New Delhi: The Union government shared in the Rajya Sabha on 12 February that more than 2,800 posts are vacant in the All India Services, including the Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service and Indian Forest Service.
Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh said in a written reply Thursday that as of 1 January 2025, there are 1,300 vacancies in the IAS, 505 vacancies in the IPS and 1029 vacancies in the IFS. The total number of vacant posts is 2,834. The data was shared in response to a parliamentary query on vacancies and representation in the services.
According to the data of a sanctioned strength of 6,877 IAS officers, only 5,577 are currently in position. In the IPS, 4,594 officers are in place against 5,099 sanctioned posts. Among all the services, it’s the IFS that has the biggest shortage as only 2,164 officers are in position against the authorised posts of 3,193.
Although the IAS shows the highest number of vacancies, the shortage is proportionately the highest for the forest services. The IAS has 1,300 vacant posts against 6,877 sanctioned posts, which means roughly 19 per cent of its positions are unfilled. In contrast, the IFS has 1,029 vacancies out of a much smaller strength of 3,193, which is 32 per cent. Nearly one out of every three forest service posts is empty, compared to about one out of five for the administrative service, making the staffing gap more severe.
The data shared by the government in a PIB shows the strength of the civil services in several states, with Uttar Pradesh having the largest cadre of IAS (571 officers) in position against 652 sanctioned posts, Bihar has 303 officers against 359 posts, whereas Maharashtra has 359 against 435, and West Bengal has 303 officers against a sanctioned strength of 378.
These gaps are visible in the IPS as well. Tamil Nadu has 242 IPS officers against 276 sanctioned posts, and Rajasthan has 216 against 222 posts. Uttar Pradesh has the largest IPS strength with 510 officers in position against 541 sanctioned posts.
The IFS is the most affected by this, and mostly the forest-rich states are facing a severe shortage. Madhya Pradesh has 209 officers against 296 sanctioned posts, and Maharashtra has 139 against 206, Karnataka 113 against 164, and Andhra Pradesh 67 against 82.
The Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram-Union Territories (AGMUT) cadre has only 201 forest officers in position against 302 sanctioned posts.
In the northeast, the Assam-Meghalaya cadre also shows vacancies across services. There are 214 IAS officers in position against 263 sanctioned posts, 157 IPS officers against 195 posts, and 90 IFS officers against a sanctioned strength of 142.
The government also shared figures on reserved category recruitment through the Civil Services Examination between 2020 and 2024. During these five years, 245 OBC, 135 SC and 67 ST candidates were recruited into the IAS. In the IPS, 255 OBC, 141 SC and 71 ST candidates were appointed, while the IFS saw 231 OBC, 95 SC and 48 ST recruits through direct recruitment.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)
Not too much scope for getting “rewards” when you are in the IFS. IYKYK.