All India Services to Be Really ‘All’ India Services: Centre Replaces Regional Zones With Random Groups

In a major reform aimed at strengthening national integration and ending regional clustering of officers, the Centre has overhauled the cadre allocation policy for the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFoS) , replacing the long-standing five regional zone system with four alphabetical cadre groupings .

The new policy, issued by the Union Personnel Ministry on January 23, will come into force from the Civil Services Examination-2026 and Indian Forest Service Examination-2026 .

Under the earlier system introduced in 2017, the country was divided into five broad geographic zones North, South, East, West and Northeast allowing candidates to express preference for an entire region rather than individual states. While intended to promote national integration, the model gradually led to regional comfort-based choices , with many candidates opting for zones closer to their home states or perceived as administratively and economically stronger.

Officials said the revised framework seeks to correct this imbalance.

Under the new policy, all state and joint cadres have been arranged alphabetically and divided into four groups , eliminating geographic continuity as a factor in allocation. As a result, candidates who do not secure their home cadre may now be posted anywhere in the country , rather than being confined to neighbouring or linguistically familiar states.

The Centre believes this will prevent concentration of officers in richer southern and western states, ensure fairer distribution of administrative talent, and restore the original constitutional spirit of the All India Services , which envisages officers serving beyond regional and cultural boundaries.

Vacancies will now be determined strictly on the basis of the cadre gap as on January 1 of the year following the examination , with state governments required to submit requisitions by January 31 . Late requests will not be considered, making the process time-bound and data-driven.

The policy also clarifies insider and outsider allocation. Candidates seeking their home cadre must explicitly opt for it, failing which they will not be considered for insider vacancies. Allocation against outsider vacancies will follow roster norms, with PwBD candidates allotted first.

Officials said the reform removes the possibility of strategically choosing “preferred regions”, whether for geographic proximity, linguistic familiarity or perceived administrative comfort, and ensures that postings are guided by national requirements rather than regional preferences .

With the replacement of regional zones by alphabetical groupings, the Centre says the All India Services will now function more closely to their founding idea officers belonging to India first, and states thereafter .