A crackdown on the steel frame?

Last week, the Union government issued a circular that set new conditions for empanelling mid-level civil servants for appointment as joint secretaries in central ministries. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) stipulated that the qualifying service period for empanelment of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers as joint secretaries at the Centre would be 16 years.
 
Even earlier, an IAS officer would usually become eligible for empanelment as a joint secretary at the Centre after 16 years of service. However, in reality, many of them would get empanelled only after 18 years of service. For instance, officers belonging to