Byline: Ashish Sinha

NEW DELHI: IAS aspirants may never have had it so good. The Union Public Service Commission has notified a total of 671 vacancies for civil services examinations this year, sharply increasing the number of entrants to the coveted bureaucratic enclaves often described

During the past few years, the total annual intake was around 500 with an average of 65 IAS posts up for grabs. The other vacancies were for Indian Police Service, Indian Foreign Service and a range of Group A and Group B jobs.

But this time around, a total of 110 IAS jobs are available, minister of state for personnel Suresh Pachauri said recently. Even better for the hopefuls, the total IAS vacancies for 2009 and 2010 are likely to be higher at 120 and 130 respectively.

The spurt in vacancies, official sources said, was marginally due to attrition as "just a minority, mostly from the revenue-related services" has been quitting the echelons of the civil services.

The more plausible reasons are intake being linked to number of officers retiring every year, besides a "general expansion" in the government's role as a "facilitator and regulator" in a liberalizing economy. That sounds like a contradiction, as liberalization was supposed to reduce red tape, but the civil service often works to its own ways which even beat its political masters.

The competition to make it to the IAS, seen as the most sought-after job, ensures that the entrance tests are some of the toughest globally. Over 3 lakh candidates apply for preliminary tests.