The system allocation scheme for All-India utilities such as IAS, IPS, IFoS etc. was amended by the Central Government of India (after consultation with state governments) in 2017. The new System Allocation Proposal can be read by candidates.
What’s a Cadre? What is Cadre in IPS?
Cadre refers to a state (or community of states/union territories) to which it is possible to post an officer of an All India Service such as IAS or IPS. Examples include UP frames, Bihar frames, Kerala frames, AGMUT frames, etc.
Usually, an IAS/IPS officer serves throughout his whole service life in his assigned system (state), unless he opts for deputation from the central government, where he works at the Core.
A structure is assigned by the Government of India’s Department of Staff and Training (DoPT) to an applicant. Cadre allocation depends on the rank of the nominee, Cadre-preference, and vacancies.
What is the Latest Cadre Allocation Method? How IPS Cadre is Allocated?
As per the latest Cadre Allocation Scheme, 2017, the current 26 Cadres of All-India Forces, the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFoS), have been split into five areas.
- Zone-I (Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, AGMUT, Jammu and Kashmir,
- Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan)
- Zone-II-I of (Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha)
- Zone-III-III (Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh)
- Zone-IV (Sikkim, Assam-Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, Western Bengal, and
- Area-V (Telangana. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala)
Under the new regulation, as their first preference, candidates can only choose one Cadre from a district. There must be a completely different Cadre for their second, third, fourth and fifth options. For eg, if a candidate’s first preference is Uttar Pradesh (Zone 2), then he can not choose Bihar, Jharkhand or Odisha as his second choice (other Cadres in Zone 2).
IPS Cadre Allocation
- In the descending order of selection, the candidates must first give their choice from among the different areas.
- The candidates would then suggest one Cadre preference from each chosen region.
- For each desired region, the candidates would consequently show their second Cadre preference.
- A similar procedure will continue until the applicant reveals a preference for all the Cadres.
- It should be remembered that the preference for zones will remain in the same order, and no adjustment will be allowed in the order of preference for zones/Cadres.
- If any of the Zones/Cadres is not favoured by a candidate, it is assumed that he has no clear preference for such Zones/Cadres.
- According to the merit and choice, a reserved category applicant chosen on the general merit standards shall be eligible for allocation against the available unreserved vacancy.
- This framework allocation policy concerns the supersession of the current framework allocation policy and comes into force with the 2017 Indian Forest Service Review/Civil Services Examination 2017.
Is There a Best Cadre for IPS? What is the Best IPS Cadre?
This largely depends on the person and what they are looking for. There is no specific best Cadre. It is simply a matter of preference. For instance, supposing someone is very ambitious and dreams of a field and rough job and has offered IPS as his/her first preference, he/she might also want to work in places like Kashmir, Chhattisgarh, Nagaland, etc. If anyone joins services with a motto to explore India’s diversity and culture, a North Indian can choose a South Indian state instead of North India and vice versa, although it is difficult to fit in there.
More about IPS Cadre
If anyone has lived more of an urban lifestyle, then instead of moving to states like UP, Bihar, he/she may try to work in industrially developed states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra etc. If anyone wishes to escape political pressure, he or she will refrain from moving to feudal states such as UP, Bihar, etc. where, relative to developing states, political pressure can be strong. But these states are still synonymous with control, and in the cultures of these states, IAS/IPS has tremendous reverence. So it depends only and solely on the individual and his or her personal choice in terms of what he or she wants in life.
Cadre allocation depends on factors such as rank, category and it is very hard to determine which frame one will be assigned under the new Zonal policy. So anyone who wants to enter IPS should be prepared mentally to function in every allocated state.
Can IPS Get Home Cadre?
Today, because the distribution of Cadre is based on zones where many zones are combined, it is difficult to get the preferred zone. The Central States and eastern Indian Cadres are normally very complicated.
The allocation order will change this. Earlier, an individual from northern India wanted to have a northern Indian climate. He would offer priority over other regions to northern Indian states and unless one had too bad a rating, one should hope to remain in one’s own country.
The Method of Allocation
The method of allocation now will go like this. Firstly, the first favoured condition in the first preferred zone would be checked. If a vacancy is open, then going to the first preferred state of the second preferred zone followed by the first preferred state of the third preferred zone and so on is assigned otherwise. When all areas have their first preference option depleted, they switch to the second preferred condition of all zones.
Moving to the issue of the home Cadre, it is now almost dependent on chance. Even if you get a really good rating, there is still no guarantee or even likelihood that you will definitely get your home Cadre. It is almost random now.
This initiative would ensure national bureaucracy convergence, as officers will have the ability to operate in a state that is not their place of residence.
How to Get Home Cadre in IPS?
In the frame allocation of 3 to 4 states, including u.p., Bihar and West Bengal, they establish one frame and it is assigned to the low rank in I.A.S.
Southern or seven sister states would be given top priority and is also common among IAS aspirants and study also indicates that a southern IAS has a better growth scope than other states.
It may be that citizens are cooperative and compassionate, although an I.A.S. should be prepared to represent the whole country, but even though there is a structured system, if you want a cream state network, you must aim for the top 20s.
The first thing you can do is get more points than anyone else in order to get your home Cadre. Provided that there are openings for the employee in your province, the better-ranked student can get both the service and the state of his choosing. Besides that, if your wife has the Cadre of your choosing, then you should request for the Cadre after marriage.
Also read- What should I Miss if I Choose IPS over IAS: Unfolding Important UPSC Preparation Queries
Conclusion
The new zonal strategy that has been pursued for a few years can be understood from the initial source or videos on the subject on YouTube. Description of the same: the choice of the zones and the preference of each state in the region must be specified. This means that in the first few options, you do not necessarily end up choosing adjacent states and instead have a diverse selection of states as the first choices.
For more check out UPSC Pathshala.
