The government announced this in the Parliament.
This detail includes 233 officers in 2018, 231 in 2019, 223 in 2020, 250 in 2021 and 258 in 2022.
The Government of India recently provided data in Parliament about the selection of candidates from reserved categories for the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFS) in the last five years. The information comes amid discussions over the case of trainee IAS officer Pooja Khedkar, who secured her post using an OBC certificate, sparking a debate on reservation policies in civil services.
Union Cabinet Minister Dr Jitendra Singh clarified that the recruitment process for these services follows the rules laid down by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). As per the current reservation policy, Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) get 15%, 7.5% and 27% reservation respectively in UPSC civil services.
Data shows that 54 IAS, 40 IPS and 40 IFS officers were appointed under the OBC quota in 2018. In the same year, 29 IAS, 23 IPS and 16 IFS officers were recruited from the SC category, while 14 IAS, 9 IPS and 8 IFS officers were selected from the ST category. In 2019, the number rose to 103 IAS, 75 IPS and 53 IFS officers from reserved categories.
This trend continued with the appointment of 99 IAS, 74 IPS and 50 IFS officers in 2020. In 2021, 97 IAS, 99 IPS and 54 IFS officers were selected from the SC, ST and OBC categories. The most recent data for 2022 shows that 100 IAS, 94 IPS and 64 IFS officers were selected under these reserved categories.
A total of 1,195 candidates from SC, ST and OBC categories were appointed to IAS, IPS and IFS services in the last five years. The details include 233 officers in 2018, 231 in 2019, 223 in 2020, 250 in 2021 and 258 in 2022. This data highlights the continued representation of reserved categories in India’s premier civil services as per the reservation policy.
