UPSC Civil Services: Everything you need to know about Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
Indian Administrative Service
Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is one of the three All India Services (AIS). The other two AIS are- Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFoS). Department of Personnel and Training under Ministry of Personnel and Public Grievances and Pension is the Cadre Controlling Authority.
Recruitment
The three modes of recruitment to IAS are as follows:
- Direct recruitment through Civil Service exam conducted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
- Promotion of State Civil Service officers to IAS
- Selection of non-State Civil Service
Hierarchy of IAS officers in field formation:
| A | B |
|---|---|
| Designation | Pay Scale |
| Cabinet Secretary | Rs. 2,55,000 |
| Secretary to Government of India/ Chief Secretary | Rs. 2,25,000 (On completion of 30 years of service) |
| Additional Secretary to Government of India/ Principal Secretary in State Government | Rs. 2,00,000 (On completion of 25 years of service) |
| Joint Secretary to Government of India/ Secretary in State Government | Rs. 1,75,000 (On completion of 16 years of service) |
| Director in Government of India | Rs. 1,18,000 (On completion of 13 years of service) |
| Deputy Secretary in Government of India | Rs. 78,800 (On completion of 9 years of service) |
| Under Secretary in Government of India | Rs. 65,000 (On completion of 4 years of service) |
Promotions
Promotion of IAS officers is done on the basis of Performance Appraisal reports, vigilance clearance and scrutiny of overall record of officers. A committee of senior civil servants scrutinises all promotions before a decision is taken. Promotions are also based on a particular number of years in a grade. Specified number of years in service is also a pre-requisite for promotions.
Role of IAS officers
- They collect taxes at and function as Court in revenue matters.
- They supervise all development activity in a district.
- At the centre, they are attached to ministries and help in policy formulation, supervision of expenditure of public funds as per norms of financial propriety.
- They are also deputed in India’s foreign offices as Ministers.
- They also get deputation in international organisations like UNESCO, World Bank, IMF among others.