Career in Indian Civil Services

Career path for Indian Civil Services

Years down the line, the picture has not changed much, and why should it, when tens of thousands of young people even today, are all willing to rough it out and chalk their way to the hallowed corridors of bureaucracy.

To make career in any stream, one should have basic knowledge of what actually the designation means. For example, if one wants to become an IAS/IPS officer then he should have complete knowledge of what actually these designation stands for. IAS means Indian Administrative Services and IPS means Indian Police Services. IAS/IPS is basically meant for those aspiring candidates who have strong dedication towards the country. IAS officer works as crucial part of Indian Government.

The Civil Services have always had an air of "pride and power" around them. An offshoot of the Raj, they still hold the same sway even in the post-colonial era. Seen as a legacy of the British Rule here in India, the Civil Services, with all its connotations of hierarchical accountability and controls, were established soon after the suppression of the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny. It marked the transfer of power from the East India Company to the Crown in England. The sole objective of the Services then was to govern the far-flung British Empire, which predominantly involved duties like - preservation of law and order, dispensation of justice and the collection of taxes. In the 19th century, these services were restricted only to the 'White Babus' and 'Sahibs'. Only from 1920s, after the constitution of the Indian Civil Services (ICS), were Indians admitted to the service. Today, the Civil Servants, as the officers of the Civil Services are called, work in a wholly different context, different form the days of the Raj. Following the Preamble of the Indian Constitution, they now operate to create a 'Sovereign, democratic and a Welfare State' with a singular focus on developing the Nation. So, if you are one, who visualizes the nation as a developed country, as a potential superpower in the days to come, and if you strongly believe that you can lead the nation towards this vision, then get set to chart your way to Bureaucracy and Babudom!

An overview of the services

The Indian Civil Services are organized into two main sections:

1. The All India Services
   
2. The Central Services
   

All India Services

The officers who make it to the All India Services, on appointment by the government of India, will be deputed to different States and are at the disposal of the respective State Governments. These services include:

• The Indian Administrative Service (IAS): The IAS officers handle the affairs of the government. At the Central level, their job involves the framing and implementation of policies. At the district level, they manage the affairs of the district, including development related activities. At the divisional level, they look after law and order, general administration and development work.
  
• The Indian Police Service (IPS): The IPS officer's job mainly involves maintaining law and order. (At the district level, they share this responsibility with the IAS officers.) The IPS officer is responsible for ensuring public safety and security; crime detection and prevention; and traffic control and accident prevention and management. There are several functional departments that help IPS officers to carry out their duties. They are:
  
  • Crime Branch
    
  • Criminal Investigation Department (CID)
    
  • Home Guards
    
  • Traffic Bureau
    
• The other agencies at the Central level that aid in similar functions are:
  
  • Intelligence Bureau (IB), which gathers information that will aid in predicting and preventing threats to public order.
    
  • Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which investigates into cases of corruption and major crimes that are referred to it.
    
  • Cabinet Secretariat Security, which looks after the personal security of the cabinet ministers.
    
  • Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), who are called in times of emergency, like a natural calamity, or when the law and order situation cannot be controlled by the local police alone.
    
  • Border Security Force (BSF), these forces are responsible for the protection of life and property in the border areas.
    
• The Indian Forest Service: The officers in this category manage the forest reserves of the nation. Their job involves the protection and conservation of forest resources and wildlife. They also look after the management and supply of forest products.
  
• The Central Services: The Officers of the Central Services serve the Government of India only, irrespective of which State or Country they are posted in. Some of the predominant services that come under this category are:
  
  • The Indian Foreign Service (IFS): The IFS officers look after the country's external affairs, including diplomacy, trade and cultural relations. They are also responsible for the administration and activities of Indian missions abroad; and for the framing and implementation of the Government's foreign policy.
    
  • The Indian Railway Service (IRS): The Indian railway network is one of the largest in the world. The IRS officers ensure the smooth operation of this network.
    
  • The Indian Postal Service: This department looks after the functioning of the mail, telegraphic and other communication services in the country.
    
• The Accounts and Auditing Service: This department functioning in four categories deals with accounts, audits and inspections of: - public sector, central and state government undertakings; all military establishments; and the fixing, assessment and collection of income tax.
  
• The Indian Customs (IC) and Central Excise Service (CES): The IC deals with the checking and levy of duty on taxable goods brought into the country; and the CES carries out the duty of taxation of goods manufactured within the country.
  
• The Indian Ordinance Factories Service: This service oversees the production of goods made particularly for the use of the Armed Forces.
  
• The Indian Defense Estates Service (IDES): It is concerned with the administration of military cantonments.
  
• The Indian Information Service (IIS): This comes under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The IIS officers handle the press and/or public relations both within the country and abroad on behalf of the government, its various ministries, Public Sector Units (PSUs) and the defense forces.
  

Eligibility: The three pre-requisites for entering the Services through the Civil Services

• Examination are:
  
  • The candidate must be an Indian citizen
    
  • She/he should be between 21 to 30 years of age, as on August 1st of the examination year. Age relaxation of 5 years and 3 years is available to those belonging to SC/ ST and OBC categories respectively.
    
  • The candidate should have a Bachelor's degree in any discipline from any recognized University.
    
• The Starting Point: Cracking the Competitive Examination Entry to the IAS, IPS and the Central Services is through the combined Competitive Examination for the Civil Services. Recruitment to the Indian Forest Service is through a separate examination. The Competitive Examination takes place in three stages:
  
  • Stage I: Preliminary Examination the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), an autonomous body that ensures unbiased recruitment to the Civil Services, conducts the examination. The notification for obtaining the application forms for the examination will appear in the Employment News and also in other leading dailies. The preliminary (prelims), a written examination is held in the month of June every year. It consists of two papers, both in the objective type format.
    
  • Paper I: This paper is called the General Studies and carries a maximum score of 150 points on 150 questions. It is of two hours duration. It covers these six topics - Indian History, the Constitution of India, Geography, Economics, Science and Current Affairs.
    
  • Paper II: This is an optional paper on a subject of your choice, for instance, Political Science, History, Economics, and Psychology etc. A list of the optional subjects that can be taken can be obtained from the UPSC website - UPSC. Paper II carries a score of 300 points on 120questions and is also of two hours duration. Since, it is an extremely competitive exam; the candidates taking the prelims must be extremely diligent and hard working. Only the highest scorers qualify for the second examination, that is, the Main Examination. The success rate of preliminary exam is less than 10%.
    
  • Stage II: Main Examination is a written examination in the subjective or essay type format. It is generally held in the month of November/December. It includes nine papers:
    
• Papers I & II: These are the language papers, of 300 marks each. One is the English language paper, which is compulsory; and the other is in any Indian language mentioned in the eighth schedule of the Indian Constitution. Marks obtained in these papers are not added in the total score, however qualifying or passing in them with the specified minimum percentage is necessary.
  
• Paper III: The third is an Essay paper of 200 marks. The candidate can choose to write the essay in either English or in any Indian language mentioned in the eight schedule of the Constitution.
  
• Paper IV and V: These are the General Studies (G.K. and Current Affairs) papers of 300 marks each.
  
• Paper VI, VII, VIII & IX: Here, the candidate will have to take two optional subjects, which would contain two papers each. Thus, a total of four papers, where each paper would be of 300 marks, with a total score of1200.The number of candidates, who pass through this stage successfully, is further reduced in percentage when compared to the numbers who succeed in the prelims. An indication of the tough competition is the fact that, (on a 1:10 basis), if for instance, a thousand candidates pass the Main exam, there is in reality, only 100 vacancies or civil service posts available.
  

Stage III: Personality Test In this final round of elimination, the competition gets the toughest. Candidates are selected on 1:2 ratios. So, if there are ten vacancies, then twenty candidates will be interviewed. The personality test follows the pattern of an oral interview or a viva voce. An expert panel judges the candidate's over all personality, his/her social traits, presence of mind, and leadership qualities, apart from their intellectual capabilities and aptitude for the work involved. When all the hard work of the candidate finally pays off and he finds himself smoothly cruising out of, even the interview stage, he undergoes compulsory training at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Missouri as a probationary officer. Training will be imparted in academic areas, which comprise subject studies like economics, history, political science, etc. After this foundation course, specific job-oriented training is conducted separately by each service.