Setting up of Search Committees / Search-cum-Selection Committees: DOPT O.M

Setting up of Search Committees/Search-cum-Selection Committees

No.AB.14017/24/2022-Estt.(RR)
Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions,
Department of Personnel and Training

Dated the 31st August, 2022

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Subject: Setting up of Search Committees/Search-cum-Selection Committees – regarding

The undersigned is directed to say that this Department’s OM NO. AB- 14017/11/2004-Estt.(RR) dated 30.7.2007, containing consolidated instructions on constitution of Search-cum-Selection Committees containing the circumstances under which such Committees are to be constituted and the guidelines to be adopted while constituting these Committees and subsequent OMs issued on the said subject, details of which are given in Appendix to this O.M., have been reviewed and it has been decided to issue a comprehensive Office Memorandum containing the principles and guidelines to be followed by all concerned while setting up Search Committees and Search-cum-Selection Committees (for posts in autonomous organizations)

2. Accordingly, in supersession of all the OMs mentioned in the Appendix, consolidated and revised instructions on constitution of Search Committees and Search-cum-Selection Committees is attached as Annexure to this Office Memorandum.

3. All Ministries/ Departments are requested to bring the above guidelines to the notice of all concerned.

4. Hindi version will follow.

(A Bhattacharya)
Deputy Secretary to Govt. of India

Annexure to No. AB-14017/24/2022-Estt.(RR) dated 31.8.2022

Constitution of Search Committees and Search-cum-Selection Committees in respect of posts, other than those which are governed by separate instructions issued by Office of Establishment Officer, Department of Personnel and Training.

The following instructions contain the principles to be kept in view, while setting up Search Committees/Search-cum-Selection Committees, including posts in autonomous and statutory bodies, other than those which are under the purview of Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) and for which separate instructions have been issued by the Office of Establishment Officer, Department of Personnel and Training.

2. Search Committees for posts in Central Government

In accordance with the guidelines of this Department, immediately after a post is created, the Recruitment Rules for the same should be framed, if the post is likely to continue for one year or more. Action to fill up the post, as per the provisions in the Recruitment Rules, has to be initiated as the procedure of Search Committee cannot be a substitute for the normal recruitment process.

2.1 Situations in which Search Committees may be constituted for posts under the Central Government and their composition.

1. The post involved should not fall under the purview of the UPSC.
2. Since, as a rule, appointments in the Central Government are to be made on the basis of open advertisement, this requirement has to be followed without fail, and it is only in situations where advertisement may not result in adequate response, that a Search Committee should normally be appointed.
3. Constitution of Search Committees cannot be a substitute for advertisement of posts and their role is only to supplement the recruitment effort through advertisements.
4. Search Committees should be constituted only for sufficiently senior posts i.e. posts in Level-13 and above, which require specialized scientific/technical knowledge and experience.
5. The composition of the Search Committee needs to be approved by the Department of Personnel and Training in each case, if the post proposed to be filled by this procedure is in Pay Level – 14 and above.
6. The Committee should be chaired by the Secretary of the Ministry/Department concerned. Where it is constituted for a Secretary-level post, a senior and distinguished academician may be invited to chair the Committee. However, wherever retired Secretaries to Govt. of India are eligible to apply for the post, Cabinet Secretary shall be the Chairperson of Search Committee/Search-cum Selection Committee.
7. The Committee should normally consist of not more than 5 members including the Chairman.
8. Where serving officers of Government, Autonomous Bodies, PSEs etc. are nominated as Members, they should be at least one level above the post to which appointment is being made.
9. No person who is a recipient of grants/funding from the Ministry concerned or who is closely related to a recipient should be proposed as a Member of the Committee.
10. The composition of the Committee should be well-balanced. At least one Expert Member should be nominated having acknowledged expertise in the field of specialization relevant to the post for which the Committee is being constituted.
11. At least half the number of Members should be from outside the Ministry/Department, which administers the post.
12. The tendency, repeatedly to rely on the same experts for several recruitments over long periods of time, is to be avoided. It is necessary to infuse fresh blood in such Committees in order to ensure that they identify the right candidate for the post.
13. In some cases, the Recruitment or Statutory Rules themselves prescribe com position of Search Committee/Search-cum Selection Committee. It should be ensured that each time the Committee is to be constituted, it should strictly comply with the composition provided in the Rules. Wherever it is necessary, amendments to the Rules may be carried out to ensure that the composition of the Committee is in conformity with these instructions.

2.2 Other Conditions

1. A minimum period of at least four weeks may be given to the candidates to apply in response to the circular/advertisement for appointment to such posts.
2. The Search Committees/Search-cum-Selection Committees should preferably recommend a panel of names, in the order of merit, unless only a single candidate has been found suitable for the post.
3. The panel recommended by the Committee will remain valid for one year. The panel recommended by the Committee will have to be accepted in toto by the Ministry/Department. Any deviation in such matters will require the prior approval of ACC.
4. If no selection is made from the panel within the period of one year, the Committee shall be constituted afresh to recommend a fresh panel. Such a Committee may also consider the names of persons recommended in the earlier panel.
5. Where the post falls under the purview of ACC, scrapping of the panel would require prior approval of ACC.
6. Where the composition of the Search Committee is to be approved by the Department of Personnel and Training, Ministries/Departments are to submit their proposal for constitution of the Committee through an e-mail to the Director/Deputy Secretary/Under Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training dealing with the subject of Search Committee/ Search-cum-Selection Committee.
7. The proposal should be accompanied by a duly filled in Check-list (as per format in para 6), copy of the Statutory/Recruitment Rules containing composition of the Committee or mode of appointment, brief Profile of the Expert Member(s), previous approval of Department of Personnel and Training to the Committee for the said post etc.

3. Search-cum-Selection Committees for posts in autonomous/statutory bodies etc.

3.1 Situations in which Search-cum-Selection Committees may be constituted for posts under statutory/autonomous bodies and their composition.

• Each Ministry/Department shall constitute a Search-cum-Select ion Committee, with the concurrence of the Department of Personnel and Training, for (a) post of Chief Executive irrespective of the Pay Level and (b) posts below Chief Executive in Pay Level – 14 and above.
• The post involved should not fall under the purview of the UPSC.
• Constitution of the Committee cannot be a substitute for advertisement of posts and therefore such posts have to be advertised and the Committee would only supplement the recruitment effort through advertisements.
• The Committee should preferably be chaired by the Secretary of the administrative Ministry/Department concerned. In case, it is not found feasible, Chairperson of the Committee should be a distinguished person of sufficiently high standing commensurate with the level of the post for which selection is to be recommended by the Committee. For posts in Level- 14, the Chairperson of the Committee should preferably be an officer from the administrative Ministry/Department in Pay Level-15 or above (eg. Additional Secretary /Special Secretary).
• Wherever retired Secretaries to Govt. of India are eligible to apply for the post, Cabinet Secretary shall be the Chairperson of Search-cum Selection Committee.
• The Committee should normally consist of not more than five members including the Chairman.
• The composition of the Committee should be well-balanced. At least one Expert Member, preferably two Expert Members, should be nominated having acknowledged expertise in the field of specialization relevant to the post for which the Committee is being constituted.
• At least half the number of Members should be from outside the Ministry/Department, which administers the post, including organisations under the administrative control of the Ministry/ Department.
• Where serving officers of Central Government, PSEs, Statutory /Autonomous Bodies, Research Institution, University etc. are nominated as Members, they should be at least one level above the post to which appointment is being made.
• Where an officer retired from the Central Government, PSE, Statutory/Autonomous Body, Research Institution, University etc. is nominated as a Member, the Pay Level from which retired would not be relevant. However, such a retired official may be included only as an Expert Member, provided he/she has acknowledged expertise in the field of specialization relevant to the post for which selection is to be made.
• No person who is a recipient of grants/ funding from the Ministry/Department concerned or who is closely related to a recipient should be proposed as a Member of the Committee.
• The tendency, repeatedly to rely on the same experts for several recruitments over long periods of time, is to be avoided. It is necessary to infuse fresh blood in such Committees in order to ensure that they identify the right candidate for the post.
• In some cases, the Recruitment or Statutory Rules themselves prescribe composition of Search Committee/Search-cum Selection Committee. It should be ensured that each time the Committee is to be constituted, it should strictly comply with the composition provided in the Rules. Where the composition is not provided in the Statutory Rules or Recruitment Rules/Regulations for the post involved, amendments to the Rules may be carried out by the administrative Ministry/Department to ensure that the composition of the Committee is provided in the Rules itself.
• All appointments, which are covered by specific statutes, are to be carried out on the basis of the statutory provisions. Wherever the statutes provide for appointment to a post with the approval of the Central Government, the appointment to the post of Chief Executives in Pay Level – 14 and above, will be within the purview of ACC and the Search-cum-Selection Committee mechanism envisaged in these instructions will apply.
• Extension in tenure of persons other than the Chief Executives shall also be considered by the Search-cum-Selection Committee and its recommendations shall be accepted by the Ministry/Department. Any proposal to reject the recommendations will require the approval of the ACC. Authority for approval of extension in tenure of Chief Executives will rest with the ACC.

3.2 Other Conditions

• A minimum period of at least four weeks may be given to the candidates to apply in response to the circular/advertisement for appointment to such posts. The vacancy shall be given wide publicity through open advertisement, publication in leading newspapers/ periodicals, circulation among various Ministries/ Departments/State Governments/Autonomous Bodies/Research Institutes etc., as also made available on the website of the Ministry/Department.
• The Search-cum-Selection Committee should preferably recommend a panel of names, in the order of merit, unless only a single candidate has been found suitable for the post.
• The panel recommended by the Committee will remain valid for one year. The panel recommended by the Committee will have to be accepted in toto by the Ministry/Department. Any deviation in such matters will require the prior approval of ACC.
• If no selection is made from the panel within the period of one year, the Committee shall be constituted afresh to recommend a fresh panel. Such a Committee may also consider the names of persons recommended in the earlier panel.
• Where the post falls under the purview of ACC, scrapping of the panel would require prior approval of ACC.
• Where the composition of the Search-cum-Selection Committee is to be approved by the Department of Personnel and Training, Ministries/Departments are to s·ubmit their proposal for constitution of the Committee through an e-mail to the Director/Deputy Secretary/Under Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training dealing with the subject of Search Committee/Search-cum-Selection Committee.
• The proposal should be accompanied by a duly filled in Check-list (as per format in para 6), copy of the Statutory/Recruitment Rules containing composition of the Committee or mode of appointment, brief Profile of the Expert Member(s), previous approval of Department of Personnel and Training to the Committee for the said post etc.

4. All autonomous institutions, which are not set up under their own statutes, shall modify their Memoranda and Articles of Association, Bye-laws etc. in order to incorporate fully these guidelines. The institutions shall report compliance to the Department of Personnel and Training through the administrative Ministry/Department along with copies of their revised Memoranda/Articles of Association, Bye-laws etc. These institutions, thereafter, shall not be required to take approval of Department of Personnel and Training each time for the Search-cum-Selection Committee constituted by them. The institutions shall, however, send a copy of the Search-cum-Selection Committees constituted by them to the Department of Personnel and Training.

5. Vide GSR 109(E) dated 12.2.2020, Department of Revenue has notified the Tribunal, Appellate Tribunal and other Authorities [Qualifications, Experience and other Conditions of Service of Members] Rules, 2020. Schedule to these Rules contain the specific composition of Search-cum-Selection Committee for posts of Chairman, President, Presiding Officer, Vice-Chairperson, Vice-President, and Members (eg. Judicial, Administrative etc.) of 19 Tribunals mentioned therein. Prior approval of Department of Personnel and Training would not be required to be obtained for constitution of Search-cum-Selection Committee, for the posts in these 19 Tribunals mentioned in the Schedule to the aforesaid Rules.

6. Format of Check-list to accompany the proposal for constitution of ScSC:

APPENDIX TO O.M. NO. AB-14017/24/2022-Estt.  (RR) DATED 31.8.2022

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