The Board doesn't build its own permanent civil service from scratch — it largely draws on deputation from government and one specific institution named directly in the Rules.
21. Terms and conditions of appointment and service of officers and employees of Board. — (1) The Board may, with previous approval of the Central Government, appoint such officers and employees as it may deem necessary for the efficient discharge of its functions under the provisions of the Act.
(2) The terms and conditions of service of officers and employees of the Board shall be such as are specified in Sixth Schedule.
Sixth Schedule, para 1 — Classes of officials. (1) The Board may, in accordance with the Fundamental Rules and applicable guidelines issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Personnel and Training, appoint officers and employees on deputation from the Central Government, a State Government, an autonomous body under the overall control of the Central Government or a State Government, a statutory body, or a public sector enterprise, for a period not exceeding five years. (2) The Board may also receive or take on deputation any officer or other employee from the National Institute for Smart Government, for a period not exceeding five years, with salary and allowances guided by market standards and on such other terms and conditions as the Board may decide.
Sixth Schedule, para 2 — Gratuity. The officers and employees shall be entitled to payment of such gratuity as may be admissible under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 (39 of 1972).
Sixth Schedule, para 3 — Travelling allowance. The travelling allowance payable to the officers and employees shall, mutatis mutandis, be the same as those applicable to the officers and employees of the Central Government.
Sixth Schedule, para 4 — Medical assistance. The officers and employees shall be entitled to such medical assistance as may be admissible to them and their eligible dependants under any group health insurance scheme of the Board, made with the previous approval of the Central Government.
Sixth Schedule, para 5 — Leave. (1) The officers and employees may avail of such kinds of leaves as are admissible to a Government servant under the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972, subject to the conditions applicable under the said rules, and shall be eligible for encashment of earned leave as provided therein. (2) The officers and employees shall be entitled to casual leave to such extent as is admissible to a Government servant under instructions issued by the Central Government.
Sixth Schedule, para 6 — Leave travel concession. Leave travel concession shall be admissible to the officers and employees appointed under clause (1) of paragraph 1, in accordance with the provisions applicable to persons appointed to civil services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union of India under the Central Civil Services (Leave Travel Concession) Rules, 1988.
Sixth Schedule, para 7 — Other terms and conditions of service. (1) The provisions of the Civil Service (Conduct) Rules, 1964 shall apply to the officers and employees in like manner as applicable to a person appointed to a civil service or post in connection with the affairs of the Union of India under the said rules. (2) The provisions contained in Part IV to Part IX of the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965 shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to the officers and employees appointed under clause (1) of paragraph 1, in like manner as applicable to a Government servant under the said rules. (3) Any matter relating to the terms and conditions of service of the officers and employees appointed under clause (1) of paragraph 1, in respect of which no express provision has been made in these rules, shall be referred to the Central Government for its decision, and the decision of the Central Government on the same shall be final.
Rule 18 covers the Chairperson and Members; Rule 21 covers everyone else who staffs the Board — its officers and employees. It's a two-part rule: sub-rule (1) sets how the Board appoints staff, and sub-rule (2) points to the Sixth Schedule for their terms of service.
The Board may appoint officers and employees it considers necessary for efficiently discharging its functions under the Act, but only with the Central Government's prior approval. The Sixth Schedule fills in the mechanics: appointments can be made on deputation from the Central Government, a State Government, an autonomous body under central or state control, a statutory body, or a public sector enterprise, for a period not exceeding five years — following the Fundamental Rules and the guidelines the Department of Personnel and Training issues. The Board can also take officers or employees on deputation specifically from the National Institute for Smart Government, again capped at five years, with salary and allowances benchmarked to market standards rather than a fixed government pay scale, and on whatever other terms the Board decides.
Beyond appointment, the Sixth Schedule sets gratuity (per the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972), travelling allowance (mirroring Central Government officers), medical assistance (through the Board's own group health insurance scheme, approved by the Central Government), leave and leave encashment (under the Central Civil Services Leave Rules, 1972), and leave travel concession (under the Central Civil Services Leave Travel Concession Rules, 1988). Conduct is governed by the Civil Service (Conduct) Rules, 1964, applied as if these staff were appointed to a Union civil service post, and the same Classification, Control and Appeal Rules, 1965 that apply to the Chairperson and Members under Rule 18 apply here too. Anything the Sixth Schedule doesn't expressly cover goes to the Central Government for a final decision.
The deputation-heavy structure — drawing staff from government bodies and the National Institute for Smart Government rather than building an independent hiring pipeline from day one — signals that the Board, at least in its early years, is likely staffed substantially by people with existing government or public-sector backgrounds rather than purpose-recruited privacy specialists. That's useful context for an organisation forming a view of how technically specialised the Board's day-to-day case-handling staff are likely to be, separate from the Chairperson and Members appointed under Rules 17 and 18.
Rule 21 is the staff-level counterpart to Rule 18's Chairperson-and-Member service terms — both rely on a Schedule (Sixth for staff, Fifth for leadership) rather than stating terms directly in the rule text, and both borrow heavily from existing Central Civil Services frameworks rather than creating a bespoke regime. Together with Rules 17 through 20, Rule 21 completes the picture of how the Board is built and staffed, as distinct from the substantive obligations in Rules 1 through 16 that apply to the organisations the Board regulates.
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