Dilip Cherian | A great exodus: Why are India’s tax officers calling it quits?

Minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary recently informed Parliament that 853 IRS officers have taken Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) since 2014, the numbers showing no signs of abating. In 2014, 20 IRS (income tax) officers took VRS; by 2024, the number had almost tripled to 57. The customs and indirect taxes cadre saw a similar surge, with 24 officers opting out in 2014, rising to 73 in 2024. And while data on IAS and IPS officers taking VRS is not centrally maintained, anecdotal evidence suggests that they, too, are part of this growing exodus.

What’s driving this flight? For starters, the private sector offers better pay, more creative freedom and fewer bureaucratic shackles. With years of experience and insider knowledge, these officers are hot commodities for corporations eager to navigate India’s complex regulatory landscape.

However, there’s a deeper malaise. Critics argue that the centralisation of power under the Modi government and an increasingly hostile work environment are pushing officers to the edge. Many find themselves sidelined, their expertise underutilised, or their decision-making curtailed. For some, VRS is not just an escape but a statement.

If this trend continues, who will keep the machinery of governance running? India’s civil service is already overstretched, and losing experienced officers in droves doesn’t bode well for its future. Perhaps it’s time to address the elephant in the room — why the “steel frame” is beginning to buckle.

Retirement goals or Great Escape?

Retirement goals, anyone? Former SIB chief and retired IPS officer T. Prabhakar Rao has rewritten the playbook with a bold, some might say audacious gambit: seeking political asylum in the United States. While officials remain tight-lipped, reports suggest that Mr Rao has petitioned to be recognised as a “political refugee”, citing harassment from his former associates.

Now residing with his son in sunny Florida, Mr Rao appears to have traded bureaucratic files for medical reports as he undergoes cancer treatment. But this isn’t just a tale of a quiet retreat to American suburbia. Mr Rao’s departure comes under a cloud — he’s the prime accused in a phone-tapping case that has Telangana police scrambling to bring him back, red corner notice and all.

Here’s the timeline of his Houdini act: the case was filed on March 10, and by March 11, Mr Rao was boarding a flight to the US, leaving his alleged co-conspirators to fend off the law. That’s precision planning worthy of a thriller.

But Mr Rao’s move raises bigger questions. What if this sets a precedent? Could political asylum become the latest escape route for beleaguered IAS and IPS officers? After all, who wouldn’t want to swap bureaucratic turf wars for Floridian beaches under the guise of political persecution?

For the Indian civil services, this is more than just a scandal. It’s a moment of introspection. What does it say about the state of our bureaucracy when its stalwarts would rather flee than face the music? As Mr Rao basks in Florida’s sunshine, one thing is clear: this saga is far from over. Stay tuned.

Ping-pong policing: Jharkhand’s DGP drama

Jharkhand’s top police post seems to be less about law and order and more about political ping-pong. The tussle between chief minister Hemant Soren’s government and the Election Commission of India (EC) over the state’s DGP has turned into a spectacle of governance — or the lack thereof. The latest move? Anurag Gupta (IPS: 1990 batch) is back as DGP, replacing Ajay Kumar Singh (IPS: 1989 batch), who has been shuffled off to helm the Jharkhand Police Housing Corporation Ltd.

Mr Gupta was unceremoniously removed by the EC during the Assembly elections, with the Commission citing “administrative propriety”. Ajay Kumar Singh was installed in his place, plucked from a shortlist of three IPS officers, in what seemed like a final word on the matter. Now, Mr Gupta is back in the saddle, with Mr Singh now nudged into a corner office that sounds important but is far removed from the policing frontlines.

Just weeks after the Soren government took charge, the reshuffle seems more than coincidental. Is this a signal from Mr Soren of his intent to assert control? Or simply a redux of the tug-of-war that began under the EC’s watch?

This merry-go-round of appointments risks turning into a distraction from real policing priorities. Stability in leadership isn’t just a bureaucratic nicety or just a buzzword; it should mean something. But in Jharkhand, the DGP’s chair seems more like a revolving door than a seat of steady authority.