What is IAS Post? - Full Form, Age limit, Salary, Topper List & Rank, Benifits and Advantages

IAS Selection Process

IAS officers are selected mainly in four stages of UPSC examination. To become an IAS it is mandatory for the candidates to pass these four stages. The 900 to 1000 candidates who pass the UPSC examination are given different ranks and the combined IAS rank of all these categories is up to 180. If the rank of the qualifying candidates falls between 1-180 numbers then they are selected for IAS.

• Preliminary Examination (Prelims)
• Main Exam
• Interview
• Final Selection

1. Preliminary Exam (Prelims)

Preliminary exam is the first stage of UPSC IAS. this stage is of qualifying nature, means the marks of prelims exam are not added to the final marks of UPSC IAS, they only have to pass this exam. This stage is of total 400 marks and there are mainly 2 papers in this stage. both these papers are of MCQ type of 200 + 200 marks.

• General Studies Paper - 1
• General Studies Paper - 2 (CSAT)

1. Administrative Power

• Policy Implementation: Implementing government policies, schemes, and programs at various administrative levels.
• District Administration: Managing and supervising all district level administrative functions as District Collector or District Magistrate.
• Coordination: Coordinating with different government departments and agencies.

2. Executive Power

• Law and Order: Maintaining law and order in the district. and serving as the head of the district police force in coordination with the Superintendent of Police (SP).
• Disaster Management: Lead disaster management including preparedness, response, and rehabilitation.
• Public Grievance Redressal: Address and resolve public grievances.

3. Financial Power

• Budget Allocation: Oversee allocation and management of government funds for developmental projects and administrative functions.
• Revenue Collection: Supervises revenue collection such as land revenue, taxes, and other governmental dues.
• Expenditure Control: Ensuring government expenditures are in line with budgetary provisions and financial rules.

4. Legal and Judicial Power

• Magisterial Function: Conducting inquiries issuing orders for maintaining public peace, and adjudicating minor legal disputes.
• Enforcement: Enforce laws and regulations such as municipal laws, public health regulations, and land use laws.
• Adjudication: Act as an appellate authority for administrative matters.

5. Developmental Power

• Planning and Development: Implementing developmental plans for infrastructure, health, education, and rural development.
• Social Welfare: Oversee the implementation of social welfare schemes aimed at improving the living standards of marginalized communities.
• Urban and Rural Development: Planning urban and rural development initiatives.

6. Supervisory Power

• Personnel Management: Managing and supervising government staff such as recruitment, training, etc.
• Departmental Supervision: Supervising various government departments within their jurisdiction.

7. Regulatory Power

• Regulation Enforcement: compliance with regulations related to environment, trade, land use, and public health.
• Licensing and Permits: Issue licenses and permits for various legal and regulatory frameworks.

8. Advisory Power

• Policy Advice: Advise elected representatives and higher officials on policy matter.
• Strategic Planning: Provide strategic insights for long-term planning and development at the district, state, and national levels.

IAS Benifits and Allowence

• Salary Increment: Salaries increase with experience and promotion
• Dearness Allowance (DA): Dearness Allowance (DA) is a cost-of-living adjustment allowance paid to employees by the government. Its purpose is to ensure that the purchasing power of employees remains stable despite rising prices. Dearness allowance is given to them.
• House Rent Allowance (HRA): The government gives HRA to those IAS officers who do not live in accommodation provided by the government.
• Travel Allowance (TA): The government gives traveling allowance to IAS officers to cover the expenses incurred during official travel.
• Medical Allowence: IAS officers and their families are given Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) by the government.
• Government House: IAS officers are given a house by the government to live in keeping in mind their rank and posting.
• Official Vehicle: The government provides official vehicles to IAS officers for inspections, meetings, field visits, and traveling on administrative duties.
• Security: Being a high officer and government employee, IAS officer is given security by the government.
• Pension: After retirement of IAS officers the government provides them pension facility every month.
• Leave Travel Concession (LTC): LTC allowance is given to IAS officers by the government to visit any destination or home town in India.
• Telephone and Internet Expenses: The officers are given additional expenses by the government for recharge and installation of telephone, mobile phone, internet.
• Study Leave: If an officer wants to pursue further studies then he is given study leave by the government.
• Special Duty Allowance: Special Duty Allowance is provided to IAS officers by the government to perform specific duties or tasks like crisis management, election duties, special administrative tasks, etc.

IAS Facts

• During the British rule IAS was called Imperial Civil Service (ICS), which was renamed as IAS in 1947.
• Rabindranath Tagore's elder brother Satyendranath Tagore was India's first ICS (IAS) officer in 1863.
• ICS was established in 1858 during British rule. At that time the ICS was known as the "steel frame" of the British administration in India.
• During British rule the ICS was staffed primarily by British officers and its recruitment examinations were held in London but due to pressure from Indian leaders and the need for more effective governance the British government passed the Charter Act of 1853 and gradually indians were also given entry into this service but still Indians had to face obstacles and discrimination.
• The Constitution of India in 1950 provided the legal framework for the IAS.
• LBSNAA was established in 1959 for the training of IAS officers.
• A unique fact is that IAS officers are not selected by the public or politicians they are selected on the basis of merit through the tough examination of UPSC Civil Services.
• V.T. Krishnamachari, who was one of the senior civil servants in the transition from ICS to IAS.
• In 1951 Anna Rajam Malhotra became India's first woman IAS.
• There have been a total of 11,000 to 12,000 IAS in India from 1947 to 2023.
• Every year between 800,000 to 1,000,000 candidates sit for the civil services examination out of which only 180 candidates qualify for IAS, meaning out of 10 lakh candidates only 180 candidates are selected for IAS and its strike rate is only Is 0.018%.

IAS Advantage

• Top level government service: Serving as an IAS officer is a high-level administrative role in India, which offers significant responsibilities. IAS officers work closely with top government officials, ministers and chief ministers.
• Leadership Role: An IAS officer leads the district, state and central level. At the district level IAS officers function as District Magistrates or Collectors who oversee administration, law and order and development. At the state level IAS officers hold key positions such as principal secretary and head of various departments. At the central level IAS officers serve as Secretaries to the Government of India.
• Public Service: The job of an IAS officer is to implement the government policies and welfare schemes brought by the government, public infrastructure and services like health, education and sanitation while ensuring that the benefits reach the vulnerable populations.
• Secure Service: Indian Administrative Service (IAS) once recruited gives a stable service till retirement. These services remain stable as long as their performance remains satisfactory.
• Power: An IAS officer has more power than an IPS officer. An IAS officer works under the administrative structure of the state government, which has the responsibility of managing the entire district. In this, he oversees the security of the district, ban on illegal activities, maintenance of law and order, allocation of resources, working between police and various other departments for effective governance.
• Respect: Being a district officer is a big thing in itself. it is possible when candidate reach this post on the basis of hard work that is why IAS officers are respected by the society.
• Salary: From training to retirement IAS officers are provided with good salary, security, retirement pension, dearness allowance, medical allowance, government accommodation, official vehicles and convoy, staff etc.

IAS Disadvantage

• Thoughest Competation: IAS is not like other exams, to become an IAS a candidate has to work very hard. Every year lakhs of candidates appear for UPSC IAS exam to become an IAS but out of these lakhs only a some people get selected for IAS.
• Transfers: Transfers of IAS officers are done by the Central Government and State Governments these transfers are sometimes made in exchange of the IAS officer due to unsatisfactory work of the IAS officer or sometimes due to political parties making arrangements as per their own or speaking against the government.
• Stress: The job of an IAS officer is stressful involving government meetings, field visits, paperwork, taking important decisions, resolving public issues and extensive travel.
• Risk of Legal Action: IAS officers face risks because of their decision-making roles. Good or bad decisions sometimes give unexpected consequences to officials, due to which those officials have to face lawsuits, inquiries, ban on illegal work, instructions to arrest criminal mafia, political revenge, threats etc.
• Emergency Situation Management: many times IAS officers have to handle emergency situations where they have to take quick decisions for crisis management. this crisis can be riots, natural disasters, and terrorist attacks. for example, the 2013 Uttarakhand flood which caused severe devastation, where many people loss their life and cauused damage to government property.
• Limited Personal Time: Due to the roles and responsibilities of IAS officers they have very little personal time due to which they are not able to do everything that they used to do before becoming an IAS officer. They have limited time for their family and personal life.