The department of personnel and training under the ministry of personnel, public grievance and pension has issued a letter to all the state chief secretaries informing about the new clarification on the inter cadre transfer policy of all India service officers on the ground of marriage.

In the letter (No. 13017/34/2011-AIS-I) dated August 22, 2012, under secretary S S Shukla has clarified the meaning of the term "deficit cadre" in the existing inter cadre transfer policy of the deaprtment. According to the exisiting policy, the officer couple seeking inter cadre transfers should "normally be transferred to one of the two Cadres on which they are borne.In case of refusal of both Cadres to accept the officers, in the first instance, the matter should be taken up formally a second time with both the cadres. In cases of continued refusal of both the cadres to accept the officers on grounds that are deemed by the Central Government to be genuine and satisfactory, the couple shall be transferred to one of the deficit cadres with concurrence of the State Government concerned".

Shukla has mentioned that a "deficit cadre is one where there is a maximum percentage of shortfall of direct recruit officers vis-a-vis the direct recruit cadre strength".

The letter further clarifies that the shortfall in a cadre is to be computed on the basis of civil list of AIS prevailing at the time of application for the transfer. In case of continued denial from the cadre in which the officers are borne, a third cadre will assimilate the officer couple, for which the central government will have to identify three cadres which have the maximum deficit of direct recruit officers. The couple seeking transfer will be given a choice of these three cadres.

This procedure for inter cadre transfer of AIS officers to third cadre on the ground of marriage would be applicable in all the cases which are pending for consideration and also those cases which would be received in future, the letter further says.