Raj cadre IAS lagging in central promotions?

Jaipur: The 1993 batch Rajasthan cadre IAS officer Alok, who is currently on deputation, has been given a new assignment. He has been appointed as Additional Secretary in Disaster Management Authority under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Till now, he had been serving as Member (Administration) in the National Highways Authority. Alok has been given this role as his three year stint in Highways Authority has ended.

Alok went on Central deputation in January 2020 and this happened after the State Government gave a NOC after much tussle owing to the dearth of senior IAS officials in the State. Prior to going to Delhi, Alok served as Roadways MD and during this, he took several decisions regarding purchase of new buses. Alok had served in the Centre from 2010 to 2014 as well. He still has four years to his retirement and in that time frame, he will be promoted to Secretary level and thus, his chances of returning to Rajasthan are negligible.

As of now, in the Centre, there are 5 Raj cadre IAS officers as Secretary, 6 as Additional Secretary and 4 as Joint Secretary. The 1993 batch IAS Sandeep Verma is eagerly awaiting a call from Centre for the post of Additional Secretary. He has worked in the Centre earlier also from September 2010 to October 2013. In fact, officials junior to him have now started becoming Additional Secretary. Similarly, the 1995 batch IAS officer Praveen Gupta is also awaiting his promotion to Joint Secretary rank, whereas, the 2003 batch IAS have become Joint Secretary. The 1994 batch IAS Naresh Pal Gangwar has also fallen behind in the race.