In-service senior IPS officer speculated to be PPSC Chairman
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in News/ March 10,2025
Speculations are rife in the bureaucratic circles of Punjab that former chief director of Punjab Vigilance Bureau, Varinder Kumar, IPS, is going to be the next Chairman of Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC).
The state government has already invited the application for the post of Chairman, PPSC on 26.11.2024, 14.12.2024, 24.12.2024 and again of January 13,2025 for the post of Chairman. The deadline for submission of applications is 5:00 PM on March 15, 2025.
As per sources,” Varinder Kumar, 1993 Punjab cadre IPS officer will take pre-mature retirement to join of the key constitutional post. The state government has not given him any posting after he was relived as Chief Director, Vigilance Bureau.He is going to retire on July 31,2025.”
The post of regular PPSC Chairman is vacant since January 3,2025 after Jatinder Singh Aulakh’s one year term as Chairman Punjab Public Service Commission ended on January 3,2025. He had taken the reins of PPSC on January 29, 2024.
If appointed, Kumar will be the second IPS officer to be appointed as the Chairman, PPSC. Kumar is is M.SC.(Physics),M.Phil., M.A. (Police Management).
He remained on key posts during his service. He had led the Vigilance Bureau since June 2022 till February 2025 and considered close to chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann.
On February 21,2025 the state government had appointed the lone working member of the commission, Author and Columnist Harmohan Kaur Sandhu (Bubbu Tir) as the officiating Chairman (additional charge) of the PPSC.
In the last cabinet meeting, the state government had revised the pay structure of PPSC Chairman and its Members, signaling that the state government is adjusting bureaucrats after the retirement or who are going to retire. The bureaucrats get lesser pay as PPSC Chairman, Member, from the post they held while serving as civil servants.
Now, the cabinet had approved the pay of the PPSC Chairman and its Members. The pay of Chairman has been fixed at Rs 1,82,200 in addition to all other financial benefits that are given to the rank of the Principal Secretary. If a retired employee is appointed as the Chairman, he will receive the last pay received by him at the time of his retirement or Rs 1,82,200, whichever is higher, subject to a maximum of Rs 2.25 lakh per month. Till date, their salary was in the scale of Rs 37,400-Rs 67,000 plus Rs 12,000.
In the same way, the pay of PPSC members has been revised to Rs 1,44,200. In case of a retired employee being appointed as member, he will also receive the last pay drawn by him or Rs 1.44 lakh, whichever is higher, with a maximum cap of Rs 2,18,200. These members were at present getting salary in the pay scale of Rs 37,400-Rs 67000 plus Rs 10,000.
Speculations are rife that the government may also adjust another IPS officer Mandeep Singh Sidhu who is going to retire on April 30,2025 and a senior IAS officer Malwinder Singh Jaggi, secretary Information and Public Relations who is retiring this month with some key positions, after their retirement.
