Gandhinagar: After almost nine years, the Union ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions increased Gujarat’s approved strength of IAS officers. The authorised strength of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre has been raised from the present 313 to 328 — an increase of only 15. The Gujarat govt expected the numbers to be increased by at least 10%.As per the notification, the total number of senior duty posts under the Gujarat govt has been fixed at 178. These include key positions such as chief secretary (one), additional chief secretary (five), principal secretaries (nine), secretaries to govt (17), collectors (33), district development officers (33), and municipal commissioners across major cities. The Central Deputation Reserve has been fixed at 71 posts (not exceeding 40% of senior duty posts), while the State Deputation Reserve stands at 44 posts. The Training Reserve has been set at six posts, and the Leave Reserve and Junior Posts Reserve at 29 posts. Further, 99 posts are to be filled by promotion under the IAS (Recruitment) Rules, 1954, while 229 posts will be filled through direct recruitment.The strength was raised to 313 in 2018. With the latest approval by the ministry, announced through a circular, the state govt will get more entry-level officers, opening the doors for promotions of more officers and reducing the number of in-charge officers.
