Careers in Civil Services

Civil Service is a heaven born service. The Civil Services of India runs the entire administration of the country. The elected ministers of India lay down the policies required to properly run the administrative machinery, which is then carried out by the civil servants in various central government agencies. These officers are responsible for the maintenance of law and order, revenue administration and general administration in the area under them. The major reason for having a permanent lobby of bureaucrats is that they act as an intermediate between public and government by good execution and deliverance skills.

The Civil Service concept in India dates back to ancient times. It had its presence in Aryan’s administrative system to the Kautilya's Arthashastra to Gupta age to Mughals and Britishers and still it is relevant for easy and smooth functioning of government.

There are as many as 24 services in the central government, almost all of them in Group A service for which UPSC conducts examination. Three topmost and most sought services happen to be Indian Administrative service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Foreign Service (IFS). The other Services, termed as Central Services are Indian Revenue Service (IRS), Income Tax, Central Customs and Excise, Indian Audit and Account Service, Indian Postal Service, Indian Defense Accounts Service, Indian Railway Traffic Service, Indian Railway Personnel Service, Indian Railway Accounts Service, etc. Central Services serve Union Government, not state services like IAS and IPS. There are Group B services as well, assigned to various departments and services. Civil services recruitment is done for about 24 services and about 900(Approximate) officers are selected every year.

If you dream of a career that brings lots of authority and power, respect and popularity, a career that makes one an icon, an idol, a career that enables you to contribute to society meaningfully, then Civil Services is indeed a very attractive opportunity for you.

Careers/Job Profiles

Ø  Indian Administrative Service

Ø  Indian Foreign Service

Ø  Indian Police Service

Ø  Indian P & T Accounts & Finance Service, Group ‘A’

Ø  Indian Audit and Accounts Service, Group ‘A’

Ø  Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise), Group ‘A’

Ø  Indian Defence Accounts Service, Group ‘A’

Ø  Indian Revenue Service (I.T.), Group ‘A’

Ø  Indian Ordnance Factories Service, Group ‘A’ (Assistant Works Manager, Administration)

Ø  Indian Postal Service, Group ‘A’

Ø  Indian Civil Accounts Service, Group ‘A’

Ø  Indian Railway Traffic Service, Group ‘A’

Ø  Indian Railway Accounts Service, Group 'A'

Ø  Indian Railway Personnel Service, Group ‘A’

Ø  Post of Assistant Security Commissioner in Railway Protection Force, Group ‘A’

Ø  Indian Defence Estates Service, Group ‘A’

Ø  Indian Information Service (Junior Grade), Group ‘A’

Ø  Indian Trade Service, Group 'A'

Ø  Indian Corporate Law Service, Group "A"

Ø  Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service, Group ‘B’ (Section Officer’s Grade)

Ø   Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Civil Service, Group 'B'

Ø  Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Police Service, Group 'B'

Ø   Pondicherry Civil Service, Group 'B'

Ø  Pondicherry Police Service, Group ‘B’.

State Civil Services

The State Civil Services examinations and recruitments are conducted by the individual states of India. The state civil services have departments such as land revenue, agriculture, forests, education etc. The officers of the state civil services are recruited by different States through the State Public Service Commissions. The categories of services are as under:

Ø  State Civil Services, Class-I.

Ø  State Police Service, Class-I.

Ø  Tehsildar/Talukadar.

Ø  Assistant Commissioner/Assistant Collector – Excise/CommercialTax.

Ø  District Employment Officer.

Ø  District Treasury Officer.

Ø  District Welfare Officer.

Ø  Assistant Registrar Cooperative Societies.

Ø  District Food and Supplies Controller/Officer.

Ø  Any other Class-I/Class-II service notified as per rules by the concerned State.

Eligibility for the Examination

Ø  You should hold a graduate bachelor’s degree in any subject (or about to take final year examinations) from a recognised institution.

Ø  You must be a minimum 21 years of age and maximum 32 years of age on the date of the examination (Relaxation of 5 years for SC/ST, individuals holding a domicile of Jammu & Kashmir; 3 years for OBC and defence personnel; 10 years for blind, deaf-mute and orthopedically handicapped persons.)

Ø  Individuals from General Category are allowed 6 attempts at taking the examination, OBC candidates are allowed 9 attempts, and SC/ST candidates have an unlimited number of attempts at the examination.

Ø  You should be a citizen of India to apply for the IAS and IPS, and for other deemed posts, an individual should be a citizen of India/Nepal/Bhutan/a Tibetan refugee who came over to India before 1st January, 1962/a person of Indian Origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia and Vietnam.

Phases of Civil Service Examination

Preliminary Examination

Comprises of two compulsory papers of 200 marks each - the general studies and general aptitude paper. The question papers are objective (multiple choice questions) of two hours duration and are set in Hindi and English. English Language Comprehension skills is only in English.

Main Examination 

Paper 1- One language (300 marks)
Paper 2 - English (300 marks)
Paper 3- Essay( 200 marks)
Paper 4 & 5- General Studies (300 marks each)
Paper 6,7,8,9- Any 2 prescribed optional subjects(2 papers each subject) (300 marks for each paper)

Interview

The interview is a face to face process which evaluates a candidate’s potential and commitment to the society. The interview is out of 275 marks.

Final ranks are calculated by adding Mains (Out of 1750) and Interview marks (Out of 275) and the rank list will be prepared based on marks scored out of 2025.

Training

During the course of about two years of probation, the selected candidates for civil services are trained initially, in Mussorie and subsequently in various training academies such as Mussorie(IAS), Hyderabad (IPS), Nagpur (IRS) – Income Tax, Delhi(IFS) etc. They are also attached to their field offices for some time for exposing them to the field during training period itself. Training modules are different for each of the services.

Optional Subjects

There are 26 optional subjects available for Papers VI and VII among which candidates can choose any subjects.

The optional subject papers are of Post Graduate level. In general, the optional Paper I is theoretical while Paper II comprises of Current Affairs based questions also.

Ø  Agriculture 

Ø  Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science  

Ø  Anthropology           

Ø  Botany         

Ø  Chemistry  

Ø  Civil Engineering      

Ø  Commerce and Accountancy             

Ø  Economics                  

Ø  Electrical Engineering

Ø  Geography

Ø  Geology      

Ø  History         

Ø  Law               

Ø  Literature of any one of the non-English languages listed above

Ø  Management

Ø  Mathematics

Ø  Mechanical Engineering

Ø  Medical Science

Ø  Philosophy

Ø  Physics

Ø  Political Science and International Relations

Ø  Psychology

Ø  Public Administration

Ø  Sociology

Ø  Statistics

Ø  Zoology

Career Prospects

Civil Services provides an unparalleled career opportunity - the amount of authority and the magnitude of responsibilities that even a freshly appointed civil servant enjoys are much higher than those held by people who are well-established in other fields. For this reason, today, Civil Services is the most coveted among career options in India. But, it also means that the competition for the limited number of Civil Services posts is sky high.

Civil Services include all state and central government offices and offer jobs not only in better known sectors like the IAS (Indian Administrative Service), IFS (Indian Foreign Service)and IPS (Indian Police Service) but also select departments of the Indian Railways, Revenue Service, Postal Service, Audits, Customs, etc.

Income

Salary structure consists of different Pay Scales: Junior Scale, Senior Scales, Super Time Scale, Above Super Time Scales etc. Each of the pay scales further consists of different pay bands.

Ø  Junior Scale: Pay Band: Rs 15600-39100 plus Grade Pay Rs 5400

Ø  Senior Time Scale: Pay Band: Rs 15600-39100 plus Grade Pay Rs 6600

Ø  Junior Administrative Grade: Pay Band: Rs 15600-39100 plus Grade Pay Rs 7600

Ø  Selection Grade: Pay Band: Rs 37400-67000 plus Grade Pay Rs 8700

Ø  Super Time Scale: Pay Band: Rs 37400-67000 plus Grade Pay Rs 10000

Ø  Above Super Time Scale

Rs 37400-67000. Plus Grade Pay of Rs 12000.

The Apex Pay Scale of Rs 80000 (fixed). No Grade Pay.

Cabinet Secretary Grade of Rs 90000 (fixed). No Grade Pay.

IAS and IPS officers also enjoy several other benefits in the form of PF, Gratuity, Healthcare services, lifetime pension, residence, service quarter, transportation, household staff, study leave and several other retirement benefits. These are just some of the major perks and facilities that are enjoyed by IAS and IPS officers in India.