7th CPC Recommendations on Electronic Data Processing (EDP) Staff
Electronic Data Processing (EDP) Staff : Government of India, over the last few decades, has gone in for computerisation in a big way. While some departments ventured ahead in the 1960s itself, by the 1980s the deployment was widespread. In the initial years the policy thrust was on creating “Management Information Systems (MIS)” and “Decision Support Systems (DSS)” for development, planning and responsive administration government. These have been the genesis of the present day e-Governance.
The entry pay of EDP staff is in the GP 2400 with minimum qualification of Class XII with science and maths. The hierarchy reaches up to the level of Director in the GP 8700. Different levels in the hierarchy are filled through both promotion and direct recruitment (DR), with requirements of minimum qualification for DR going up to Bachelors’ and Masters’ in Computer Applications.
The Associations of EDP staff have demanded a full-fledged All India EDP Service cadre for Group `A’ posts along with subordinate service cadre on the lines of the Indian Economic Service and Indian Statistical Service, to maintain uniform grade structure and improve career advancement. They have demanded making NIC their nodal agency and Department of Information Technology their cadre controlling authority. A demand has also been made to implement the Modified Flexible Complementing Scheme (MFCS) for these employees.
Analysis and Recommendations : The Commission has noted that EDP staff are spread across several ministries. In 2014, DoPT has notified the Model Recruitment Rules for various EDP posts. This notification states that ministries/departments may review their extant RRs and modify these in accordance with the Model Recruitment Rules. The notified hierarchy is given below:
It is noted that there are five levels of Data Entry Operators in the model structure above. Over the years, with advancement in computing technology, data entry as a large-scale activity has considerably diminished. Further, this is an area where outsourcing is very common. The Commission therefore suggests that the DoPT may like to revisit its instructions and draw up a structure which is more in tune with the current technology. Regarding their pay, replacement pay levels are recommended for these employees.