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New Delhi: The Union home ministry has made it mandatory for Indian Police Service (IPS) officers to serve a minimum two-year central stint as superintendent of police (SP) or deputy inspector general (DIG), to be eligible for posting as inspector general of police (IGP) in the Union govt. The rule will apply to IPS officers from 2011 batch onwards. The home ministry, in a letter sent to all state chief secretaries on Jan 28, directed that “a minimum 2 years of central experience at SP/DIG or equivalent level shall be mandatory for empanelment of IPS officers at IG/equivalent level at the Centre from 2011 batch onwards”.The modified guidelines for empanelment of IPS officers for an IG-level or equivalent post at the Centre, are in line with existing guidelines for IAS officers. The latter make it compulsory for IAS officers to serve at the Centre for two years as deputy secretary, director or under-secretary, before they are empanelled for a joint secretary-level post in the Union govt.Apart from making available IPS officers allocated to different states cadres for filling up vacant posts in the central armed police forces (CAPFs) and central police organisations (CPOs) such as CBI, NIA and Intelligence Bureau, the new empanelment guidelines will ensure that IPS officers have a varied experience of having served both in their parent cadre and at the Centre early and mid-career, before they aspire for an IG-level deputation with the Union govt. As per the vacancy position in CAPFs and CPOs on Dec 23, 2025, 104 of the sanctioned 229 SP-level posts and 69 of the 256 sanctioned posts at the DIG level, are vacant.The last IPS batch allocated to various state cadres, to be empanelled for post of IG or equivalent, was 2007. The 2011 batch may be due for empanelment in the next three years or so, which gives them time to serve at the SP and DIG level at the Centre if they haven’t served outside their parent cadre yet.Some states already experiencing shortage of SP and DIG-level officers may however find it difficult to spare more officers at this level, to fulfil the new eligibility criteria for empanelment as IG or equivalent at the Centre.
