Relaxation in the eligibility service – change in the crucial date 1st January – DoPT Order

Crucial date of eligibility for promotion

Latest DoPT Orders 2021

F. No. AB-14017/17/2018 -Estt. RR

Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, P.G. & Pensions
Department of Personnel & Training

North Block, New Delhi
Date: 12th August, 2021

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Subject: Relaxation in the eligibility service – change in the crucial date i.e. 1st January – regarding

As per instructions contained in DoPT’s OM No.22011/4/ 2013-Estt.(D) dated 8.5.2017, Ministries/Departments, which were mostly following Financial Year (April – March) based vacancy year system till 2017-18 for promotion to various grades, were required to shift to Calendar Year (January to December) based vacancy year from the year 2018 onwards. Consequently, the crucial date for determining eligibility also changed from 1st April to 1st January.

2. Due to the shift in the vacancy year and consequent change in the crucial date for determining eligibility, employees, who were completing eligibility service as on 1st April of the vacancy year, were not becoming eligible for consideration for promotion in that vacancy year and that such these employees were becoming eligible for consideration for promotion for vacancies arising only next year w.e.f 1st January, subject to fulfillment of other conditions.
3. Requests have been received for the vacancy year 2019 onwards, requesting for grant of relaxation of eligibility service by upto 3 months as on the crucial date of 1st January, on the grounds of shifting of vacancy year from financial year-wise to calendar year-wise, to enable employees to be considered for promotion in that year and that this Department has been granting relaxation, on case to case basis, for the Vacancy Years 2019, 2020 and 2021.
4. With a view to enable timely holding of DPCs, where the recruitment has been shifted from financial year-wise to calendar year-wise, in the light of DoPT’s OM dated 8.5.20 17, it has been decided in consultation with the Union Public Service Commission and approval of the competent authority, to delegate powers to the Administrative Ministries and Departments (Cadre Controlling Authorities) to relax the eligibility service prescribed in the Recruitment Rules/Service Rules (RRs/SRs) for these posts/cadre, as on the crucial date viz. 1st January, 2021, for upto a maximum period of 3 months. Relaxation in eligibility service is to be accorded in such cases where the employees would have been eligible for being considered for promotion as on 1st April, 2021, but due to change in the crucial date to 1st January, 2021, they become ineligible for being considered for promotion during 2021. Similar relaxation is permitted for vacancy years 2022 and 2023, as indicated in the table below:

5. No delegation of relaxation of eligibility service so granted to Administrative Ministries/Departments shall be available for vacancy year 2024. Further, the relaxation is subject to the condition that actual promotions are effected only after completion of the eligibility service prescribed in the Recruitment Rules/Service Rules.
6. If case any RRs/SRs, prescribe a different crucial date of eligibility, other than January, the concerned Administrative Ministry/Department would have to necessarily amend the SRs/RRs and align the same with extant instructions by prescribing the crucial date as 1st January of the vacancy year.

Rajeev Bahree
Under Secretary to the Government of India