Cadre allotments are based on your preference. And there is no vacancy in the cadre of your choice then, it might seem to you that the cadre allotment is random.
For those who are filling the DAF right now(in 2018), kindly note down that there have been changes in the cadre allotment policy.
This is how the new cadre policy reads-
‘The States/Joint Cadres shall be divided into the following five Zones:
i. Zone-I (AGMUT, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana)
ii. Zone-II (Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha)
iii. Zone-III (Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh)
iv. Zone-IV (West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam-Meghalaya. . Manipur, Tripura and
v. Zone-V (Telangana. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala)
The candidates shall first give their choice in the descending order of preference from amongst the various Zones. Thereafter the candidates will indicate one preference of cadre from each preferred zone. The candidates will indicate their second cadre preference for every preferred zone thereafter. Similar process will continue till a preference for all the cadres is indicated by the candidate. It is to be noted that preference for the zones will remain in the same order and no change in the order of preference for the zones/ cadres will be permitted.’
A lot of students ask me to make the allotments for them .While, it is totally a personal choice, I can still recommend a model cadre allotment for those who need some assistance.
Lets first take the Zone Preference.
First preference -Zone I
Second preference -Zone II
Third preference - Zone V
Fourth preference - Zone III
Fifth preference - Zone IV
Note- You should definitely mark the zone of your home state as first preference. Then you may refer the above ranking for further numbering.
Lets now look at the Cadre preferences within each zone.
Zone-I
1. Rajasthan, 2.AGMUT, 3.Punjab, 4. Himachal Pradesh, 5.Haryana, 6.Uttarakhand, 7.Jammu and Kashmir
Zone-II
1.Bihar, 2.Uttar Pradesh, 3.Odisha and 4.Jharkhand)
Zone-III
1.Maharashtra, 2.Madhya Pradesh, 3.Chhattisgarh, 4. Gujarat)
Zone-IV
1.West Bengal, 2.Assam-Meghalaya, 3.Tripura, 4.Sikkim,5.Nagaland, 6.Manipur
Zone-V
1.Andhra Pradesh, 2.Karnataka, 3.Telangana 4.Tamil Nadu and 5.Kerala)
Note- You should definitely mark your home state as first preference. Then you may refer the above ranking for further numbering.
Source Quora
