This trend reflects the Modi government’s attempt to break “babu dominance” and address the crunch of IAS officers available for deputation. In the past seven years, the IAS cadre at the level of joint and additional secretaries has systematically shrunk. A civil list prepared by the DoPT, updated in January this year, stated that the number of IAS officers posted as joint secretaries at the Centre was around 77.

In 2015, this number stood at 249 IAS officers (from a total of 391 joint secretaries), according to a 7th Central Pay Commission report published in November that year.

The number of IAS officers posted as additional secretaries also fell to 76 this year from 98 in 2015. The Centre has 108 posts for additional secretaries, as stated in the Central Pay Commission report. The encadred positions for additional secretaries has even gone down to around 34, while the rest are in-situ upgradation. Of the total 84 secretaries in the central government, 57 are IAS officers.

According to August 13 appointment order for joint secretaries, only two of 15 officers — promoted as joint secretaries and posted across ministries and departments — are from the IAS cadre, while the rest are non-IAS officers from the Central Civil Services (Group A). Another order dated 8 August for the appointment of 16 additional secretaries has 10 IAS officers, while the rest are from the other central services.

The IAS, the IPS and the IFoS are the only three All India Services. The Central Civil Services — officers of which the government is bringing to the fore — comprise services such as the Indian Revenue Service (IRS), the Indian Postal Service (IPoS), the Indian Audit and Accounts Service, the Indian Defence Accounts Service, the Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers (IRSEE), the Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS), etc. These allied services comprise domain experts, while the All India Service is meant for running the federal administration in the country.