New Delhi, June 1 -- The Union home ministry has finalised the distribution of 147 Indian Police Service (IPS) vacancies to be filled through Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2024, paving the way for the long-delayed cadre allocation of IPS officers of the 2025 batch, according to an official order. The ministry, in a notification issued on May 29, communicated the vacancy distribution to state governments, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy. The move marks the completion of a crucial stage in the first IPS cadre allocation exercise conducted under the Centre's revised cadre allocation framework. According to the notification, a total of 147 IPS vacancies have been earmarked across 25 cadres, including 49 insider and 98 outsider vacancies. Of these, 74 vacancies fall under the unreserved category, 41 under Other Backward Classes (OBC), 22 under Scheduled Castes (SC) and 10 under Scheduled Tribes (ST). Officials familiar with the process said the finalisation of vacancies removes one of the key hurdles that had delayed cadre allotment this year. The exercise had been running behind schedule as the Centre implemented a new cadre allocation mechanism replacing the zonal preference system introduced in 2017. Traditionally, IPS cadre allotments are completed by March, but this year's process was delayed because of the transition to the new allocation regime and the need to reconcile vacancies across states and reservation rosters, they added. Under the revised framework, cadres are grouped into four clusters and allocations are made through a rotational process while maintaining reservation requirements and insider-outsider balances. The new system also changes the methodology for determining insider vacancies, requiring fresh roster calculations and extensive coordination between the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the home ministry and state governments. Among the cadres with the highest number of vacancies, West Bengal tops the list with 15 posts, followed by Andhra Pradesh with 14, Uttar Pradesh with 12, Assam-Meghalaya and Madhya Pradesh with 11 each, and Maharashtra with 10. Tamil Nadu has nine vacancies, while Bihar has eight and Karnataka seven. The Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territories (AGMUT) cadre has four vacancies, including one insider vacancy and three outsider vacancies. Officials said the vacancy distribution is the final input required before cadre allotments can be worked out against candidates' ranks, categories and home-state claims. They added that the allocation exercise is expected to gather pace now, although no official date has yet been announced for publication of the final cadre allocation list....