The Modi government has banned retired senior civil servants from the Indian Administrative Service and Indian Police Service from writing books on sensitive issues they may have dealt with during their service in the IAS and IPS.

The move comes ahead of two retired security experts planning to write a book against the government's Pakistan policy.

On Wednesday, a former Cabinet secretary wrote an article in a newspaper that did not entirely absolve the central government in the row over the West Bengal chief secretary.

The stringent circular, issued by the ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions, makes it clear that no government servant, who has worked in any intelligence or security-related organisation, shall 'make any publication after retirement without a prior clearance from the head of the organisation'.