7th Pay Commission, Central Government Employees Latest News: Members of the All India services cannot receive awards that have monetary components such as cash or facilities.
Central Government Employees Latest News: Members of the All India services cannot receive awards that have monetary components such as cash or facilities. Also, the credentials of awarding bodies should be unimpeachable, according to a recent order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).
Read More: Indian Railways Update: Ticket Booking on 156 Ganpati Special Trains to start on June 27
The DoPT recently shared guidelines on the acceptance of awards from Government Bodies and Private organisations by members of All India Services (AIS).
In an Office Memorandum dated June 22, the DoPT shared the following clarifications, or restrictions, of acceptance of awards by AIS members.
- Awards given by Private Bodies/Institutions/Organizations may be accepted only with prior approval of the Competent Authority.
- In the case of officers serving in the State, the Competent Authority would be the State Government.
- In the case of officers serving in the Centre, the Competent Authority would be the Secretary of the Ministry/Department concerned. In the case of Secretaries to the Government of India, the Competent Authority would be the Cabinet Secretary.
As per the Office Memorandum, the Competent Authority may grant approval, only in exceptional circumstances, as mentioned above and subject to the following conditions:
- The award should not have any monetary component in the form of cash and/or facilities.
- Credentials of Private Bodies / Institutions / Organizations should be unimpeachable.
The DoPT’s clarification comes after it was observed that members of the AIS were accepting awards/recognition accorded by Private Bodies/Institutions/Organizations without following the stipulated instructions in their true spirit.
Members of the AIS are Central Government Employees who receive their salaries and allowances as per the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission.
Read More: Lost Your SBI Debit Card? Here’s How To Block Card Instantly Online Or Via SMS
Previous orders
DoPT’s letter No. 11017/71-93-AIS(III) dated 9th August 1994 said it was not appropriate for members of the AIS to accept awards from Private Bodies.
Earlier, DoPT’s Letter No. 11017/48/93-AIS(III) dated 20th October 1993, said: “awards sought to be given by private bodies and institutes to members of the AIS do not need to be encouraged, inter alia, because of the fact that there are various methods open to Government themselves to recognize the merits and service of a member of the AIS, and it would not be appropriate to accept an award from a private body.”
“In exceptional circumstances like rewarding the merit of an officer for work done outside the purview of his functions in Government or where Government otherwise thinks that an individual officer deserves a particular award, it was left to the discretion of the Competent Authority to decide in a reasonable and judicious manner, based on the main criterion that such an award should not have a monetary component,” it added.
