IAS - Indian Administrative Service

The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the government of India's administrative and civil service. In India, the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer is a key member in keeping the organization under the control of the government. When it comes to an IAS officer's tasks and obligations, we can say that they play a key role in the central government, states, and the general public sector. In other words, an IAS plays a fundamental role in maintaining the required firmness and fairness in the organization.

History of Indian Administrative Service

The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) was established in 1946 as the country's top civil service. The Indian Imperial Service (1893-1946) existed before the implementation of the IAS. The basic pattern of the cadre system was organized based on the Aitchison Commission's suggestions. The Aitchison Commission's suggestions were also used to create the Provincial Civil Service in the 1890s. The Islington Commission was established in 1912 to investigate Civil Service changes. By 1934, the Indian government had disintegrated into seven All India Services and five Central Departments. IAS positions are filled through direct recruitment and the appointment/promotion of State Civil Service and Non-State Civil Service personnel.

Functions of IAS officers

The IAS officer is accountable for the smooth function of law and order and revenue and general administration. When the person become an IAS Officer, then he has got to perform the following responsibilities, and these are very important roles for an IAS officer:

Government Affairs

• The officer is responsible for all government affairs. He will work in areas that are not developed that need more policy implementation under the minister's consultation, farming, etc.
• The officer should execute the plan, regulate them and be available in the areas where they execute strategies.
• The officer has that much power and right to answer the state legislature and the parliament in case of any misshaping under the area of that office, which is under his control.
• The officers are also in charge of all expenditures incurred solely for their objectives. The officers are in charge of giving testimony before parliament and the state assembly.
• On the first day of service, an IAS officer will be assigned to the sub-divisional magistrate at the sub-divisional level.

Authority

• IAS officers have all the power, capacity, and freedom to help the poor and needy people.
• An IAS officer work as a Head of Development or the District Development Commissioner.
• An IAS officer will continually visit spots to screen new arrangement execution.
• An IAS officer will be answerable for administering the use of public assets according to the principles of monetary proprietorship.
• When it comes to strategy settling, he has the authority to execute and evaluate the progress.

Facilities of an IAS officer

IAS Powers and Facilities may be different in the private sector. Some of the common facilities provided to an IAS are as follows:

• House: IAS officers get wonderful houses as homes on very low or no lease. They also get house cleaners, cooks, grounds-keepers, security guards.
• Transport: They are assigned at least one vehicle with escorts for the right purposes.
• Security: Due to the high profile and hazardous nature of the work, IAS officers are furnished with safety officers for themselves and their families. In case of daily existential threats, they can also get STF commandoes for their security.
• Bills: They get free or cut-price power, water, gas, and telephone associations.
• Trips: IAS officers get sponsored convenience in government visitor houses or cottages on official or non-official outings. On coming to Delhi, they can avail the facility at their state buildings.
• Study Leaves: IAS officers can take two years' leave for study purposes. They can even take the courses from foreign countries for further study. The government will pay the amount for that course, so this is the best opportunity for the officers to go for further studies. There are few restrictions for these facilities. The officers who have finished their seven years of service (6 years for the North-East Cadres) are eligible or utilize this amazing facility.
• Professional stability: IAS officers have good professional stability. It's difficult to fire an officer, and the interaction requires broad examinations and requests.
• Lifelong Pension: Like other government employees, they also get a lifelong pension and many other retirement benefits.
• Post-retirement: Officers can be appointed to commissions or tribunals after they retire. Their services are also available through other government departments. Private companies are also interested in hiring IAS personnel because of their skills.

IAS Officer Roles

IAS officers' utilitarian jobs rely upon the type of task they get. There are three types of the task which the IPS have to follow:

• Field/Area
• State Secretariat/Public Sector Undertakings
• Central Secretariat

Field tasks are seen as the toughest tasks that IAS officers can be called upon to satisfy.

Field Assignments: An IAS officials' first posting after preparing is normally a field task. There are complexities at the different levels where they operate.

• Sub Divisional Functions: As a Sub Divisional Magistrate, support of peace and lawfulness, managing formative and authoritative exercises inside the Sub - Division.
• District Level Functions: The main role of the District Magistrate, Collector, or Deputy Commissioner, all are performing the same functions which the SDM is performing on their position.

Most IAS officials' field assignments finish at the district level. Many of them work for the State Secretariat, which is part of the state government.

• State Secretariat Assignments: State Secretariat postings include utilizing the experience and ability acquired in the field to choose delegates to form approaches and settle on choices concerning government measures.
• Public Sector Undertakings: Many officials get promoted to PSU frameworks and become part of the greater administration of different Public Sector Undertakings, for example, power stations, mechanical units, and so on.
• Central Secretariat functions: The Secretarial level postings at the Central government level manage strategy survey, description, and execution for various services.

Many IAS officers are also assigned to foreign organizations like the UN. Deputation of IAS officers to private organizations for brief periods is also possible.

An IAS Officer's Day-to-Day Routine

As soon as they enroll in the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, candidates who pass the UPSC Civil Services Exam get their first taste of life as an IAS officer. The daily life of an officer is very difficult and very disciplined; during the training, the officer needs to go for training at sharp 6 am because this is the starting timing of the training. LBSNAA generally follows the following schedule:

• Exercise/ Equestrian training for 60 minutes at 6pm.
• The ideal timing of morning exercise is 7 am to 9 am
• The timing of academic activity, including lectures, sports games, and activities, starts at 9:30 am; and it will take 8-10 hours.

Official students are left free first, then supper to mingle and plan for the following day. Outside exercises, for example, trips to nearby rural regions to figure out how to adapt to affliction and comprehend the way of life of country India, which is a vital piece of the preparation. The preparation of IAS officials likewise incorporates Bharat Darshan (an investigation visit through India).

When a learner graduates as an IAS officer, their timetable changes as per their assigned post. A typical day for an officer starts at 9 am who got the posting or the duty on the field. It would include going through different day-by-day reports, overseeing various day-by-day errands of the office or locale, visiting various regions to audit the execution of formative exercises and gatherings.

These exercises can extend into the late evening and ordinarily end by around 9 pm.

The Power of IAS Officer

• As per the Code of Criminal Procedure (1973) of the Indian Penal Code, there are so many sections that denote the powers of magistrates to exercises law and control. These sections are as follows: 107,108,109,110,133,144, and 176.
• Tenancy Laws characterize the authority's powers concerning income.
• The National Disaster Management Act rattle off forces of Chief Secretaries and the Magistrates while the debacle helps coordinate actions.
• Arms Act, Drug Licenses Act, Essential Commodities Act, and so forth rattle off IAS officials' ability to implement guidelines in various circumstances.

IAS Officer Career

The carrier of an IAS officers may be different after the probation period depending on their cadre as listed below;

• Phase I Training at LBSNAA
• Regional level training in the prescribed framework
• Phase II Training at LBSNAA includes seven days of unfamiliarity with India's strategic missions abroad.
• Central Government connection on the clear position of an Assistant Secretary for 90 days.
• Posting on the post of SDM/Joint Magistrate/deputy Collector.
• Posting in State Secretariats at the level of Director/Joint Secretary.
• Delegation can be raised during administration after serving for a few years to the central government.
• In-state organization, the Chief Secretary of State is the most elevated one can go.

IAS Officer Salary

The seventh central pay commission has specified an essential compensation for the enlisted officers, i.e., Rs. 56100. There are 18 compensation levels for IAS, with the most important salary being Rs. 250000. What's more, IAS officials generally get the accompanying advantages as listed below;

• Government housing that is subsidized. District level postings in India have the nicest housing of any government position.
• Household help, such as cooks, nursery workers, and so forth, relies upon necessity.
• Government transportation is given to only that region or state level officers who are posting on this level.
• If the officer is using a mobile phone or the web, the charges of these are repaid.
• During visits, the government is providing free stay rest houses and homes.
• IAS officials are additionally qualified for month-to-month benefits after retirement, dependent on their position and length of their tenure.

IAS Exam Age and Attempts' Limit

If candidates want to take the IAS exam, they must meet certain requirements like nationality, age, number of attempts, and educational degree. Candidates of the general category must be Indian citizens or PIOs, hold a recognized graduate degree, and the age should be 21 to 32, and have not given the IAS exam more than six times.

IAS Exam Application Procedure

The application methodology for UPSC tests are available on the web, and UPSC Admit cards are likewise given on the web, which IAS test competitors ought to download from the UPSC official site.

IAS Exam Pattern

As everyone knows, the IAS exam is very popular for civil service candidates, and it is very difficult too. So, this exam is divided into three steps, and these steps are as follows:

1. Preliminary Examination (Stage I) (IAS Prelims)
2. Mains Examination (Stage II) (IAS Mains)
3. UPSC Personality Test (Stage III) (IAS Interview)

1. Preliminary Examination:

• The IAS Exam (Prelims) has objective questions or multiple-choice questions (MCQs)
• There is 'Negative Marking' for each erroneous answer, but only in the Prelims stage. Negative marking for wrong responses will be 1/3rd (0.66) of the question's allocated marks.
• In the IAS test, the GS Paper II (CSAT) is a qualifying paper, and applicants must achieve a minimum of 33% in this paper to advance to the next level, the Mains.
• In the IAS Exam, blind applicants are allowed extra 20 minutes for each paper (Prelims).
• For the evaluation, candidates must appear in both papers of the civil services prelims test.
• Candidates' preliminary examination marks are not taken into account when calculating their final score. It is merely a screening test in which candidates who do not meet the cut-off marks are disqualified.

2. Mains Examination:

The Mains Exam, a written descriptive test with nine papers, is the second stage of the IAS Exam. The following are the nine papers of the IAS Exam (Mains): Other papers such as Essay, General Studies Papers I, II, III, and IV, and Optional Papers I and II are considered for the final ranking, while Paper-A (Compulsory Indian Language) and Paper-B (English) are qualifying in character.

3. UPSC Interview/Personality Test

Candidates who pass the IAS Mains stage with the required cut-off marks go to the IAS final step; a Personality Test or an Interview with UPSC Board Members. The Commission will send an e-summon to the candidates who qualify for the final step for a face-to-face discussion round with the board members. In this round, the board evaluates the candidates' personality qualities and asks questions about their hobbies, current events, general knowledge, situation questions, and other topics to determine, if they are suitable for a career in the civil service or not. Only the UPSC Bhavan in New Delhi will host the personality test.

IAS Exam Preparation

1. Analysing the pattern, more current undertakings-based inquiries are being posed in the IAS test's Prelims and Mains phase. Select credible sources like PIB, The Hindu, Yojana, and adjust the recent developments according to the IAS test prospectus.
2. Go through the earlier years' IAS test inquiries to measure the planning required from your end.
3. Buy NCERT books and make notes from them. You should make somewhere around two arrangements of notes: short notes for Prelims and descriptive notes for UPSC Mains.
4. Prelims and mains preparation should be done together up to 1-2 months before the prelim's exam date. Identify the prospectus cross-over among Prelims and Mains and spotlight on those areas first.
   Few discretionary subjects have a critical cross-over with the General Studies prospectus in Mains. However, their schedules are somewhat immense, so do your due constancy before concluding one.
5. The candidate can select an optional subject for the IAS test that will depend on his experience and interests. There is a significant cross of the general studies brochure in mains in some discretionary subjects.
6. Study the standard books for each subject. Search for an IAS exam book that will help you to learn more and advance about it. Make notes of currents affairs, currents new, and use NCERT books for more and advanced preparation.
7. Do not take this paper lightly, i.e., CSAT paper in Prelims and moral or traditional rules and regulations paper in Mains. Essentially, the two passing language papers in Mains are additionally significant as neglecting to score 25% in them will naturally dispose of you from the IAS test measure despite your sound knowledge in the wide range of various papers.
8. Take out an ideal opportunity for MCQ addressing practice for Prelims and answer composing practice for Mains.

Conclusion

Being an IAS officer is a roller coaster ride that places a lot of responsibility on the individual. Overall, your tasks and obligations as an IAS officer are to oversee the government's day-to-day operations. It includes developing and implementing the policy in collaboration with the minister in charge of the relevant department.