Government has finalized new cadre policy of IAS, IPS and Indian Forest Service officers aimed at ensuring national integration in the country's top bureaucracy.<br/><br/>Officers of all-India services — the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFoS) — will have to choose cadres from a set of zones instead of states.<br/><br/>The officers of the three services are currently allocated a cadre state or a set of states to work in. These officers may be posted on central deputation during the course of their service after fulfilling certain eligibility conditions.<br/><br/>Under the new policy, candidates can only select one state/cadre from a zone as their first choice. Their second, third, fourth and fifth choices have to be from the different zones.<br/><br/>According to an official of the Personnel department, the new policy will seek to ensure that officers from Bihar, for instance, will get to work in southern and north-eastern states, which may not be their preferred cadres. He said the new policy would help in upholding the rationale behind the all-India services.<br/><br/>The existing 26 cadres have been divided into five zones in the new policy proposed by the Department of Personnel.