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The UPSC Civil Services Examination is for candidates who wish to join All India Services, Central Government Services Group A and Group B services. These are specifically listed out in the notification.
The officers in the All India Services serve both the Central Government and also the State Governments they are allocated to. Each officer gets a cadre, which decides the State Governments they will be serving. There are three All India Services-
State Government gives directions and has day-to-day control of the Officers, however, it is only the Central Government who can take disciplinary action against the officers. These officers are politically neutral and do not support any political party either at the Centre or State level. This ensures integrity and goal of public service in all Officers.
IAS officers are one of the most famous civil servants as they hold top public-facing positions in the administration. They hold various positions of decision making and implementation of government policies. They also are part of policy making. They are called ‘generalists’ as they are required to takeup diverse portfolios. This is why IAS officers must be able to identify and analyze problems, and develop and implement effective solutions to complex problems.
As they advance in service, IAS officers are responsible for the overall administration of districts. They oversee the implementation of government schemes, collect revenue, and maintain law and order. When the work with the Central Government departments, they play a key role in shaping the direction of the country and ensuring that government policies are effective in achieving their objectives.
The Promotion in Service happens after certain years of service and an officer’s performance.
| Years of Service | Position in Central Government | State Administration Positions |
|---|---|---|
| 1-4 | Assistant Secretary | Sub-Divisional Magistrate |
| 5-8 | Undersecretary | Additional District Magistrate |
| 9-12 | Deputy Secretary | District Magistrate |
| 13-16 | Director/ Special Secretary | |
| 16-24 | Joint Secretary | Divisional Commissioner |
| 25-30 | Additional Secretary/ Principal Secretary | |
| 30-33 | Additional Chief Secretary | |
| 34-36 | Secretary | Chief Secretary |
| 37+ Years | Cabinet Secretary of India | No Equivalent |
IPS officers are responsible for maintaining law and order, investigating crimes, and protecting the public. They play a crucial role in ensuring the safety and security of the country. Apart from being central in day to day policing, they also work in RAW (Research & Analysis Wing) and other Central Police Services like CAPF, CRPF etc. They proceed to hold various ranks as their years of service increase. This is provided below-
| Rank | Full Form | Years of Service |
|---|---|---|
| ASP | Assistant Superintendent of Police | 2-3 |
| DSP | Deputy Superintendent of Police | 5-7 |
| SP | Superintendent of Police | 8-10 |
| SSP | Senior Superintendent of Police | 12-15 |
| DIG | Deputy Inspector General of Police | 16-18 |
| IG | Inspector General of Police | 20-22 |
| ADG | Additional Director General of Police | 23-25 |
| DGP | Director General of Police | 25+ |
The Officers in Central Government Group ‘A’ Services serve the Central Government in the following services-
The civil services in India are classified into two major categories—All-India services and Central services
About All India Services:
All-India services are common to both Central and state governments and the members of these services occupy key positions under both the Centre and the states and serve them by turns.
At present, there are three all-India services:
The all-India services are jointly controlled by the Central and state governments. However, the ultimate control lies with the Central government and any disciplinary action against these officers can only be taken by the Central government while the immediate control is vested in the state governments.
The officers of Central services work under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Central government. They hold specialized positions in various departments of the Central government. The Central services are further classified into two groups.
Currently, there is 60 group 'A' Central services. Some of them are:
Among all, the most prestigious and highest central service in terms of status, pay, and emoluments are the Indian Foreign Service (IFS). Though it is a central service, it comes next to the IAS in ranking and its pay scale is higher than the IPS. It competes with the All-India services in position, status, and pay scales.
Most of the cadres of Central services group A have also corresponding group B services. The Central services group C consists of clerical personnel and group D consists of manual personnel. Therefore, Group A and B are comprised of gazetted officers and Group C and D are non-gazetted.
Some of the examples of the Group 'B' Services are
The process of recruitment of the Central Civil Services is made through the Civil & Engineering Services Examination of UPSC and the Combined Graduate Level Examination of Staff Selection Commission (SSC).
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Controlling Authority: Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions
Recruitment: UPSC Civil Services Examination
Responsibilities & Training:
Controlling authority: Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change
Recruitment: By UPSC through Indian Forest Service Examination
The Indian Forest Service, one of the three All India Services, was constituted in the year 1966 under the All India Services Act, 1951 by the Government of India.
Responsibilities:
The Major mandate of the IFoS officers is the proper implementation of the National Forest Policy which envisages sustainable environment, ecological balance and scientific management of forests. The IFoS officers are independent of the district administration and exercises administrative, financial and, judicial powers in their domain.
Controlling authority: Ministry of Home Affairs
Recruitment: UPSC Civil Services Examination
Responsibilities & Training:
The IPS officers assume the responsibility of maintaining law and order, public safety, and security by indulging in activities such as prevention of Crimes, traffic management, criminal investigations, etc. To achieve greater efficiency, these services are further classified into various functional departments such as Crime Branch, Home Guards, Traffic Bureau, Criminal Investigation Department, etc.
The Process of recruitment and training is the longest among all the services for IPS officers which extend to almost 2 years in total. During the probation period, these officers train in the office of a Superintendent of Police of a district where they have been allocated, and when they complete their probation period they are given a three-star Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) rank.
Higher Ranks: IPS officers attains the following ranks:
IPS officers also need to clear specially designed physical tests once they have been allotted to a particular IPS as per their rank.
These IPS officers also work and serve various national intelligence and security-based organizations such as,
With increasing experience these officers may also get an opportunity to serve in International Organizations related to security, policing, and intelligence agencies, such as Interpol, United Nations, International Cricket Council, in various embassies around the world, etc.
Controlling authority: Ministry of External Affairs
Recruitment: UPSC
Training and Career:
Responsibilities:
As a diplomat, IFS Officer is required to promote India’s interests at various platforms and on a variety of issues including bilateral political and economic cooperation, trade and investment promotion, cultural interaction, press, etc.
Some other important functions of IFS officers are as follows:
Controlling Authority: Ministry of Finance
Recruitment: UPSC and Central Services (Group B) of Income Tax Service (Group B).
Responsibilities:
The IRS functions under the administrative direction of the Revenue Secretary and ministerial command of the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue). The IRS is primarily responsible for discharging important functions such as revenue collection for development, security, and governance.
The IRS is controlled by two separate statutory bodies i.e the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT )- IRS (Income Taxes) and the Central Board of indirect taxes and Customs (CBIC)- and IRS (Customs and Indirect Taxes)
IRS officers serve the Government of India by playing an important role in different capacities. While administering, Direct Taxes through the ITD, they formulate policies, implement such policies and discharge the functions of an investigator, quasi-judicial authority, prosecutor, and negotiator of International Agreements, etc.
Training and Career:
An IRS officer begins his service in Group A as Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax. Recruitment at this level is through the Civil Services Examination conducted by UPSC. Some Income Tax Officers (Group B gazetted) also enter into IRS by way of promotion. The Indian Revenue Service Recruitment Rules regulate the selection and career prospects of an IRS officer.
After the selection, the IRS officers undergo training at the National Academy of Direct Taxes (NADT), Nagpur. NADT conducts Induction training for IRS officers and the Foundation Course for other services as well. At first, the officers are given the training in Foundation Course for about 4 months, then they undergo training of 16 months in specialized modules in taxation, accounting, public finance, fiscal policy, etc. To give exposure to global best practices in taxation, the training also includes a study tour and international attachment to different countries.
Some Major Posts: Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax in the ITD, Member or Chairperson of the CBDT, Deputy Commissioner, Joint Commissioner, Additional Commissioner, Commissioner, Principal Commissioner and Chief Commissioner of Income Tax.
Controlling Authority: Ministry of Railways
Recruitment: UPSC
Responsibilities:
Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS) functions under the administrative control of Member (Staff) at Railway Board's level, it is a unique service as it is the only service amongst the Central Group 'A' Civil Services catering exclusively to the Human Resources & Personnel Management discipline in the Central Government.
They perform a major role in all the activities of Indian Railways- those, which are directly connected with train operations, safety, productivity and earnings, as also the support activities for all departments of IR. IRPS officers are posted to work on divisions, workshops, zonal headquarters, production units and the Ministry of Railways (Railway Board).
Their recruitment to IRPS takes place in two ways, they are:
Training: National Academy of Indian Railways (NAIR)/Vadodara, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy for Administration (LBSNAA)/ Mussorie, National Academy for Direct Taxes (NADT)/ Nagpur and other specialized training institutes like at reputed management institutes of HR & Personnel Management, as well as field training on zonal railways, divisions, construction organizations and manufacturing units of the Indian Railways.
Other Group A Railway Services:
Controlling Authority: the Ministry of Communications
Recruitment: UPSC
Responsibilities:
The officers of the Indian Postal Service are responsible for running ‘India Post’, which is a subsidiary of the Ministry of Communications India Post provides services that range from conventional postal services to banking and e-commerce services. The Indian Postal Service Officers undergo training to perform a wide range of functions such as administration and management of postal operations and services, management of overall the Post Offices, development and expansion of India Post network, Coordination with police and public authorities and Recruitment, Transfer, Promotion and Disciplinary related matters of employees.
The Indian Postal Service is one of those services which contains high job mobility as well as variety as it is the only service where an officer can go on a deputation to the army and serve military officials of various ranks from Captain to Major General.
Training:
Selected recruits are trained at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy in Hyderabad, and National Academy of Direct Taxes (NADT) in Nagpur. They also get trained in Rafi Ahmed Kidwai National Postal Academy (RAKNPA) Ghaziabad to professional management and administration of postal services.
Higher Ranks: Senior Superintendent of Post Office (SSPO), Assistant PMG (Post Master General). They can also be promoted to the senior-most level of PMG of a "Circle". Promotions after that are to the posts such as:
The Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IA&AS) officers works in the top and middle-level management of Indian Audit and Accounts Department headed by the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG).
The Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IA&AS) audits the accounts of various government departments, public sector enterprises (PSE), railways, defence etc. This service is the most sought after services amongst the central civil services as it is believed that it has the highest percentage of job satisfaction amongst its officers and along with opportunities to serve within India and on deputation to foreign countries.
Training and Career:
The Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IA&AS) recruits undergo 18 months of training at the National Academy of Audit and Accounts located in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh.
The officers are trained in various stages on different disciplines, initially on principles and concepts of government and commercial accounting and auditing and later than on their implementation part. The officers tend to visit various government institutions like the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, Reserve Bank of India, Bureau of Parliamentary Studies, and visit premier institutes like Indian Institute of Management and London School of Economics (LSE).
After the training, the officers are posted as Deputy Accountant General (DAG) and subsequently achieve higher ranks like,
Indian Information Service officers form part of the Media wing of the Government of India. These officers play an important role in creating a vital communication link between the Government and the citizens by way of disseminating information and providing information to citizens on various Government policies and schemes and by collecting valuable information required for the Government in policy formulation.
Most IIS officers work in various media institutions and organizations which works under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting such as All India Radio, DD News and Press Information Bureau
The IIS officers may also get an opportunity to be posted as spokespersons to various constitutional bodies.
Training and Career:
Three months Foundation Course at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) Mussoorie and nine months of professional training at Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi.
The period of probation is two years and after successful completion, these officers are posted to media units, during the various roles in their career, these officers progress achieve higher ranks, as :
Controlling Authority: Ministry of Defence
Recruitment: UPSC and
Responsibilities:
The main function of the Indian Defence Accounts Service is to provide financial advice, payment, and internal auditing and accounting functions for the Army, Air Force, Navy, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Ordnance Factories, Canteen Stores Department, Border Road Organisation and other allied organisations. The IDAS officers can also be appointed into governmental organizations, ministries, and departments and may also get an opportunity to serve and be a part of the Indian Army’s UN peacekeeping missions.
Training:
The IDAS officers undergo a total of 24 months of training initially, four months at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, then at the Centre for Training and Development (CENTRAD) New Delhi. Final training at National Academy of Defence Financial Management Institute Pune.
Controlling Authority: Ministry of Defence
Recruitment: UPSC engineering services exam, Interviews
The Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS) offers two types of services, technical and non-technical services. The UPSC conducts recruitment only for the non-technical position through Civil Service Examination and the recruitment to technical services is made through the Engineering Service Examination.
Responsibilities:
The Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS) officers are responsible for the management of the Indian Ordnance Factories which are one of the major defence equipment and arms/ammunition production factories of our country. The officers also work in several managerial positions in various Public Sector Enterprises and also may serve as advisors and secretaries to Union Cabinet ministers, Prime Minister and the President of India.
Training:
Foundation Course at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA ) Mussoorie, Public Administration and management training at the National Academy of Defence Production (NADP), Nagpur. After this, they are sent on a visit to various national defence, nuclear, space, industrial and other technical installations.
Controlling Authority: Ministry of Finance
Recruitment: UPSC
Responsibilities:
The Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS) provide auditing and accounting services to the Government of India and its ministries and departments. Some other functions of ICAS include, framing rules and procedures for accounting of receipts and payments of government, monitoring cash balances with the RBI of the Government of India and Coordination of management accounting systems in Civil Ministries, etc.
Training:
Six Months of training at the National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM), then at the Institute of Government Accounts and Finance (INGAF) and later, On the Job Training (OJT).
These officers generally support and form part of the Controller General of Accounts (CGA).
Higher Ranks: Principal Chief Controller of Accounts, Controller of Accounts and Chief Controller of Accounts.