Best Government jobs without Transfer in India

When we think of government jobs, the best features that come in our mind are career stability, security and prestige. However, one of the biggest drawbacks of most of the government jobs is constant and regular transfers.

In fact, better the job more acute this problem gets. There are many IAS and IPS officers who even get transferred 4-5 times a year. One of my cousins was working as S.P. in Uttar Pradesh, and he used to get transferred pretty often. So much so that he kept his family at Allahabad, separate from him, so that his kids can study properly in one school.

My own father was a Judge, and we used to get transferred every 3 years. It was a big headache. I was never able to make long-term friends in my childhood because of this.

Though, if you are a big-notch officer like IAS, IPS, Judge, etc., then you get a lot of servants to help you out during the transfer. But it’s not true for most other medium-level government jobs.

Then there is the issue of where we are posted. Some people, especially girls, prefer to get home posting. However, in some government jobs home posting is never allowed. For example, as my father was from Meerut, he could never be posted in that city.

Rural postings are a big concern for some. When I was working in Bank of Baroda I was posted at a village near Allahabad. There was no hotel in that village, no house to take on rent. I used to travel for around 2 hours and change 4 commutes to reach my office. That was a nightmare - one of the reasons I left my jobs in Banks and LIC.

So, in this article we will explore various government jobs from the perspective of their transfer policy. We will have a look at government jobs and public sector jobs that:

• allow home posting.
• allow us to choose where we want to get posted.
• allow us to at least work in a zone (of 3-4 cities) all our life.
• have no transfers, i.e. where we will work at a single location all our life.
• have mostly urban postings (for those who do not prefer to work in rural areas).

Note

Public sector jobs like Public Sector Banks, Universities, IITs, IIMs, Public Sector Units (BHEL, NTPC etc.) are not exactly government jobs. The employees working in these organizations are governed by separate set of rules and their pay grades vary too.

For example, the bank employees’ salary hike is not done by Central Pay Commission. It’s done separately.

However, we consider them at par with central government and state government jobs because they almost have the same features as government jobs, e.g. career stability, freedom to pursue higher studies by taking sabbatical leave etc. One of my college friends working in NTPC recently went to New Zealand for 2 years to pursue higher degree in civil engineering. This probably would not have been possible in a private sector job.

So, in this article we will include both government jobs and public sector jobs.

Table of Contents

• Why there is transfer in government jobs?
• Government jobs with no Transfer
• Government jobs with Urban postings
• Government jobs with Home posting

But, before we do so, let us understand why do employees get transferred in government organizations. What’s the problem with one person working at the same place throughout his/her career?

Why there is transfer in government jobs?

What problem does the government has with its employees staying at the same place? Why it treats its employees like this?

Transfers hamper everything – kids’ studies, peace of mind, relations that we have made etc. Once the transfer notice comes, you have to start packing. It may take a month or so. Then it takes around 3-4 months to get settled in the new place, for the life to get back to normal.

But it seems like a necessary evil, because of various reasons:

• Most of the government jobs carry with them a lot of power and influence. It is very easy for a government employee to make a lot of friends, and also a lot of enemies. A corrupt government official, if posted for a very long duration at the same place, may pollute the whole atmosphere of that city.

• A government organization has a lot of employees posted in multitude of branches of all kinds – small, large, rural, urban etc. No one wants to work at a place that he/she does not like. Sometimes, transfer is your only hope to get out of a place with bad working conditions. So, transfer policy of government ensures that fair treatment is meted out to all of its employees.

• Working at various places, and in various departments provides you a complete exposure of the organization, the issues and challenges faced by people at different places. It eventually makes you a better employee.

Government jobs with no Transfer

Yes, they do exist. There are a few government jobs where you will never be transferred, or only once in a while. A dream come true, isn’t it?

Let’s see some of these dream jobs for those who like stability of location. Icing on the cake is that most of these jobs will let you stay in big metropolitan cities, like Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow, Jaipur, Mysore etc.

Universities, IITs, IIMs

If you can join any big university, IIT, NIT, IIIT or IIM kind of college (even smaller colleges too), then chances are that you will spend all of your life in the same location. If you are selected as a professor, chances are that you will get to live in the grand campuses of these colleges.

Have you been to a college like IIT-Kanpur, IIT-Delhi, IIT-BHU, Gautam Bhuddh Nagar University etc. The lifestyle that you will get here can only be matched by Armed Forces Cantt areas. Greenery all around, clean roads, less traffic, gyms, canteens – awesome experience.

I did my B. Tech 2nd year project in IIT-BHU, and stayed there for around 2 months with my uncle, who was a professor there. Believe me, a college campus is a great place to live in. It’s not only peaceful, it’s secure too. And you are surrounded by learned and intelligent people. Awesome place for your kids to grow up and study.

There are no transfers in most colleges and universities, because all the employees are posted at the same place. Most of them do not have branches. However, if a college or a university has multiple branches, then you may be asked to move to another branch. Even in that case, the transfers will not be on a regular basis, as is the case with most government jobs.

Secretariat Services of Central and State Governments

If you are working in a secretariat service in central or state government or in some ministry, then chances are that you will spend all your life or a big part of it in Delhi or some state capital. Many such jobs that allow you to work in ministries are filled through SSC (Staff Selection Commission) exams – the central government SSC exam, as well as SSC exams of various states.

One of my students got selected in Ministry of Telecom through SSC. He’s posted in Delhi now, and would never get transferred. This allows him to live with his old mother and take care of her, as well as his ancestral house. Moreover, he is saving on the rent that he would otherwise have to pay, if he was posted elsewhere.

Even IAS and IPS officers, can come to the secretariat on deputation and spend a peaceful life at the same place for long durations.

Same is true for people who work in local municipalities or corporations.

Parliament Protocol Officer

If you get a job in Parliament, or state assemblies, then you will never be transferred. One such job is that of a Protocol officer in Indian Parliament. If you can get into this job, then you can spend whole of your life in Delhi.

Indian Revenue Service (IRS)

Unlike, IAS and IPS officers, who get transferred pretty often, most of the IRS officers get to work in the same city for long durations, even for decades. Father of one of my friends is an IRS officer in Punjab, and he has been working in the same city for the last 15 years or so.

Though, there may be some transfers, but they are few and far between. There are very few other Group A central government services where you get to work at the same place for so long.

Bank Clerks

If you work as a probationary office (PO) in a public sector bank, then you can be transferred all over India, in any state, any city, any town, any village. However, bank clerks are not transferred. They work at the same location.

In fact, I know a few people who are working as SBI clerks, but they do not want to become officers by giving internal tests for a promotion. Because as soon as they become officers in a bank, they will become liable to get transferred.

Government and Court Typists

Just like bank clerks, typists working in government departments and courts (lower courts, high courts, or supreme court) are not transferred.

In fact, clerks, typists and people working in other such grade C and D posts in most government organizations are not generally transferred.

There are no transfers in many other types of government and public sector organizations. For example:

• many public sector units (e.g. NLC, BHEL, etc.),
• many state boards (e.g. Electricity Board, Transport, Water and Drainage board etc.)
• Civilian staff of military (e.g. in an Ordnance factory)

However, it will be a good idea to verify the transfer policy of these PSUs or state level departments once. Because some of these PSUs may follow some sort of transfer policy, e.g. NTPC is a PSU, but employees are often transferred here from one place to another.

Apart from these jobs, there are many other jobs where there are very few transfers, or you will be transferred within a certain zone and not very far away, e.g. LIC ADO.

LIC ADO

LIC AAO (Assistant Administrative Office) is an administrative job, and they can be transferred anywhere in India. On the other hand, LIC ADO (Apprentice Development Officer) is a marketing job and so these guys are only transferred within a certain zone.

In fact, the recruitment process of LIC ADO is also based on zones. Vacancies are released separately for various zones.

Government jobs with Urban postings

If you have had an urban upbringing, like me, then probably you won’t be able to survive in rural areas, with minimum infrastructure, long power cuts, no entertainment options, and at some places even security issues.

Luckily, there are a few government jobs where you will only be posted in urban centres, or chances of you getting posted in rural areas are slim. Let’s have a look at some of these government jobs for urban spoiled brats out there.

Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India (ECGC)

ECGC is a government enterprise under Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. It provides export credit insurance to Indian exporters.

Most of its branches are situated in big metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad etc. While in other insurance organizations like LIC, UIIC, etc., you may get transferred even to small cities and villages, in ECGC you will always be posted in a big urban centre.

So, if you like the urban lifestyle, as well as the insurance sector, then you may aim for this job. And there’s only 5-day work week in it. So, you will also get enough time to enjoy the weekends.

How do I know so much about it?

Because when I got 90 all-India rank in IBPS-2012 exam, then ECGC was my first choice (though I eventually got Bank of Baroda). I even visited their office back then in Connaught Place, Delhi, to find out about the working conditions.

RBI Grade B officer

RBI Grade B officer job is considered a pretty god job, especially for economy background students. Though students of other streams may also appear in it.

As Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is the Central Bank of India, most of its offices are in big cities. Obviously, here you will get to spend most of your life in urbane settings.

Other Urbane Jobs

Some jobs are by their nature oriented towards the urban India. So, in such jobs you are more likely to get posted in some major city.

Some of such jobs are:

• Indian Revenue Services (IT)
• Indian Telecommunications Services
• Central Power Engineering Services
• Protocol Officer in Parliament and State Assemblies
• Various jobs in central and state ministries
• Various jobs in local municipal corporations

Government jobs with Home posting

Here are some of the government jobs that may allow you to choose where you want to work and even allot you home posting, or at least in a nearby city/zone.

• You will probably get hometown posting in most of the Central government Class C & D jobs.
• State government Class ‘C’ jobs like Office Superintendent, etc. You will get home posting in most of the state government class D jobs too.
• Primary Teacher, Lecturer/Professor
• Clerks - Bank Clerk, RTO-Clerk, Sales Tax Clerk, Municipal Department Clerk, etc.
• Police department jobs, such as Constable, Complaint Writer, Traffic Policemen, etc.
• District Courts Peshkar, Typist, etc.
• In Medical departments as X-Ray Technician, Optometrist, Ultrasound technician, etc.
• Personal Assistants

If you are from a small town, or a village, and the organization you are joining has a branch there, then there’s generally a good chance that you will get the home posting (unless there is a strict policy against that). However, getting posted in big cities of your choice is relatively tougher, as such locations are in a lot of demand.

Winding Up

Though, given the severe competition, it’s not always in our hands which jobs we will land up in eventually. However, if you have the knowledge of the transfer policy of government jobs, then you may try to target the job that allows you to get the best work-life balance. Afterall, we try to get a good job to get a good life, not just for money.

Some people would like to stay with their old parents, some prefer stability to allow their kids to stay in one school, and some people just hate the idea of packing all their stuff again and again. Whatever your reason may be, now you can at least target the jobs that will allow you to live your dream life.

It’s even more important when you crack exams that offer a variety of jobs, such as UPSC Civil Services exam, SSC exams, etc. You will be asked to provide a list of your preferred jobs, and you will be allotted a job as per your rank.

Information is power. Make sure you are informed to make the right choices in your life.