By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, MAY 02, 2018: THE Union Cabinet today approved the review and formation of Group ‘A' service of the technical cadre of Petroleum & Safety Organization (PESO) in the name of Indian Petroleum & Explosives Safety Service (IPESS). The grant of such approval would enhance the capacity and efficiency of the organization and it will also enhance career progression of its Group ‘A' officers.

It may be noted that the Petroleum & Safety Organization (PESO) is a subordinate office under the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), which has served since 1898 as a nodal agency for regulating the safety of substances such as explosives, compressed gases and petroleum. Over the years, its role and responsibilities increased manifold and expanded into diverse fields. Today, the organization deals with wide range of subjects related to explosives, petroleum, compressed gases, pressure vessels, gas cylinders, cross-country pipelines, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Auto Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Auto LPG). The increase in workload is manifested in the quantum jump in the number of licensed premises and other activities.

The present sanctioned strength of Technical Group ‘A' cadre of PESO is 137 having 60 Junior Time Scale (JTS) level officers, 46 Senior Time Scale (STS) level officers, 23 Junior Administrative Grade (JAG) level officers (Level 12), 7 JAG level officers (Level 13) and 1 Senior Administrative Grade (SAG) level post of Chief Controller of Explosives. In this regard, so as to remove acute stagnation in all grades and uplift the morale of the workforce and enhance its performance, it has been decided to form Group ‘A' Service of the technical cadre of PESO in the name of IPESS and restructure the newly-formed service by increasing 5 posts at Level-13 and 3 posts at Level-12 and corresponding reduction of 8 posts at Level-11.