West Bengal with an approved strength of 359 IAS officers is managing with 220 officers. The shortage of 139 officers is the maximum among all the 24 cadres, Lok Sabha was informed today.
The Uttar Pradesh cadre follows closely with a shortage of 118 officers. While the state has an approved strength of 592 IAS officers -- the maximum among all cadre -- it is managing with 474 officers.
In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said while the total approved strength of 24 cadre is 6,270, the working strength stood at 4,619 as on January 1, 2014. The shortage stood at 1,651 officers.
"In promotion quota, prompt actions have been taken for holding selection committee meetings for appointment by promotion/selecting state service officers to IAS," he said.