Don’t accept awards from private organizations without approval: Centre tells IAS, IPS, IFoS officers

New Delhi: Centre has asked IAS, IPS, and IFoS officers not to accept awards from private organizations without prior approval from the Competent Authority.

A GO has been issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions Department stating that the IAS, IPS, and IFoS officers should not have any monetary component in cash or terms of facilities when taking an award.

The move comes after the government noticed that members of all India 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.

According to the order, the competent authority may approve, only in exceptional circumstances, the officers, and in such cases, the credentials of the private bodies/institutions/organizations should be unimpeachable. The awards given by private bodies, institutions, or organizations may be accepted only with the prior approval of the competent authority.

The order was issued to all secretaries of central government ministries and chief secretaries of states.

“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,” the order read.

Citing its nearly three-decade-old instructions dated October 20, 1993, the 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 recognize 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 reasonably and judiciously, based on the main criterion that such an award should not have a monetary component.

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.