Centre Announces Overhauled Cadre Allocation Policy for IAS, IPS, IFoS; Focus on Merit, Equity, and National Integration
The Central Government has rolled out a revised Cadre Allocation Policy (CAP) for the three All India Services—Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), and Indian Forest Service (IFoS). Effective from the Civil Services and Indian Forest Service Examinations 2026, the new framework is designed to reinforce the “All India” character of the bureaucracy while ensuring a balance between merit, insider-outsider allocation, and zonal preferences.
Core Principles of the New Policy
Merit-Preference Balance: Allocation will prioritize merit while respecting candidates’ zonal preferences.
National Integration: Diversified cadre distribution to prevent regional concentration.
Transparency & Timeliness: IAS allocations finalized before training at LBSNAA, while IPS and IFoS allocations will be completed immediately after appointments.
Vacancy Determination: Structured and Transparent
State Governments must communicate total vacancies by 31 January of the year following the examination.
Vacancies calculated based on cadre gap as of 1 January, with clear splits between Insider and Outsider slots and vertical reservations (SC, ST, OBC).
EWS treated as a subset of Unreserved (UR) category.
Final vacancy lists will be published on ministry websites before results are announced.
This eliminates last-minute confusion and ensures clarity for candidates and states.
Four-Cluster System for Cadres
To maintain geographic diversity, all State and Joint Cadres are grouped into four clusters:
Group I: AGMUT, Andhra Pradesh, Assam-Meghalaya, Bihar, Chhattisgarh
Group II: Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh
Group III: Maharashtra, Manipur, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu
Group IV: Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal
This system ensures balanced cadre distribution and prevents regional concentration.
Insider Cadre Allocation
Candidates must explicitly opt-in for home-state cadres.
Top-ranked candidates distributed in merit cycles (1–25, 26–50, etc.) to avoid clustering.
UR candidates may claim Insider vacancies; if unavailable, they may opt for reserved slots.
PwBD candidates get priority adjustments.
Unfilled Insider vacancies are converted into Outsider slots for that year.
Outsider Cadre Allocation
PwBD candidates prioritized immediately after Insider allocations; additional vacancies may be created if needed.
Non-PwBD candidates allocated through rotational cycles across the four groups, ensuring long-term equity.
Mistaken home-state allocations for Outsiders are corrected through exchanges.
Bridging Reservation Gaps
If UR vacancies remain unfilled due to reserved candidates opting for home states, remaining reserved candidates are absorbed into UR vacancies based on merit.
This mechanism ensures no loss of opportunity for either reserved or general category candidates.
Annual Rotation for Long-Term Fairness
The CAP introduces rotational mechanics for future batches, ensuring that no group of states gains undue advantage in successive recruitment cycles. This systematic rotation strengthens national integration and fairness across services.
The revised Cadre Allocation Policy 2026 marks a significant step toward equity, transparency, and national integration in India’s bureaucracy. By balancing merit with zonal preferences and introducing structured vacancy timelines, the government aims to create a more inclusive and efficient cadre system for IAS, IPS, and IFoS officers.
