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Govt move to cut promotions shocks scientists

Scientists across the country are in uproar over a government ''memorandum'' drastically limiting promotion avenues for those not working in strategic areas such as atomic energy, space and defence.

The memorandum, dated November 10, rejects the demand made by the Fifth Central Pay Commission that the flexible complementing scheme be made applicable to all scientific departments.

However, ''the existing scheme of merit-based promotion system covering groups A, B, and C personnel as presently applicable in the departments of atomic energy, space and the Defence Research and Development Organisation will continue,'' the memorandum said.

Also rejected is the recommendation of the Pay Commission to ''define scientific administrators and to exclude them from the benefit of in-situ promotions and to bring them under the ambit of 'assured career progression scheme.''

Further, the FCS will now be made applicable ''only to scientists and technologists holding scientific posts in scientific and technology departments and who are engaged in scientific activities and services.''

Senior scientists reacted strongly to the notification saying that it was an attempt to ''divide the nearly 100,000-odd personnel employed in government laboratories and institutions and discriminate against those working in peaceful sciences like medicine and agriculture.''

''The government has succumbed to the IAS lobby which has ensured that science and scientists cannot flourish in this country,'' a senior scientist at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research said.

Several scientific officers in the departments of science and technology, the department of electronics and the department of biotechnology said that they were angered by the memorandum but were afraid to speak out.

According to the memorandum, promotion under FCS will now be ''rigorous with due emphasis on evaluation of scientific and technical knowledge'' so that only the scientists who have to their 'credit demonstrable achievements' or higher level of technical merit could ensure their career advancement.

While not all institutions can now be identified as scientific and technological institutions, organisations demanding extension of FCS will have to prove their credentials as well as that of their personnel.

Assessment of confidential reports of those applying for FCS will from now be subject to scrutiny by a committee which includes an external member from the departments of atomic energy, space or the DRDO since they have a ''fine-tuned system of screening in meritorious scientists.''

Top brass in the scientific establishment insisted that things were still in a stage of consultation and insisted that it was an ''internal matter which could not be shared with the press.''

Some of those affected blamed the ''IAS lobby'' but could not explain how secretaries in non-strategic departments who were scientists rather than bureaucrats had endorsed a memorandum which re-establishes the superiority of the ''babu.''

''The prime minister may speak of 'jai vigyan' but what is happending is jai bureaucrat,'' said a biotechnologist.

The FCS which gives scientists a slight edge over bureaucrats and is meant to counter the brain drain, has been a bone of contention for some time.

For some time the bureaucracy has been steadily whittling away at the privilege in the same manner they have been working to undermine the non-practising allowance paid to government doctors.

Both scientists and doctors have argued before the Pay Commission that they enter government service later than bureaucrats simply because they spent more time in universities - but to no avail.

Before the Fifth Pay Commission, a career bureaucrat needed to have put in 20 years of service before he reached the level of joint secretary while scientists could reach equivalent ranking in 18 years.

The memorandum puts the boot on the other foot. While it now takes 18 years for bureaucrats to reach the joint-secretary level, it would take the best non-strategic scientist 21 years to get to the equivalent rank of scientist-G.

''In fact it is now virtually impossible for a scientist to cross the joint-secretary level in the normal course while earlier scientists could get to the additional secretary stage,'' one scientist said.

When generalists (bureaucrats) are giving way to specialists (scientists) the world over India is running in reverse gear despite the tall promises of the government,'' he added.

UNI

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