NEW DELHI: More candidates from OBC, SC and ST categories have been appointed to the Indian Police Service (IPS) than to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and the Indian Forest Service (IFS) in the last five years. This information was given in the Rajya Sabha by Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, in a written reply.
Between 2020 and 2024, 255 OBC, 141 SC and 71 ST candidates were allocated to the three services after clearing the Civil Services Examination. During the same period, 245 OBC candidates were appointed to the IAS, 135 SC candidates to the Indian Police Service and 67 ST candidates to the IFS. In the IFS alone, 231 OBC, 95 SC and 48 ST candidates were appointed over the last five years.
Despite these appointments, there is still a shortage of officers.
The IAS has a shortfall of 1,300 officers against a sanctioned strength of 6,877. The IPS has a shortage of 505 officers against 5,099 posts. The IFS faces a deficit of 1,029 officers against 3,193 sanctioned posts. As of January 1, 2025, 5,577 IAS, 4,594 IPS and 2,164 IFS officers are in position across India.