(This story originally appeared in on Feb 18, 2016)

NEW DELHI: Call it a nudge from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) or a default choice for government given Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officers seem unwilling to join the Centre – officers from non-IAS services have never had it as good as now for the crucial Joint Secretary positions.ET studied all appointment orders issued for Joint Secretary posts under the Modi Government to find that out of the nearly 260 such appointments made so far, as many as 100 posts were bagged by non-IAS officers, who for long have been considered the poor cousins of the elite IAS. Key ministries like Home, Petroleum , Defence, Mines, Road Transport and Power have seen multiple non-IAS appointments as Joint Secretaries – the key policymaking position in the bureaucracy hierarchy at the Centre.“It is a matter of suitability for the post, as well as availability,” Minister of State for Prime Minister’s Office and Ministry of Personnel, Jitendra Singh told ET, when asked if there was a conscious decision on appointing more non-IAS officers to JS level posts. The offer list with the Centre explains Singh’s comment.Out of 38 officers on the offer list as on date for JS level positions, only 5 are IAS officers. This indicates not many IAS officers fancy central deputations currently and wish to stay put in their respective states.“We see two reasons behind this – one a nudge from PMO to accommodate other services at Joint Secretary post; but the real reason seems the sheer shortage of IAS officers on offer list. The government has little choice,” a senior government official told ET, speaking on the condition of anonymity. He explained that while nearly 75 IAS officers either opted for premature repatriation to their state cadres in 2015 or were sent back to states by the Modi Government, there was no matching offers from IAS officers to come for central deputation at JS level posts.