about indian civil service

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About Indian Civil Service

Introduced by Lord Cornwallis (Governor-General 1786-93), the Civil Service has been one of themost popular career option since the time of British Empire in India. Earlier known as the 'ImperialCivil Service', it was later called as Civil Service of India.

After independence the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) replaced the ICS while the pre-independence structure of all-India services, provincial or state services and central or Uniongovernment services was retained. The Indian Police Service (IPS) was differently nomenclaturedfrom the earlier Imperial Police (IP). While the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) was established by IndianGoverment on the eve of Indian independence.

The civil servants are thrust responsibility of managing the economic, natural and human resources of the country. They constitute of individuals from different walks of life and different educational &social backgrounds who imbibe the qualities of integrity, vision and commitment to the nation. Thevaried backgrounds of individuals creates a perfect amalgamation mirroring the Indian social reality

giving it a holistic perspective.

The members of the Civil Service form the backbone of the administration with the responsibility of smooth and efficient functioning of the executive. These civil servants who are a part of theadministrative executive perf orm the primary role of implementing policies and directions given by theministries.

The selection of civil servants for All-India and Central Services is carried out by the Union PublicService Commission (UPSC), while the states also conduct their respective examinations through StatePublic Service Commissions to select the provincial and state civil services. The three stage exam(Prelims, Mains and Interview) conducted by UPSC to select the civil servants is very rigorous and

requires grit, above-average intelligence and single-minded devotion by the aspirants to qualify. Theexam tests for the skills, broad base knowledge as well as the personality of the individual to see wherethey stand with respect to the expected qualities of a civil servant. Most of the other state civil servicesexam are broadly based on the pattern of UPSC.

Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFS) arethe only three All-India services of which the members of IAS and IPS are selected through the CivilServices exam while a seperate exam is conducted by UPSC to select the cadre for Indian ForestService. Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Revenue Service (IRS), Indian Civil Accounts, IndianDefence Accounts, Indian Railway Traffic and other services are offered through the Civil Serviceexam (for a detailed list please see here) conducted by UPSC. Further the services are divided into

Group 'A' and Group 'B' in which 'Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service', 'Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Civil & Police Service' and'Pondicherry Police Service' comprise Group 'B' whereas rest fall in Group 'A'.

Please click on the links below for more information on some of the services.

Indian Administrative Service (IAS)

The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the highest cadre of the civil services in India and is the

successor to the erstwhile Indian Civil Service (ICS) of the British Raj. During the British period this bureaucratic structure was known as 'Steel frame' for its role in influencing and implementinggovernment policies and decisions.

IAS officers play an important role in managing the bureaucracy of both the Union and stategovernments, with its officers holding key posts across the country. The job profile involves theformulation and implementation of policies for the smooth working of the country. At the district levelthey are concerned with district affairs, including development functions, law and order and generaladministration.

The candidates for IAS are selected through the Civil service exam conducted by UPSC. These

officers are appointed by the President of India and are allotted to state cadres. About 33% of theselected candidates are placed in their home states while the rest are allocated to cadres outside their state according to the roster system. Each state is designated as one cadre except the three cadreswhich include more than one state, namely: Manipur-Tripura, Assam-Meghalaya and Arunachal

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Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram-Union Territories.

Another source of entry to the IAS is through promotion from the senior ranks of the State CivilService, from posts of Deputy Collector or their equivalent. However, opportunities are limited andgenerally it requires about twenty years or more of service, implying that these officers enter IAS atthe end of their careers.

The Cabinet Secretary, Defence Secretary, Finance Secretary, Home Secretary and various other

coveted posts are taken by the senior most IAS officers. They are also assigned the responsibility of Chairman and Directors of various public sector undertakings like GAIL, ONGC, BSNL etc. Duringthe normal course of a career, they are posted at the Sub-Division as SDMs, and District as DMs, andserve in the State Secretariat or as Head of Departments. They also move from State to the Center ondeputation to various departments of GOI.

IAS officers join in the Junior Time Scale and after 4 years of service they are promoted to the Senior Time Scale which is equivalent to an Under Secretary of Government of India (GOI), after 9 yearsthey are promoted to the Junior Administrative Grade which is equal to Deputy Secretaries to GOI.After completing 13 years of service, they are granted the Selection Grade when they can be placed asDirectors in GOI. The ranks after that are - Joint Secretary (GOI), Additional Secretary (GOI) and

Secretary (GOI) which is the highest rank.

The IAS officers are placed under the supervision of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India but allocated to different state cadres. Although the respective State Governments have controlover them but they cannot take disciplinary action against IAS and other All India Services officerswithout consulting the Union Government and the UPSC. This independence has sometimes beenconsidered a hindrance in bringing order to officers against their misdemeanors.

Indian Foreign Service (IFS)

The Indian Foreign Service was established in September 1946, for representation of India'sdiplomatic, consular and commercial interests overseas. With independence, there was a near-completetransition of the Foreign and Political Department into what then became the new Ministry of ExternalAffairs and Commonwealth Relations which became the cadre controlling authority for IFS. The first

batch of IFS officers of independent India graduated in 1948.

The Indian Foreign Service (IFS) deals with the matters of external affairs of the country, whichincludes diplomacy, trade and cultural relations with other nations. IFS officers are responsible for administration and activities of Indian missions abroad as well as framing and implementation of

policies, which govern our relations with other countries.

As a diplomat, the Foreign Service Officer is required to project India’s interests, both at home andabroad on a wide variety of issues. These include bilateral political and economic cooperation, tradeand investment promotion, cultural interaction, press and media liaison as well as a whole host of multilateral issues.

In summary the important functions of the IFS include -• Representing India in its Embassies, High Commissions, Consulates, and Permanent Missions tomultilateral organisations like UN;• Protecting India’s national interests in the country of his/her posting;• Promoting friendly relations with the receiving state as also its people, including NRI / PIOs;

• Reporting accurately on developments in the country of posting which are likely to influence theformulation of India’s policies;• Negotiating agreements on various issues with the authorities of the receiving state; and• Extending consular facilities to foreigners and Indian nationals abroad.• At home, Ministry of External Affairs is responsible for all aspects of external relations. Territorialdivisions deal with bilateral political and economic work while functional divisions look after policy

planning, multilateral organizations, regional groupings, legal matters, disarmament, protocol,consular, Indian Diaspora, press and publicity, administration and other aspects.

The selection of candidates to IFS is done through the Civil Services Exam conducted by UPSC. Mostaspirants consider the IAS and IFS as their first choices, and since each year there are only around 10-15 vacancies for IFS, the services gets the highest ranking elite candidates. The service offers itscadres to serve the nation by shaping the Indian image in the global scenario. Apart from thesatisfaction and pride of serving the country it also offers attractive salaries, perks and other benefits toits officers.


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After recruitment to IFS, the probationers spend three months attending a common foundation coursewith all other selected candidates of the civil services for that year at the Lal Bahadur Shastri NationalAcademy of Administration, Mussourie. The IFS probationers then move to Foreign Service Institute,

New Delhi for a year. The program includes lectures, workshops and visits to many partner agencies,including formations of the army, navy and air force. It also calls for about five months of travel todifferent locations in the country to get a feel of the socio-economic scenario, as well as two separatetours to neighboring countries. The entire training program is for a period of 36 months .At theconclusion of the training program the officer is assigned a compulsory foreign language (CFL) which

forms the basis of their first posting abroad where the CFL is the native language.

A Foreign Service Officer begins his career abroad in the embassy as a Third Secretary and is promoted to Second Secretary as soon as he is confirmed in service. Subsequent promotions are to thelevels of First Secretary, Counsellor, Minister and Ambassador/High Commissioner/PermanentRepresentative. Officers can also be posted to Indian Consulates abroad where the hierarchy (goingupwards) is Vice-Consul, Consul and Consul General. The hierarchy at the Ministry of ExternalAffairs includes 6 stages: Under Secretary, Deputy Secretary, Director, Joint Secretary, AdditionalSecretary and Secretary.

Indian Police Service (IPS)The Indian Police Service came into existence in the nineteenth century and still the Police Act of 1861 forms the basis of the Indian Police. It was in the year 1948 that Indian Police Service (IPS) wasformed after replacing the erstwhile Imperial Police (IP) of the British Empire.

The service involves the challenging task of maintaining public order, safety and security along withdealing with the new threats of 20th century, primarily including terrorism, naxal violence and other threats to internal security that have emerged as menacing issues for the Indian Government and its

people. The job requires the personnel to be mentally alert, physically fit and ready for unforeseen

challenges. Apart from the traditional job of maintaining Law & Order, the work profile also includesthe task of formulating strategies and programmes for public welfare, removal of public grievancesw.r.t police inaction, intelligence gathering and taking other preventive steps to maintain social order. Itis their duty to lead and command the forces with courage, uprightness, dedication and a strong senseof service to the people.

Broadly the functions of IPS Officers are related to duties pertaining to maintenance of public peaceand order, crime prevention, investigation, and detection, intelligence collection, counter-terroristoperations, VIP security, border and railway policing, prevention of smuggling & drug trafficking,dealing with economic offences and corruption in public life along with disaster management,enforcement of socio-economic legislation, bio-diversity and protection of environmental laws etc.

They also have the responsibility of leading and commanding the civil and armed police forces in allthe states and union territories as well Central Police Organizations like IB, CBI as well as

paramilitary forces including BSF, CRPF, ITBP, CISF, NSG, and other organizations like Vigilanceand Bureau of Police Research & Development (BPR&D). They also serve at managerial and policy

positions in the Ministries and Departments of Central and State governments and public sector undertakings both at centre and states, as well as in collecting external intelligence for the countrythrough Research and Analysis wing (RAW).

The candidates for IPS are selected through the Civil service exam conducted by UPSC. These officersare appointed by the President of India and are allotted to state cadres. About 33% of the selectedcandidates are placed in their home states while the rest are allocated to cadres outside their stateaccording to the roster system. Each state is designated as one cadre except the three cadres whichinclude more than one state, namely: Manipur-Tripura, Assam-Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram-Union Territories.

Another source of entry to the IPS is through promotion from the senior ranks of the State CivilService, from posts of Superintendent of Police (SP) or their equivalent. However, opportunities arelimited and generally it requires about twenty years or more of service, implying that these officersenter IPS at the end of their careers.

On completion of probation an IPS officer, begins his/her career as an Assistant Superintendent of

Police (ASP) or equivalent at a sub-division, with subsequent promotions to Superintendent of Police(SP), Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Inspector General (IG),Additional Director General (ADG) to finally the top-most Director General of Police (DGP) whohead the state and central police organizations.


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Since IPS is among the three All-India services, Ministry of Home Affairs (Government of India) isthe cadre controlling authority. Although the respective State Governments have control over them butthey cannot take disciplinary action against IAS and other All India Services officers withoutconsulting the Union Government and the UPSC. This independence has sometimes been considered ahindrance in bringing order to officers against their misdemeanors.

Indian Revenue Service (IRS)

The Indian Revenue Service is one of the Group ‘A’ Civil Services in India. Established in 1946, it isconcerned with the estimation, collection, administration and policy formulation w.r.t direct andindirect taxes. IRS officers are basically the tax administrators of the Union of India. The service alsohas specialized divisions for dealing with investigation of tax evasion and other malpracticesconcerning revenue collection.

The IRS comprises of two services, namely IRS-Customs and Central Excise (C&CE) and IRS – Income Tax (IT). Selection to the services is carried by the Civil Service examination conducted byUPSC. Both these cadres are controlled by the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance. Unlike

the IAS and IPS, the IRS officers are not allocated to a state cadre, but are rather centrally managedand can be posted anywhere in the country with an average tenure of about three years.

The training of the candidates takes place in Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration,Mussoorie for three months, followed by 15 months training for officers of IRS-Customs and CentralExcise (C&CE) at National Institute of Financial Management, Faridabad and for officers of IRS – Income Tax (IT) at National Academy of Direct Taxes, Nagpur. This is followed by on the job trainingat an Assistant Commissioner’s office for some time.

The IRS officers start their career from the position of Assistant Commissioner in the junior time scale.Subsequent promotions include Deputy Commissioner (Senior Time Scale), Joint Commissioner,

Additional Commissioner, Commissioner and finally Chief Commissioner or Director General, whilesome fortunate ones reach the position of Member or Chairperson Central Board of Direct Taxes(CBDT) or Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC). They are also sent on deputation to theVigilance Department, Enforcement Directorate, SEBI, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, NarcoticsControl Bureau, etc. apart from heading various cells in the Ministry of Finance.

Some candidates prefer the IRS above other premier services due to relatively low politicalinterference, greater leisure time, stable tenures, and postings to big cities. Also with changing times,more and more IRS officers are serving in departments and areas which used to exclusively for IASofficers. One of the previous Chief Election Commissioners of India was an IRS officer, while they arealso being selected as members of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). This widening of

opportunities and exposure has made the IRS more attractive.

The feeling of contributing to the development of the nation along with unparalleled perks and power make it a very lucrative career. With economic liberalization and increasing private participation, theIRS officers assume an even more important role. Recently ‘Economic Times’ reported a wide demandof IRS officers in the private sector considering their wide range of experience in manning variousfiscal and monetary policy centers and field formations.

Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IA&AS)

Such is the importance of Audit that scholars call it as the fourth pillar of democracy, after Parliament,Judiciary and Press. The Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IA&AS) is the government's financialwatchdog, and plays a critical role in scrutinizing the spending by Government and its allied bodies.

The Indian Audit and Accounts Department was formed in 1860 when Government Accounting andAuditing Functions were placed under the Auditor General of India. While the central service of Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IA&AS) was formulated in 1922 and since independence theservice has been working under the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, free of controlfrom any executive authority.

The officers of IA&AS form the executive-management level of the Indian Audit and AccountsDepartment who are responsible for auditing the accounts of the Union Government, StateGovernments, Public Sector Units, autonomous bodies and other organizations that are funded by theUnion or State Governments. Other duties include dealing with matters of internal audit, financial


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control, interpretation of the Government's financial regulations and rendering of financial advice.They are also posted on deputation as Secretaries to Government of India and to State Governmentsfor functioning as Financial Advisers, Chief Accounts Officers, and Chief Internal Audit Officers andso on.

To discharge their duty effectively, they require understanding of tax and revenue laws, industryspecific knowledge, ability to assess financial health of commercial corporations etc. Apart from the

professional skills the officers require the administrative competence to manage a huge workforce of

Audit & Accounts Department. All these skills are inculcated into the young probationers during their two year training period.

The Indian Audit & Accounts Service are deployed in offices spread throughout the country besidestwo overseas offices located at London and Washington. The officers also go abroad to auditEmbassies and High Commissions of India. However, IA&AS officers are seconded to Middle East(Oman, UAE) and African countries (Botswana) to serve in audit departments as specialists. Someofficers are also deputed to United Nations and its allied agencies for a short term.

Selection to the services is through the Civil Service examination conducted by Union Public ServiceCommission (UPSC). After an initial training at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of

Administration, Mussoorie, the cadre is sent to National Academy of Audit and Accounts, Shimla.Probationers are also given 16 weeks field training in Auditor Generals’ office.

During the course of their probation, direct recruits begin their first posting as Assistant AccountantGeneral. They are subsequently promoted to the post of Deputy Accountant General, Senior DeputyAccountant General, Accountant General, Director of Audits, Additional Controller and Auditor General (CAG), Dy. CAG and can even be selected for the coveted post of Controller and Auditor General of India who is at par with Chief Justice(s).

Indian Post & Telecommunication Accounts

and Finance Service (IP&TAFS)

Indian Posts & Telecommunications Accounts and Finance Service (IP&TAFS) is a Group ‘A’ CivilService in India which was founded in 1974 with the aim of management of the finances of Department of Telecom and the Department of Post. The first batch of officers of IP&TAFS wasrecruited in 1974.

The officers of IP&AFS are working in Department of Telecom, Department of Posts, BSNL, MTNLand various other Ministries and Statutory bodies of Government of India. Various officers also work

on deputation to Ministry of Finance, UPSC, Cabinet Secretariat and in other Central and StateGovernment Departments.

The function of the officers can be broadly classified into the two areas of Post andTelecommunication:

a) In the Department of Telecommunication the work profile involves collection of License fees andSpectrum Charges from BSNL, settlement of cases of pension of BSNL employees and maintainingGeneral Provident Fund (GPF) accounts of BSNL employees, MTNL and other service providers andfor checking and distributing claims received under the Universal Service Obligation fund. They alsoassist in the administration of Universal Service Obligation Fund under the Ministry of Communications & IT for providing telecom service in the rural/remote areas of the country involving(a) planning & forecasting (b) tendering (c) costing (d) disbursement of support to service providersand (e) monitoring. They are posted at DOT Headquarters as Adviser, Sr DDG, DDG, Directors &ADG. In field units the officers are posted as Controller / Joint Controller of Communication.

b) In the Department of Post, the officers from this service hold the offices of DDG / GM, Director,ADG of Postal Accounts located at DOP Headquarters and in all Indian states. Their work mainlycomprises of mainly maintaining General Provident Fund accounts of the staff employed in a

particular postal circle, settlement of pension cases, checking of money order deliveries and NSC's,

budgeting and financial control and rendering financial advice to the concerned Head of the Circle.

The selection of candidates to IP&TAFS is done through the Civil Services Exam conducted by UPSC.After recruitment the officers undergo a foundation course with other selected candidates of the other services via the Civil Services Exam at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration,


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Musorie. This is followed by rigorous professional training for a year at National Institute of FinancialManagement, Faridabad; followed by specialized training at Ministry of Finance, Government of India(GOI). For in depth training in telecom technologies and postal procedures the officers are sent toBSNL's Advance Level Telecom Training Centre at Ghaziabad for ten months. After successfulcompletion of training the officers are posted to work in the Department of Telecommunications or Department of Post as Assistant Chief Accounts Officers in the Junior Time Scale Grade.

Indian Post & Telecommunication Accounts and Finance is a central service with Member Finance,

Telecom Commission of India being its cadre controlling authority. Being a central service, the officersare liable to be transferred and posted anywhere in India. Officers from this service are also presentlyoccupying the posts of Director (Finance) on the Board of Directors of prestigious Public Sector Units(PSUs) viz., MTNL, BSNL, NPCIL and ITI.

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