Govt Faces Acute Shortage Of Senior Officers

According to the data compiled by the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) till January 1, 2024, against a sanctioned cadre strength of 6,858, there are only 5,542 Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers holding different positions across the country.

This means that there is a shortage of 1,316 officers, or 19 per cent of the sanctioned IAS strength. This has led to many officers being overburdened with portfolios.

Similarly, in case of Indian Police Service (IPS) officers, there is a short fall of 569, against a total sanctioned strength of 5,055 (over 11 per cent).

Presently, there are only 4,469 IPS officers who are serving in the state police forces that deal with law and order issues, and in Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) that look after border security and internal security challenges.

Some are also engaged in central investigative agencies like the Nation Investigation Agency (NIA) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), probing cases relating to terror, serious crimes and corruption.

Even in case of India Forest Service (IFoS) officers, the shortfall is acute, because, against the total sanctioned strength of 3,193, only 2,151 of them are positioned across the country. This has led to a shortage of 1,042 officers, or about a third of the sanctioned strength.

Giving state-wise break-up of the shortfall and also in terms of those joining the service on a direct recruitment basis, as well as on the basis of promotion, the DoPT data has revealed that in case of the IAS, 794 directly recruited posts, and 522 posts through promotion from state services, are lying vacant.

Uttar Pradesh has the maximum number of directly recruited IAS vacancies at 63, followed by Maharashtra (59), Madhya Pradesh (56), Tamil Nadu (44), West Bengal (37), Rajasthan (36), Buhar (36), Karnataka (35) and Gujarat (33).

Similarly, in the case of promotee IAS officers, Bihar tops the chart with 79, followed by the AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory) cadre (59), Kerala (48), West Bengal (38), Maharashtra (30), Odisha (28), Haryana (24), Telangana (23) and Gujarat (20).

In case of IPS officers, Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of directly recruited vacancies, with 43 posts lying vacant. Next comes Karnataka with 24, Uttar Pradesh (18), Kerala (13), AGMUT (13), Nagaland (11), Maharashtra (10) and Manipur (10).

In case of IPS promotees, Odisha has the maximum vacancies at 59, followed by Tamil Nadu (33), Assam-Meghalaya cadre (30), AGMUT (29), Punjab (29), Kerala (25), Manipur (15), Haryana (14), Gujarat (11) and Chhattisgarh (10).     

The break-up of vacancies among the IPS officers, between directly recruited and promoted posts, is 209 and 377 respectively.

As per DoPT data, there are 2,151 Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officers in-position, against their sanctioned strength of 3,193. Of the 1,042 vacant IFoS posts, 503 were for direct recruits and 539 for promotion posts.

The most vacancies were in the AGMUT cadre with 105 posts, followed by Uttar Pradesh with 99, Madhya Pradesh with 81, Odisha (61) and Gujarat (55).

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts the annual civil services examination to recruit eligible candidates for IAS, IPS and IFoS roles, aiming to address the gaps in the nation’s administrative and law enforcement structures.

The government needs to take a policy decision on these large numbers of vacancies. One of the easiest ways of filling up would be for a faster promotion policy from feeder cadres, say officials.

The central government has favoured lateral recruitment in many central secretariat jobs. However, civil service managers believe it would be difficult to quickly train IAS or IPS officers taken in through lateral entry.

Another way out is to reduce the number of positions that are currently being filled up by IAS or IPS officers. For instance, positions such as Secretary - Statistics, Secretary - Economic Affairs, or Secretary - CAG, need not go to IAS officers. 

Similarly, positions in the Intelligence Bureau, Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), CBI or Enforcement Directorate need not go to IPS or IRS officers. People with intelligence training from various walks of life could be inducted, as is done in Western countries.