The Telangana government has received partial relief from the Union government, but the long-standing administrative strain caused by the shortage of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers continues to persist. The Centre has officially enhanced Telangana’s sanctioned IAS cadre strength from 208 to 218 posts. Despite this increase, a severe gap between sanctioned positions and actual officer availability remains, with 47 posts still lying vacant.
The decision was formally communicated to the Telangana government by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). While the expansion in cadre strength has been welcomed, state officials acknowledge that merely increasing sanctioned posts has not yet translated into real administrative stability.
Origin of the IAS Shortage in Telangana
Following the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in June 2014, the process of dividing IAS officers between the two successor states took nearly two years to complete. In January 2016, the Centre initially fixed Telangana’s IAS cadre strength at 163 posts.
However, this number soon proved to be far below the administrative requirements of the newly formed state. Responding to repeated representations made by the Telangana government, the Union government revised the cadre strength to 208 posts in April 2016.
Nearly a decade later, the Centre has now sanctioned an additional 10 posts, taking the total approved cadre strength to 218 IAS officers.
Wide Gap Between Approved and Working Strength
Although 218 IAS posts are officially sanctioned, only 171 officers are currently in active service within the Telangana cadre. This leaves as many as 47 positions vacant, highlighting the persistent administrative stress faced by the state.
Due to the shortage, the government has been compelled to adopt alternative administrative arrangements. Several crucial posts are being managed either by officers holding additional charge or by in-charge officials drawn from non-IAS services.
Chief Minister’s Continued Appeal to the Centre
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has repeatedly raised concerns regarding the acute shortage of IAS officers in Telangana. In March 2024, during his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, he formally submitted a request seeking the allotment of 29 additional IAS officers to the state.
The appeal was aimed at bridging the growing gap between sanctioned positions and the actual working strength. While the Centre has approved 10 additional posts, the broader demand for more officers remains largely unmet.
District Expansion Intensifies the Shortage
During the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government’s tenure, the number of districts in Telangana was sharply expanded from 10 to 33. This large-scale reorganisation significantly increased the demand for IAS officers to fill key administrative positions such as district collectors, additional collectors and other senior posts.
However, the limited availability of regular cadre officers made it impossible to staff all positions with experienced IAS officials.
In-Charge Arrangements and Administrative Burden
As a result, several critical positions have been assigned to in-charge officers from Group-I state services or to relatively junior IAS officers with limited field experience. Moreover, many senior IAS officers are currently handling multiple departments simultaneously.
This growing workload has created excessive administrative pressure, adversely impacting efficiency, decision-making speed and the timely implementation of development programmes.
Officials admit that several key schemes are experiencing delays as senior officers are stretched across multiple portfolios.
Cadre Expansion Falls Short of State Needs
While the enhancement of cadre strength to 218 is viewed as a positive step, it is still considered inadequate in view of Telangana’s expanding administrative demands. The persistent gap between sanctioned strength and actual working strength continues to pose major governance challenges.
State authorities are hopeful that further allotment of IAS officers by the Centre will help stabilise administration and significantly improve the execution of development initiatives across the state.
