New Delhi: Only 153 IAS officers were appointed on central deputation under the central staffing scheme (CSS) in 2018-19, the lowest in the last five years, according to the latest data of personnel ministry. A total of 340 IAS officers were appointed under the CSS during 2014-15 as against 320 in 2015-16 and 247 during 2016-17, it said.

As many as 211 officers of the Indian Administrative Service were given posting at the Centre during 2017-18, said the annual report of the ministry.

The central staffing scheme, which is in operation for decades, provides a systematic arrangement for selection and appointment of eligible officers from the participating services at the level of deputy secretary, director, joint secretary, additional secretary and secretary in the Central government.

To encourage officers from participating services, including the IAS, to come on CSS, official communications are issued twice a year requesting all cadre authorities to nominate eligible officers for deputation.

Giving details of other Group A services like the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) and Indian Postal Service among others, the ministry said 196 appointments were made under the CSS in 2014-15.

A total of 237 such officers were appointed on central deputation in 2015-16, 246 in 2016-17, 171 in 2017-18 and 195 in 2018-19, the data said.

The personnel ministry data also indicates shortfall in the central deputation reserve or CDR that shows the number of officers presently on central deputation from each cadre.

IAS, IPS and IFoS officers are allocated cadre which is either state, a group of state or/and union territories. The total authorised strength of IAS officers is 6,500 as on January 1, 2019 and the CDR is 1,381. Out of these 1,381 IAS officers, there were 507 IAS officers working at the Centre.

Of the central deputation reserve of 74 IAS officers for Bihar cadre, 38 officers were working at the Centre. A total of 17 IAS officers of Gujarat cadre were posted at the Centre against 64, the personnel ministry data said.

As many as 44 IAS officers of Uttar Pradesh cadre were at the Centre as against its CDR of 134, 22 of Tamil Nadu (against 81), 18 of Rajasthan (against 64), 15 of Punjab (against 48), 20 of Odisha (against 51), 24 of Maharashtra cadre (against 78) and 28 of Madhya Pradesh against its reserve of 90, it said.

Kerala had sent 31 IAS officers to the Centre as against 50, 20 from Karnataka cadre against 68, ten of Jharkhand (against 45), 13 from Jammu and Kashmir (against 30), 26 from Himachal Pradesh (against 32), 12 from Haryana (against 44), seven from Chhattisgarh against its reserve of 38, 34 from Assam-Meghalaya cadre (against its reserve of 57) and 18 of Andhra Pradesh against 46 IAS officers.

For north eastern states, there were 11 IAS officers of Tripura cadre working at the Centre against 21, seven in Sikkim against its reserve of 10, nine of Nagaland against 20 and 15 of Manipur against 24, the data said.

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Jammu, May 12 (PTI): Security forces are engaging suspected drones observed along the International Border in Samba district of Jammu region on Monday, an Army said.

This fresh incident of drone activity along the borderline comes barely hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first address to the nation following Operation Sindoor and the meeting of the DGMOs of India and Pakistan.

The Army, however, said there is no need to be alarmed.

“A small number of suspected drones have been observed near Samba in J&K. They are being engaged,” it said.

In the backdrop of the situation, several areas witnessed blackouts in Samba, Kathua, Rajouri, and Jammu.

Lights were switched off at the cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi and along its track as a precautionary measure, sources said.

On Monday, talks between the DGMOs were held during which issues related to the continuing commitment that both sides must not fire a single shot or initiate any aggressive or inimical action against each other were discussed, the Indian Army said.

It was also agreed that both sides would consider immediate measures to ensure troop reduction along the borders and in forward areas, it added.

The situation remained largely peaceful across Jammu and Kashmir, with no incidents of ceasefire violation reported along the Indo-Pak border Sunday overnight — marking the first calm night after 18 days of hostilities following the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people — mostly tourists — dead.

India and Pakistan on Saturday reached an understanding to cease all firing and military actions on land, air, and sea with immediate effect, following four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes that brought the two countries to the brink of full-scale war.

Eighteen days of intense hostilities following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, which brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war, ended with a ceasefire that restored calm along the Line of Control, the International Border, and the hinterland in Jammu and Kashmir. The Army thwarted Pakistan’s Hamas-style kamikaze drone attacks during the escalation.

Since the night of April 24, hours after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistani troops repeatedly targeted Indian positions along the LoC — beginning in the Kashmir Valley and quickly expanding to the Jammu region.

The latest hostilities began in the northern districts of Kupwara and Baramulla in the Kashmir Valley, before spreading southwards to Rajouri, Poonch, Akhnoor, and the Pargwal sector along the International Border in Jammu district. The firing affected five border districts — Baramulla, Kupwara, Poonch, Rajouri, and Jammu.

The recent round of cross-border firing further undermined the ceasefire agreement reached in February 2021, which has largely been seen as ineffective due to Pakistan’s frequent violations along the 740-km-long LoC.

The April 22 terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 people — mostly tourists — in Pahalgam’s Baisaran valley, triggered a strong response from the central government.

The India-Pakistan border stretches over 3,300 kilometers, divided into three segments: the International Border (IB), spanning about 2,400 km from Gujarat to Akhnoor in Jammu; the 740-km-long Line of Control (LoC) that divides Jammu and Kashmir; and the 110-km-long Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL), which separates the Siachen Glacier region.