Apex pay scale is the salary granted to top bureaucrats, secretary or director general rank officers belonging to Indian Administration Service, Indian Foreign Service or Indian Police Service etc. Current apex pay scale is fixed at Rs 2.25 lakh per month (fixed) excluding allowances due. The country's top babu, the cabinet secretary and three service chiefs get a higher pay scale at Rs 2.5 lakh per month (fixed).

The order of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, issued in July, 2016, also stated that special director rank officers in the Intelligence Bureau will also be governed by the seniority principle which in effect meant that if the special directors were among the top 11 senior IPS officers at that point in time, only then they will be granted the apex scale. But since this is not the case as of now, and therefore none of the special directors in the IB, including Deka, have apex pay scales.

Research has shown current situation is at sharp variance with the time since pre-independence-era.

Before the Independence, the DIB used to draw salary of Rs 3500 per month (fixed) but after India got freedom, the salary was decreased to Rs 2500 per month (fixed) and the DIB was the only police officer in the country to get this apex scale. This position continued till 5th pay commission when apex pay scale was granted to the Chiefs of Border Security Force and Central Reserve Police Force, the two paramilitaries of the country. So there were three IPS officers getting apex scale after the 5th pay commission.


Following the recommendations of the 6th pay commission, apex scale was granted to heads of all central paramilitary forces and Chiefs of state police. These officers used to get the apex pay scale till the time they held the designated post.

The position remained unchanged till 2016 when the government issued order to grant apex pay scale by way of seniority of officers which meant if the officer concerned is among the top 11 IPS officers posted at the centre only then he or she will be eligible to get the apex pay scale.

To be continued....