Youth Pulse

Career Awareness
The Indian Administrative
Service , often abbreviated
to as IAS, is an administrative
All-India service. It is
considered to be one of the
two premier civil services of
India, because a candidate,
once appointed to the IAS, is
rendered ineligible to reappear
in the Civil Services
Examination.
IAS officers serve in strategic
and key positions in the
Union Government, States
governments and public-sector
undertakings. Like in
other countries following
the Westminster system of
government, IAS as the permanent
bureaucracy in India
is an inseparable part of the
executive of the Government
of India, and hence, provides
neutrality and continuity to
the administration.
Along with the Indian Police
Service (IPS) and the Indian
Forest Service(IFoS), the
IAS is one of the three All
India Services — its cadre is
employed by both the Union
Government and the individual
States.
Upon confirming to service
after probation as Sub-Divisional
Magistrate, an IAS officer
is given the administrative
command in the district
as District Magistrate and
Collector after a few years of
service, and normally, after
sixteen years of service in
some states, an IAS officer
heads a whole division in
the state, as its Commissioner.
On attaining the
Apex Scale, IAS officers
go on to head whole Departments
and Ministries
of the Government of India.
IAS officers represent
the Government of India
How to become
IAS officer
Indian Administrative Service
at the international level in
bilateral and multilateral
negotiations. On deputations,
they work at Intergovernmental
organisations like
World Bank, International
Monetary Fund, Asian Development
Bank, and United
Nations or its Agencies. IAS
officers at various levels of
administration play a vital
role in conducting free, fair
and smooth elections in
India under the direction
of Election Commission of
India.
Recruitment
There are three modes of
recruitment into the Indian
Administrative Service.
IAS officers are recruited
from the Civil
Services Examination,
which are
conducted by the
Union Public Service
Commission
(UPSC). The Civil
Services Examination
(CSE) is a nationwide
competitive examination
in India conducted by the
Union Public Service Commission
for recruitment to
various Civil Services of the
Government of India, including
the Indian Administrative
Service (IAS), Indian
24
April 2018