Who is a Gazetted Officer?
A gazetted officer is someone whose appointment is published in the Gazette of India or a State Gazette.
They generally have the authority to attest documents, verify certificates, and exercise certain official powers.
Typically includes:
- Group A officers (IAS, IPS, IRS, IFS, etc.)
- Certain Group B officers (like Section Officers, BDOs, State Civil Service officers above a certain rank, etc.)
- Officers in defence, police, judiciary, education (principals of govt schools/colleges), doctors in govt service.
PSU Employees (Public Sector Undertakings)
- PSU employees (like in ONGC, SAIL, BHEL, IOCL, etc.) are not automatically gazetted officers.
- Even if they are in executive positions (E1, E2, Manager, General Manager, etc.), they don’t hold gazetted status, because their appointment is not notified in the Gazette of India.
- They are government sector employees, but not part of the civil services cadre.
Exceptions / Special Cases
- If a PSU employee is on deputation from a civil service cadre (say, an IAS or IPS officer posted in a PSU), that officer still retains their gazetted status.
- But a direct recruit PSU employee (even at a high managerial level) is not considered gazetted.
Note:
No, PSU employees are not considered gazetted officers. They are government/public sector employees but don’t have gazetted authority unless they originally belong to a gazetted service.
