No. 1-11011/16/2022-CRD
Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
Department of Personnel and Training
Dated: 30th September, 2022.
Office Memorandum
Subject: Consolidated guidelines on cadre review of Central Civil Services.
The Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) is the nodal agency of the Government of India for personnel management policies. As such, although cadre management and cadre reviewing are primarily the concern of individual Cadre Controlling Authorities (CCAs), the responsibility for laying down standards in the matter and for coordination rests with the DoPT in accordance with its role as nodal agency for formulation and evaluation of personnel policies in Government of India.
2. The concept of cadre review owes its origin to the recommendations made by the First Administrative Reforms Commission in its Report on Personnel Administration released in 1969, The Government of India had accepted recommendation of the ARC and vide OM No. 5/1/71- PP (Vol VI} dated 6" May 1972, a Cadre Review Committee (CRC) was constituted under the Chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary with Secretary of the Ministry controlling the Cadre, Secretary of DoPT and Secretary of Department of
Expenditure (DoE) in Ministry of Finance as members of the Committee. Vide the said OM, the Department has also issued certain broad guidelines for objective cadre management. As a part of this Department's endeavour to keep the personnel policies relevant to current and future needs, various instructions were issued on the cadre review.
3. Cadre review encompasses several key elements of cadre management such as formation of service, manpower projection, recruitment planning, training, deputation, encadrement, decadrement, creation of posts, managing reserves, etc. It helps realign a service to the everchanging organizational needs and maintain congruence between functional needs and legitimate aspirations of the officers. The main thrust of cadre review is on manpower projections and recruitment planning on scientific lines aiming at the same time at rationalization of the existing cadre structure of a Service in accordance with certain predefined principles and a given set of objectives like improving the efficiency, morale and effectiveness of the cadre.
However, of late, the cadre management has not been getting due attention or has been misconstrued as a process of upgrading downgrading or creation of cadre posts only, which over a period of time has led to serious distortions in the cadre/service. Hence, keeping in view the issues noticed by the Department while conducting cadre review of various Central Group ‘A’ Services after
