Bhubaneswar: Administrative governance in Odisha is currently facing a significant personnel challenge as the state grapples with a substantial shortage of All India Services (AIS) officers. According to official data available there are 182 vacant positions across the three elite administrative cadres.
The total sanctioned strength for these services in Odisha is 584, yet only 402 officers are currently in position. This deficit spans all three branches of the civil services, with the Indian Forest Service experiencing the most acute vacancy levels.
The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) has a sanctioned strength of 248 posts in the Odisha cadre. Of these, 203 officers are currently in position, leaving 45 vacancies.
The Indian Police Service (IPS) has a total of 195 sanctioned posts. At present, 129 officers are active in the state, resulting in a shortfall of 66 positions.
The Indian Forest Service (IFS) is facing the highest percentage of vacancies relative to its size. Out of 141 sanctioned posts, only 70 are filled, meaning 71 positions—over half the cadre—remain unoccupied.
The state government has expressed concern that these vacancies are placing a strain on the administrative machinery, often requiring senior officers to manage multiple departments simultaneously. This “bureaucratic void” is seen as a hurdle to the government’s ambitious goal of transforming Odisha into a $500-billion economy by 2036.
To address the shortfall, the Odisha government has formally approached the Union Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions to request the allocation of a higher number of direct recruit officers and to expedite the filling of promotion-quota posts.
Additionally, the Chief Minister has issued a directive to state departments to prioritize the recruitment process for state-level services like the OAS and OPS to ensure a steady pipeline of administrative support.