Guidelines regarding filling up of APAR with numerical grading

    1. 

 The Annual Performance Assessment Report is an important document. It provides the basic and vital inputs for assessing the performance of an official and for his/her further advancement in his/her career. The official reported upon, the Reporting officer and the reviewing officer should, therefore, undertake the duty of filling out the form with a high sense of responsibility.

    2. 

 Reporting Officer should realize that the objective is to develop an official so that he/she realizes his/her true potential. It is not meant to be a fault finding process but a developmental one. The reporting Officer and the Reviewing officer should not shy away form reporting shortcomings in performance, attitudes or overall personality of the reported upon.

    3. 

 The items should be filled with due care and attention and after devoting adequate time. Any attempt to fill the report in a casual or superficial manner will be easily discernible to the higher authorities.

    4. 

 If the Reviewing Officer is satisfied that the reporting officer had made the report without due care and attention he/she shall record a remark to that effect in item 2 to part-V. The Government shall enter the remarks in the APAR of Reporting Officer.

    5. 

 Every answer shall be given in a narrative form except where numerical grading is to be awarded. The space provided indicates the desired length of the answer. Words and phrases should be chosen carefully and should accurately reflect the intention of the officer recording the answer. Unambiguous and simple language may be used.

    6. 

 The Reporting Officer shall, in the beginning of the year, assign targets to each of the Officers will report to whom he is required to report upon for completion during the year. In the case of an Officer taking up a new post in the course of the reporting year, such targets/goals shall be set at the time of assumption of the new change. The tasks/targets set should clearly be known and understood by both the officers concerned.

    7. 

 Although performance assessment is a year end exercise, in order that it may be a tool for human resource development, the Reporting Officer should at regular intervals review the performance and take necessary corrective steps by way of advice etc.

    8. 

 It should be the Endeavour of each appraiser to present the trust possible picture of the appraisee in regard to his/her performance, conduct behaviour and potential.

    9. 

 Assessment should be confined to the appraisee’s performance during the period of the report only.

    10

 Some post of the same rank may be more exacting than      others. The degree of stress and strains in any post may also vary from time to time.  These facts should be borne in mind during assessment and should be commented upon appropriately.

    11

 Guidelines regarding filling up of APAR with numerical grading:-

    (i)

 The columns in the APAR should be filled in with due care and attention and after devoting adequate time.

    (ii)

 It is expected that any grading of 1 or 2 (against work output or attributes or overall grade) would be adequately justified in the pen picture by way of specific failures and similarly any grade of 9 or 10 would be justified with respect to specific accomplishments Grades of 1-2 or 9-10 are expected to be rare occurrences and hence the need to justify them. In awarding a numerical grade the reporting and reviewing authorities should rate the officer against a larger population of his/her peers that may be currently working under them.

    (iii)

 APARs graded between 8 and 10 will be rated as ‘Outstanding’ and will be given a score of 9 for the purpose of calculating average scores for empanelment/promotion.

    (iv)

 APARs graded between 6 and short of 8 will be rated as ‘Very Good’ and will be given a score of 7.

    (v)

 APARs graded between 4 and short of 6 will be rated as ‘Good’ and given a score of 5.

    (vi)

 APARs graded below 4 will be given a score of ‘Zero’

        Note

    The following procedures should be followed in filling up the item relating to integrity:-

    (i) 

 If the officer/officials integrity is beyond doubt, it may be so stated.

    (ii) 

 If there is any doubt of suspicion, the item should be left blank and taken as under:-

    (a) 

 A separate secret note should be recorded and followed up        A copy of the note should also be sent together with the Confidential Report to the next superior officer who will ensure that the follow- up action is taken expeditiously. Where it is not possible either to certify the integrity or to record the secret note the secret note, the Reporting Officer should state either that he has not watched the officer/ official’s work for sufficient time to form a definite judgment or that he has heard nothing against the officer/official, as the case may be

    (b) 

 If as a result of follow- up action the doubts or suspicions are cleared, the officer’s/official’s integrity should be certified and an entry made accordingly in the Confidential Report.

    (c) 

 If the doubts or suspicions are confirmed, the fact should also be recorded and duty communicated to the officer concerned.
(d)  If as a result of the follow up action, the doubts or suspicions are neither cleared nor confirmed the officer’s conduct should be watched for a further period and taken as indicated at(b)and (c)above.
Ministry of Home Affairs O.M.No.51/4/84-Estt.(a) dated 21-06-1965)