Govt extends tenure of all officers on central deputation till June

The Centre on Tuesday extended till June the tenure of all the officers of the rank of Deputy Secretary to Joint Secretary working on central deputation and due to complete their term this month end, according to a Personnel Ministry order.

However, this decision will not be applicable to those completing their tenure or extended tenure on superannuation, it said.

A decision extending the tenure was taken by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

ACC has approved the extension of tenure (except on completion of tenure/extended tenure on superannuation) of all the officers working as Deputy Secretary/Director/Joint Secretary or at the equivalent level (appointed under the Central Staffing Scheme or through Civil Services Board procedure) and completing their regular/extended tenure between the period from March 25 to April 30 for a period up to June 30, the order said.

The move assumes significance as the country is under 21-day lockdown to check the spread of COVID-19 scheduled to end on April 14 and the government is said to be mulling over possible extension in the lockdown period.