Namrata Biji Ahuja
New Delhi, Jan. 26: The UPA government is planning an emergency recruitment drive to meet the shortfall of Indian Police Service Officers, the first such emergency exercise in post-Independence India.The Union home ministry is finalising a proposal to hold special examinations for direct recruitment of officers from the Central Police Organisations (CPOs) and Central Paramilitary Forces (CPFs) to induct them into the elite IPS.
Union home minister P. Chidambaram had last year said the acute shortage of IPS officers was a result of neglect between 1999 to 2004, the period when the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA government was in power.
The UPA government’s plan is to recruit 70 IPS officers per year for 10 years as part of the competitive examinations to be conducted by the Union Public Service Commission.
The ministry is likely to finalise its proposal in a fortnight.
"Once we take a view, we shall approach the UPSC, the constitutional body tasked with the recruitment to All-India Services, for consultations," a top government official said.
According to the proposal being drafted by the home ministry, the competitive examinations would be open to assistant commandants with at least five years experience in the five major CPOs and CPFs — the CRPF, BSF, ITBP, SSB and CISF. Keen on bringing in young blood from the CPOs and CPFs, the age limit set for such examinations is expected to be less than 35 years.
"There would be further relaxations in norms for the reserved category," a top MHA official said. The ministry is yet to take a final view on allowing state police forces to participate in the proposed special examinations for recruitment to the IPS.
The home ministry has completed a cadre review of 12 states raising the number of posts at each level within the state police forces. "Almost 95 per cent of the demands of states have been met. The review has been done by assessing the requirement of IPS officers, demands by each state and the availability of officers," the official said.
There was a shortage of 557 officers in the Indian Police Service in 2009.
The MHA had constituted a one-man committee on "Recruitment Plan (2009-2020) for the Indian Police Service", headed by retired IPS officer Kamal Kumar, last year to address the acute shortage. The report had recommended setting the age limit for the examinations at 45 years, but the ministry is keen on bringing it down further to avoid the problem of recruits reaching the retirement age soon.