Shimla, Feb. 1 -- The Himachal government has decided to reduce the cadre strength of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) as well as the Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers. Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, while interacting with mediapersons in Solan on Friday, said, "With a population of approximately 70 lakh, Himachal Pradesh does not require 153 IAS officers. Consequently, the state government has decided against inducting new IAS and IPS officers into the state cadre. The government aims to reduce the number of Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers."

The HP government, in response to a letter sent by the Centre, has refused to take IAS-IPS for the 2025 batch. After discussion with chief ministe...