NEW DELHI: At least 26 states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territories), Tamil Naidu, Bihar and West Bengal, have less number of Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officials than the sanctioned strength, at a time when India is the first country in the world where a unique model, called ‘National Standards for Civil Services Training Institutions’ (NSCST), has recently been launched for the training of civil servants.
The number of IAS officials currently stands at 5,317 against the sanctioned strength of 6,789. According to data, among the sanctioned strength of 6,789, 4,712 are to be recruited through UPSC while the remaining via state civil services.
The gap between sanctioned and available strength is hampering policy-making and implementation of national welfare schemes in the states.
“In almost all states, one civil servant is holding additional charge of more than two or three departments. So officials don’t get enough time to go through files,” a chief secretary-rank official said.
Although the Union government claims to have started recruiting 180 IAS officers directly annually since 2012 following the recommendation of the Baswan Committee, the shortages still persist.
According to the department of personnel and training data submitted to the Rajya Sabha on July 21, 898 IAS officials have been recruited through civil services exam from 2016 to 2020.
In 2020, BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh got the maximum 15 IAS officers through Civil Service Examination followed by AGMUT cadre with 14, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu each with 13, Bihar and Maharashtra 10.
Official data shows UP has 560 officers against the sanctioned strength of 652. MP has 355 officials against the sanctioned strength of 439, while Maharashtra has 341 against 415.
“Out of a total strength of 5,317 civil servants, 3,862 are selected through UPSC and the reaming 1,455 are from state civil services. Among the 26 states, UP has the highest number of 387 UPSC-recruited officers, followed MP with 258, AGMUT with 235 and Maharashtra with 232,” said an official.