Rule 21: Terms and Conditions of Appointment and Service of Officers and Employees of Board
Rule 21 covers the Board's own staff — not its Chairperson and Members (that's Rules 17-18), but the officers and employees who do its day-to-day work.
Quick summary
What Rule 21 says
- The Board may, with the Central Government's prior approval, appoint officers and employees on deputation from the Central Government, a State Government, an autonomous body, a statutory body, or a public sector enterprise, for up to five years.
- The Board may also take on deputation any officer or employee from the National Institute for Smart Government, for up to five years, with market-standard salary and terms.
- Terms and conditions of service for the Board's officers and employees — gratuity, travelling allowance, medical assistance, leave, leave travel concession, and general conduct/discipline rules — are set out in the Sixth Schedule.
Breaking it down
The practical takeaway: the Board's operational staff are largely drawn on deputation from existing government and public-sector bodies, rather than hired as an entirely fresh, independent workforce.
Deputation, capped at five years. Both routes — government/statutory-body deputation and National Institute for Smart Government deputation — are capped at five years, meaning the Board's staff bring in outside institutional experience on a rotating basis rather than being permanent Board-only career employees.
Their service terms broadly mirror government service. The Sixth Schedule ties gratuity, leave, medical assistance and conduct rules closely to existing Central Government service rules, rather than creating a bespoke HR framework from scratch.
Why this rule matters
Like Rules 17-19, this is mostly institutional plumbing — relevant if you want to understand who's actually staffing the Board day to day (experienced government-service deputees, not a from-scratch new bureaucracy), but it doesn't create any obligation outside the Board itself.
Real-world example
Who needs to care about this rule
- Mostly relevant as background — this rule creates no obligation for businesses or individuals.
Common questions
Does this rule affect how businesses interact with the Board?
How long can an officer serve the Board on deputation?
Where are the Board staff's detailed service terms set out?
Related rules
Rule 20 — Functioning of Board as Digital Office
Read the previous rule in sequence.
Read Rule 20Rule 22 — Appeal to Appellate Tribunal
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Read Rule 22Full DPDP Rules Guide
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