The Centre announced a major overhaul of the cadre allocation policy for All India Services (IAS, IPS, IFoS), effective from the 2026 batch. The policy replaces zonal divisions with four alphabetical groups to enhance transparency, fairness, and national integration. Allotments will follow merit, vacancies, explicit willingness, and a rotational cycle. This could impact administrative postings in government organisations like ICMR, ICAR, ISRO, and other research bodies overseen by these services.