Summary
In a written reply submitted in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh provided updated figures based on the Civil List compiled as of January 1, 2025.
The data highlighted significant staffing gaps across key administrative and enforcement services.
Over 2,800 posts remain unfilled across the three premier All India Services - the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), the Indian Police Service (IPS), and the Indian Forest Service (IFoS) - with the IAS alone facing a shortage of 1,300 officers, the government informed Parliament on Thursday.
In a written reply submitted in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh provided updated figures based on the Civil List compiled as of January 1, 2025. The data revealed 1,300 vacancies in the IAS, 505 in the IPS, and 1,029 in the IFoS, highlighting significant staffing gaps across key administrative and enforcement services.
Vacancy Rates Across Services
According to the official data, the IAS currently has a sanctioned strength of 6,877 posts, of which 5,577 officers are in position, resulting in 1,300 vacancies. This represents a vacancy rate of approximately 18.9 per cent.
In the IPS, 4,594 officers are serving against an authorised strength of 5,099, leaving 505 posts unfilled and reflecting a vacancy rate of around 9.9 per cent.
The IFoS faces the most severe shortfall among the three services. Out of a sanctioned strength of 3,193 posts, only 2,164 officers are currently in position, leaving 1,029 vacancies. This translates to a vacancy rate of roughly 32.2 per cent, making it the worst-affected service in proportional terms.
Overall, the three All India Services have a combined sanctioned strength of 15,169 posts. Of these, 2,834 positions remain vacant, resulting in an aggregate vacancy rate of nearly 18.7 per cent.
Cadre-Wise Position in Key States
The cadre-wise details presented in Parliament show notable shortages in several large states. Uttar Pradesh, which has the highest authorised IAS strength at 652 posts, currently has 571 officers in position.
In Madhya Pradesh, 391 IAS officers are serving against a sanctioned strength of 459, while Maharashtra has 359 officers in place compared to 435 approved posts.
Similar gaps are visible in the IPS cadres of states such as Bihar, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, where the number of officers in position falls short of the authorised strength. The IFoS, in particular, has recorded substantial vacancies across multiple states, reflecting a wider staffing challenge in forest and environmental administration.
Representation of Reserved Categories
Responding to another part of the parliamentary query, the minister also shared data on the representation of reserved categories in direct recruitment over the last five years, covering Civil Services Examinations from 2020 to 2024.
During this period, 245 candidates from the Other Backward Classes (OBC), 135 from the Scheduled Castes (SC), and 67 from the Scheduled Tribes (ST) were appointed to the IAS through direct recruitment.
In the IPS, 255 OBC, 141 SC, and 71 ST candidates were appointed.
For the IFoS, 231 OBC, 95 SC, and 48 ST candidates joined the service during the same timeframe.
Last updated on 13 Feb 2026
