New Guidelines For Bureaucrats On Awards From Private Organisations

The Centre has made prior approval mandatory for IAS, IPS and IFoS officers before accepting any award from private organisations but with a condition that it should not have any monetary component in cash in terms of facilities.

In the latest order, the Personnel Ministry said the competent authority may grant approval, only in exceptional circumstances, to the officers and in such cases, credentials of the private bodies/institutions/organisations should be unimpeachable.

The move comes after the government noticed that members of all Indian services -- Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFoS) -- are accepting awards or recognition accorded by private bodies, despite the existing instructions.

Accordingly, it is clarified that awards given by private bodies, institutions or organisations may be accepted only with prior approval of competent authority, said the order issued to all secretaries of central government ministries and chief secretaries of states on Thursday.

In the case of officers serving in the state, the competent authority would be the state government.

"In the case of officers serving in the Centre, the competent authority would be the secretary of the ministry/ department concerned. In case of secretaries to the Government of India, the competent authority would be the Cabinet Secretary," it said.

The competent authority may grant approval, only in exceptional circumstances, subject to the condition that "the award should not have any monetary component in the form of cash and/or facilities", the order said, seeking its "strict adherence".

Citing its nearly three-decade-old instructions, the Personnel Ministry said that awards sought to be given by private bodies and institutes to members of all India services (AIS) do not need to be encouraged, inter alia, because there are various methods open to the government themselves to recognise their merit and service, and it would not be appropriate to accept an award from a private body.

In exceptional circumstances like rewarding the merit of an officer for work done outside the purview of his functions in government or where government otherwise thinks that an individual officer deserves a particular award, it was left to the discretion of the competent authority to decide in a reasonable and judicious manner, based on the main criterion that such an award should not have a monetary component, the ministry said referring to its letter dated October 20, 1993.

It was further clarified via another letter dated August 9, 1994, that it is not appropriate for members of the AIS to accept awards from private bodies, the order added.