer who does not hand over charge on time is liable to disciplinary action and a break in service.

Yes, with the permission of the competent authority an officer may proceed from one ex-cadre post to another without first reverting to the parent cadre, subject to the cooling-off rules and tenure ceilings.

If the second ex-cadre post is at the same station as the first, the rate of deputation (duty) allowance stays unchanged. The total of continuous deputation periods is counted together for the overall tenure limit.

No. An officer who gets promoted to Pay Level-14 in the parent cadre while on deputation may be allowed to complete the already approved deputation tenure. The promotion in the parent cadre does not automatically curtail the deputation.

Pay during the remainder of the deputation is regulated under para 10 of the consolidated guidelines — the officer can either opt for the higher pay of the Level to which promoted (in which case extensions are considered as per paras 8.1 to 8.3.2) or continue to draw pay in the Level attached to the deputation post, with notional increments accruing in the parent post for pay-fixation on reversion.

A deputationist may elect one of two alternatives:

• The pay of the deputation post — i.e., pay in the Level/scale attached to the ex-cadre post; or
• Parent-cadre pay plus deputation (duty) allowance — i.e., the basic pay the officer would draw in the parent cadre, plus deputation (duty) allowance on it, plus personal pay (if any).

The officer chooses whichever is more beneficial. The option is not available for deputation to Central Public Sector Enterprises.

The borrowing authority must obtain the officer’s option within one month of the date of joining the ex-cadre post, unless the officer has already submitted it. The option once exercised is final.

It may, however, be revised — with effect from the date the event occurs — in defined situations: when the officer receives a proforma promotion or is placed in a non-functional selection grade in the parent cadre; when the officer is reverted to a lower grade in the parent cadre; or when the pay scale of the parent post or of the ex-cadre post is revised. A mere change in the rates of DA, HRA or any other allowance is not a ground to revise the option.

For deputation from the Central Government to the Central Government, where the ex-cadre post carries a higher Level in the pay matrix, pay is fixed by granting one increment in the Level of the parent-cadre post and then placing the officer at the cell equal to that figure in the Level of the ex-cadre post (the next higher cell if there is no equal cell). If the parent and ex-cadre posts are in the same Level, the officer simply continues on the existing basic pay.

Pay fixed on deputation can neither be less than the minimum nor more than the maximum of the pay Level/scale of the ex-cadre post.

In foreign service or reverse foreign service, where the pay structure and/or DA pattern of the ex-cadre post is dissimilar to that of the parent organisation, pay is fixed by adding one increment to the officer’s substantive basic pay in the parent cadre, and then equating the total emoluments (pay plus DA, additional DA, interim relief, etc.) with the emoluments admissible in the borrowing organisation.

The officer is fixed at the stage in the ex-cadre pay scale at which the total emoluments match; if there is no such stage, at the next higher stage.

The officer draws increments either in the parent grade or in the grade of the deputation post, depending on the option exercised.

Importantly, notional increments continue to accrue in the parent-cadre post even while the officer is on deputation. These notional increments are used to regulate the officer’s pay correctly when the deputation ends and the officer reverts to the parent cadre.

If, while on deputation, an officer earns a proforma promotion in the parent cadre under the Next Below Rule, the officer may complete the sanctioned tenure and may draw the pay of the higher grade if it is more beneficial. The effect on deputation (duty) allowance is governed by detailed rules:

• Where the parent-cadre basic pay is upgraded on account of NFU, MACP or NFSG up to Level 13A, the upgraded pay is not counted for deputation (duty) allowance; the allowance is worked out on the pre-upgradation pay, regulated each year by notional annual increments.
• Where the upgradation is to Level 14 or above, the officer is given an option — to draw the upgraded pay without deputation (duty) allowance, or the pre-upgradation pay with the allowance — whichever is more beneficial.

No. For deputation/foreign service to CPSEs, the option to draw parent-cadre pay plus deputation (duty) allowance is not available. Pay in such cases is regulated under the Department of Public Enterprises O.M. dated 26.11.2008 and the clarifications issued under it.

Likewise, in reverse foreign service to a post with a dissimilar pay structure, the option to draw parent-cadre pay plus deputation (duty) allowance is not available.

Deputation (duty) allowance is the additional amount paid to an officer who, while on deputation, chooses to keep drawing parent-cadre pay rather than the pay of the deputation post. It compensates for the responsibilities of the ex-cadre post.

Following the 7th Central Pay Commission, the rates are (with effect from 01.07.2017):

• Deputation within the same station — 5% of basic pay, subject to a ceiling of ₹4,500 per month.
• Deputation involving a change of station — 10% of basic pay, subject to a ceiling of ₹9,000 per month.

The ceilings rise by 25% each time the Dearness Allowance increases by 50%. Because DA crossed 50% with effect from 01.01.2024, the ceilings have accordingly increased by 25% — to about ₹5,625 (same station) and ₹11,250 (change of station). Establishment staff should apply the ceiling current on the date of payment.

The test is the officer’s headquarters. If there is no change in headquarters compared with the last post held, the move is treated as within the same station. If the headquarters changes, it is treated as not in the same station (change of station).

Places that fall within the same urban agglomeration as the old headquarters are treated as the same station. “Same station” is judged with reference to the station where the officer was on duty immediately before proceeding on deputation.

Yes. Basic pay (as it stands from time to time) plus deputation (duty) allowance must not exceed the basic pay at the apex level, i.e. ₹2,25,000.

For an officer who is in receipt of Non-Practising Allowance (NPA), basic pay plus NPA plus deputation (duty) allowance must not exceed the average of the basic pay of the apex level and the Cabinet Secretary’s level, i.e. ₹2,37,500.

No. Deputation (duty) allowance is payable only to an officer who has opted to draw parent-cadre pay. An officer who opts for the pay scale of the deputation post draws that pay instead and does not receive deputation (duty) allowance.

Further, the allowance is admissible only up to the fifth year of deputation, even where the tenure is extended up to seven years.

CDTA is a separate allowance for officers of the All India Services and the organised Group ‘A’ Central Services who are appointed as Under Secretary, Deputy Secretary or Director in the Central Secretariat under the Central Staffing Scheme. It is distinct from the general deputation (duty) allowance.

CDTA is paid at 10% of basic pay, subject to a ceiling of ₹9,000. This ceiling, too, rises by 25% each time DA increases by 50%.

Yes. Special, more favourable rates of deputation (duty) allowance may be notified for particular areas where living conditions are especially difficult or unattractive. Where a special rate applies and is more favourable than the normal rate, the officer deputed to that area gets the benefit of the special rate.

Any project allowance admissible in a project area of the borrowing organisation may be drawn in addition to deputation (duty) allowance.

The general principle is that an allowance which is not admissible to regular employees of corresponding status in the borrowing organisation will not be paid to the deputationist either, even if it was admissible in the parent organisation. Specific items:

• Dearness Allowance — at the rates of the borrowing organisation or the lending organisation, depending on whether the officer opted for the pay of the deputation post or for parent-cadre pay.
• HRA / Transport Allowance, Children Education Allowance, LTC, Travelling Allowance and Transfer TA, Joining Time and joining-time pay — regulated by mutual consent between the lending and borrowing organisations.
• Medical facilities — as per the rules of the borrowing organisation.

An officer on deputation/foreign service is generally governed by the leave rules of the parent organisation. An exception applies where the officer moves between a vacation department and a non-vacation department (or vice versa), in which case the leave rules of the borrowing organisation apply.

At the time of reversion to the parent cadre, the borrowing organisation may grant leave not exceeding two months; for anything beyond that the officer must apply to the parent cadre’s leave-sanctioning authority. For foreign service in India the officer may take leave only as per the rules applicable to their service (FR 122). For foreign service outside India leave may be granted by the foreign employer (FR 123).

Between Central Government departments, and between the Central Government and State Governments, the allocation of leave salary and pension contributions has been dispensed with — each side bears its own, and no contribution is recovered.

For deputation/foreign service to PSUs, autonomous bodies and similar organisations, leave salary contribution and pension contribution (or the employer’s share of provident fund / NPS) are payable to the Central Government — either by the borrowing organisation or by the officer. Under FR 115, while in foreign service a contribution towards the cost of pension must be paid, and, if the foreign service is in India, a contribution towards leave salary as well. The rates are those prescribed by the President under FR 116.

Deputation does not break the continuity of the officer’s service for pension. The period of deputation counts as qualifying service, provided the required contributions are paid. For an officer covered by the National Pension System, the borrowing department makes the matching employer contribution to the officer’s NPS account.

An officer on foreign service must not, without the Government’s sanction, accept a separate pension or gratuity from the foreign employer for the deputation period (FR 121), and generally must not join the borrowing organisation’s own pension scheme — if the officer does, that period may not count as qualifying service for the Government pension.

Yes. While on foreign service or deputation an officer retains the lien on the parent post (FR 13). The lien is the officer’s title to return to and hold the parent post.

The lien is lost only on permanent absorption into another service or post, or where the officer stays on deputation/foreign service beyond the maximum limit permitted under the Government’s orders. This is why staying connected to the parent cadre, and observing the tenure limits, matters.

The Central Staffing Scheme governs the manning of senior posts in the Ministries and Departments of the Central Government. It is administered separately and is not covered by the general consolidated O.M. of 17.06.2010. Appointments are processed through the Civil Services Board, and through the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) for Joint Secretary level and above.

The tenure ceilings under the CSS are: Under Secretary — 3 years; Deputy Secretary — 4 years; Director — 5 years; Joint Secretary — 5 years (extendable to 7 years at JS/AS level, subject to conditions); Additional Secretary — 4 years; Secretary — no ceiling.

Deputation of All India Service officers is governed by Rule 6 of the respective Cadre Rules and by the Consolidated Deputation Guidelines for All India Services. Broadly:

• Rule 6(1) covers deputation to the Central Government and to Central/State Government-controlled bodies — including the Central Staffing Scheme.
• Rule 6(2)(i) covers deputation within the officer’s own State Government.
• Rule 6(2)(ii) covers deputation to international organisations, and to autonomous bodies, trusts, societies or private bodies not controlled by the Government.

A prior “No Objection” from the cadre controlling authority is mandatory for every such appointment; appointments on a loan basis or any informal arrangement are invalid.

Inter-cadre deputation is the deputation of an All India Service officer to a State Government other than the officer’s own cadre State. Under the policy in force, it is available only after the officer has completed nine years of service in the home cadre and before the officer reaches Level 14 of the pay matrix.

The crucial date for counting the nine years is the 1st July of the officer’s batch year (for promotee officers, 1st July of the year of allotment). Inter-cadre deputation is initially restricted to three years, extendable by two more years after review, and the total inter-cadre deputation in an officer’s whole career is capped at five years. Separately, an officer’s absence from the cadre (inter-cadre plus Rule 6(2)(ii) deputation) must not exceed seven years at a stretch or ten years in the entire career.

Following modifications in 2024, deputation of Central Government Group ‘A’ officers (O.M. dated 15.03.2024) and Group ‘B’ officers (O.M. dated 30.08.2024) to State Governments and Union Territories was brought into line with the inter-cadre deputation scheme for All India Service officers. The features common to both:

• Available only after the officer has completed nine years of service in the parent cadre (for Group ‘A’, also before reaching Level 14 of the pay matrix).
• The crucial date for counting the nine years is the 1st July of the batch year.
• The request must be forwarded by the cadre controlling authority with the NOC of the borrowing State Government.
• The deputation is initially restricted to three years, extendable by two more years after review.
• The total such deputation in the officer’s entire career is capped at five years; no extension beyond five years is allowed.

The key difference is the approving authority: cases of Group ‘A’ officers go to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), while cases of Group ‘B’ officers go to the Minister of State (Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions).

Note: the period spent on deputation while the officer was in Group ‘B’ does not count toward the five-year career limit applicable after the officer becomes Group ‘A’, because the OM dated 15.03.2024 applies only to deputation of Group ‘A’ officers of the Central Government.

Deputation to international organisations (UN bodies, the World Bank, IMF, ADB, and similar institutions) and to bodies not controlled by the Government is processed through a committee chaired by the Cabinet Secretary, with the approval of the Prime Minister for officers of Joint Secretary level and above.

Under the consolidated deputation / foreign service guidelines, the maximum tenure under this category is five years at a stretch. Officers must have completed the prescribed period of service, be clear from the vigilance angle, and have completed any mandatory cooling-off.

Any additional career cap (such as the often-quoted seven years in the entire career) and any “deemed to have resigned” consequence for failure to rejoin on time arise from the separate Handbook of Instructions on Foreign Assignments and AIS-specific rules, and should be read together with those instructions where they apply to the officer concerned.

Short-term assignments (each of three months / 90 days or less) with international organisations are allowed over and above the long-term ceiling, subject to limits: a maximum of 25 months in the entire career, with no single assignment exceeding 90 days in a calendar year.

Officers of the level of Joint Secretary and above are not eligible to take up short-term consultancy assignments with international organisations. Cadre clearance is required in every case.

No. The OM dated 15.03.2024 applies only to cases involving deputation of Group ‘A’ officers of the Central Government to ex-cadre posts under State Government / UT Administration, including PSUs, autonomous bodies, statutory bodies, universities and local bodies under the State / UT Administration. It does not govern movement of State Government officers to the Centre.

No. Their deputation continues to be governed by the existing general deputation guidelines issued vide DoPT O.M. No. 6/8/2009-Estt.(Pay-II) dated 17.06.2010, as amended from time to time, and now consolidated in the OM dated 28.03.2024.

No. The deputation period spent while serving in Group ‘B’ does not count toward the total five-year career tenure that an officer can avail as a Group ‘A’ Central Government officer under the OM dated 15.03.2024. The OM applies only to cases involving deputation of Group ‘A’ officers of the Central Government.

The deputation framework works in both directions. Employees of State Governments, Union Territories, local bodies, PSUs and autonomous bodies can be appointed in the Central Government on deputation/foreign service in accordance with the Recruitment Rules of the Central post — this is often called “reverse deputation” or “reverse foreign service”.

The same consolidated O.M. of 17.06.2010 governs their pay, allowances and terms, with a few specific differences (for example, in reverse foreign service to a post with a dissimilar pay structure, the option to draw parent pay plus deputation (duty) allowance is not available).

Yes, but only by the competent authority. Any relaxation of these terms and conditions requires the prior concurrence of the Department of Personnel & Training.

For deputation of Group ‘A’ and Group ‘B’ officers to State Governments, relaxation proposals are placed before a designated committee in DoPT, which decides whether the case should go to the competent authority (the ACC for Group ‘A’, the Minister of State (PP) for Group ‘B’).

The parent (lending) department must monitor its officers on deputation — keep track of tenures and expiry dates, ensure officers are repatriated on time, watch for overstay, and ensure that the officer’s cadre interests (seniority, promotion, proforma promotion under the Next Below Rule) are protected.

DoPT instructions specifically require lending departments to monitor deputations properly so that officers do not overstay and return to the cadre as scheduled.

No. An officer on deputation remains a member of the parent cadre and continues to be considered for promotion there on their own turn. Under FR 113, an officer on foreign service remains in the cadre and may be given substantive or officiating promotion in it.

Where the officer’s juniors are promoted in the parent cadre, the officer can be given a proforma promotion under the Next Below Rule so that cadre seniority and pay progression are not lost because of the deputation. Performance appraisal reports (ACRs/APARs) earned during the deputation are written by the borrowing organisation and feed into promotion and empanelment decisions in the parent cadre.

The proposal must be sent by the Cadre Controlling Authority of the officer concerned. It requires the approval of the Minister-in-charge of the administrative Ministry / Department and must be accompanied by a No Objection Certificate from the borrowing State / UT Government.

The proposal must be sent on e-file, with a self-contained note, following the prescribed checklist. The key documents/details typically required are:

• Proposal text, and name / service / cadre / batch of the officer.
• Updated Executive Record Sheet or service profile, home State, and confirmation of nine years of service in Group ‘A’ where applicable.
• Vigilance status and date of filing of the latest Annual Immovable Property Return.
• Representation or consent of the officer; NOC from the concerned State Government / Cadre Controlling Authority.
• Cadre strength and in-position strength as on 1st January of the year, per the Civil List.
• Draft ACC note and point for consideration of ACC, where applicable; relevant rules / policy.
• Details if any relaxation of policy is sought, with administrative / functional justification.
• Approval of the Minister-in-charge in a self-contained note; cadre clearance details; pay level of the officer.
• Details of any earlier deputation to State / UT Governments or related entities, and the period of deputation for which approval is now sought.

The proposal is to be signed by an officer of Joint Secretary level or equivalent or above.

References seeking the approval of the designated Committee — before the case is submitted for approval by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) — must be made only on e-file, with details / self-contained notes, strictly in accordance with the procedure laid down in DoPT O.M. No. 43011/9/2014-Estt.D dated 28.10.2015 and Secretary (P), DoPT’s D.O. letter No. I-28029/30/2021-Coord dated 12.09.2022.