IB wants anonymity allowance, CBI wants probe perk

After hiking emoluments for Central forces like the National Security Guards and the Special Protection Group, the Goverment is finding itse...

After hiking emoluments for Central forces like the National Security Guards and the Special Protection Group, the Goverment is finding itself under pressure to do the same for its intelligence and investigating agencies.

Two proposals are under active consideration. One, from the Intelligence Bureau: its longstanding demand of a 25% hike in salaries of its field staff as an ‘‘anonymity allowance.’’

The CBI, too, wants a 25% hike as ‘‘investigating allowance’’ saying that it’s not being able to attract talent.

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Government officials say that, among others, the IB’s proposal is being examined by National Security Advisor, M K Narayanan, who has been a former head of the internal intelligence agency.

Seaking to The Indian Express, Secretary (Personnel), A N Tewari said: ‘‘I cannot comment about any upcoming hike for IB. But this may be looked at together with the CBI’s demand of attracting better talent with an additional allowance. Extra allowances have been given to certain uniformed forces seeing the hardships they face or the terrain and climate they operate in.’’

Sources said that the IB demand, if met, will affect only the agency’s field staff, say, below the rank of Superintendents. The logic: these officers are posted as under-cover operatives, often in remote areas and have to hire houses and personal staff at rates higher than those in the market.

Of course, officials say, eventually the allowance may not be termed as an anonymity allowance, but simply as a ‘‘service allowance.’’ With the CBI facing a 20% shortfall in staff, agency director U S Mishra is known to have given the Government a comparative estimate of CBI salaries and the perks and allowances which several state vigilance departments give their staff.

Ritu Sarin

Ritu Sarin is Executive Editor (News and Investigations) at The Indian Express group. Her areas of specialisation include internal security, money laundering and corruption. Sarin is one of India’s most renowned reporters and has a career in journalism of over four decades. She is a member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) since 1999 and since early 2023, a member of its Board of Directors. She has also been a founder member of the ICIJ Network Committee (INC). She has, to begin with, alone, and later led teams which have worked on ICIJ’s Offshore Leaks, Swiss Leaks, the Pulitzer Prize winning Panama Papers, Paradise Papers, Implant Files, Fincen Files, Pandora Papers, the Uber Files and Deforestation Inc. She has conducted investigative journalism workshops and addressed investigative journalism conferences with a specialisation on collaborative journalism in several countries. ... Read More

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