how can i become a IAS officer

How can I become a Civil Servant?

If fathers today, dream of their sons becoming Software Engineers,
dreaming dollar dreams at the Silicon Valley, not so long ago, the
patriarch would dream of his son pursuing the Civil Services and
becoming an IAS officer. It was seen as an illustrious career-path that
could do wonders to one's self-esteem and could rocket the family
repute as well.

Years down the line, the picture has not changed much, and why should it,
when tens of thousands of young people even today, are all willing to rough it
out and chalk their way to the hallowed corridors of bureaucracy.
Needless to say, the Civil Services are an equally challenging career option
for women. There have been, and there are many distinguished women
bureaucrats who have done remarkably well in the field. Former Foreign
Secretary of India, Ms.Choklia Iyer, an IFS officer, was the first woman to
occupy the post in the year 2000; and Kiran Bedi, IPS officer, is all too familiar
as one who fervently mooted the concept of prison reforms in Delhi's Tihar
jail. The number of entrants into this Hall of Fame continues to grow…
The Colonial Past
The Civil Services have always had an air of "pride and power" around them.
An offshoot of the Raj, they still hold the same sway even in the post-colonial
era. Seen as a legacy of the British Rule here in India, the Civil Services, with
all its connotations of hierarchical accountability and controls, was established
soon after the suppression of the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny. It marked the transfer of
power from the East India Company to the Crown in England. The sole
objective of the Services then, was to govern the far-flung British Empire,
which predominantly involved duties like - preservation of law and order,
dispensation of justice and the collection of taxes.
In the 19th century, these services were restricted only to the 'White Babus'
and 'Sahibs'. Only from 1920s, after the constitution of the Indian Civil
Services (ICS), were Indians admitted to the service.
The Democratic Present
Today, the Civil Servants, as the officers of the Civil Services are called, work
in a wholly different context, different form the days of the Raj. Following the
Preamble of the Indian Constitution, they now operate to create a 'Sovereign,
Democratic and a Welfare State' with a singular focus on developing the nation.
So, if you are one, who visualizes the nation as a developed country, as a
potential superpower in the days to come, and if you strongly believe that you
can lead the nation towards this vision, then get set to chart your way to
Bureaucracy and Babudom!
An overview of the services
The Indian Civil Services are organized into two main sections:
I. The All India Services
II. The Central Services
All India Services
The officers who make it to the All India Services, on appointment by the
government of India, will be deputed to different States and are at the disposal
of the respective State Governments. These services include:
The Indian Administrative Service (IAS):
The IAS officers handle the affairs
of the government. At the Central level, their job involves the framing and
implementation of policies. At the district level, they manage the affairs of the
district, including development related activities. At the divisional level, they
look after law and order, general administration and development work.

The Indian Police Service (IPS):

The IPS officer's job mainly involves
maintaining law and order. (At the district level, they share this responsibility
with the IAS officers.) The IPS officer is responsible for ensuring public safety
and security; crime detection and prevention; and traffic control and accident
prevention and management. There are several functional departments that
help IPS officers to carry out their duties. They are:

Crime Branch

Criminal Investigation Department (CID)

Home Guards

Traffic Bureau.
The other agencies at the Central level that aid in similar functions are:

Intelligence Bureau (IB), which gathers information that will aid in

predicting and preventing threats to public order.

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which investigates into cases of

corruption and major crimes that are referred to it.

Cabinet Secretariat Security, which looks after the personal security of

the cabinet ministers.

Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), who are called in times of

emergency, like a natural calamity, or when the law and order situation
cannot be controlled by the local police alone.

Border Security Force (BSF), these forces are responsible for the
protection of life and property in the border areas.

The Indian Forest Service :

The officers in this category manage the forest
reserves of the nation. Their job involves the protection and conservation of
forest resources and wildlife. They also look after the management and supply
of forest products.

The Central Services

The Officers of the Central Services serve the Government of India only,
irrespective of which State or Country they are posted in. Some of the
predominant services that come under this category are:

The Indian Foreign Service (IFS): The IFS officers look after the
country's external affairs, including diplomacy, trade and cultural
relations. They are also responsible for the administration and activities
of Indian missions abroad; and for the framing and implementation of the
Government's foreign policy.

The Indian Railway Service (IRS): The Indian railway network is one of
the largest in the world. The IRS officers ensure the smooth operation of
this network.

The Indian Postal Service: This department looks after the functioning
of the mail, telegraphic and other communication services in the country.

The Accounts and Auditing Service: This department functioning in

four categories deals with accounts, audits and inspections of: - public
sector, central and state government undertakings; all military
establishments; and the fixing, assessment and collection of income tax.

The Indian Customs (IC) and Central Excise Service (CES): The IC
deals with the checking and levy of duty on taxable goods brought into
the country; and the CES carries out the duty of taxation of goods
manufactured within the country.
 The Indian Ordinance Factories Service: This service oversees the
production of goods made particularly for the use of the Armed Forces.

The Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES): It is concerned with the

administration of military cantonments.

The Indian Information Service (IIS): This comes under the Ministry of
Information and Broadcasting. The IIS officers handle the press and/or
public relations both within the country and abroad on behalf of the
government, its various ministries, Public Sector Units (PSUs) and the
defence forces.
So, if you want to contribute more than your mite to the process, read on to
know how you can enter the Services.

Eligibility:
The three pre-requisites for entering the Services through the Civil Services
Examination are:

The candidate must be an Indian citizen

He/She should be between 21 to 30 years of age, as on August 1st of

the examination year. Age relaxation of 5 years and 3 years is available
to those belonging to SC/ ST and OBC categories respectively.

The candidate should have a Bachelor's degree in any discipline from

any recognized University.

The Starting Point: Cracking the Competitive Examination

Entry to the IAS, IPS and the Central Services is through the combined
Competitive Examination for the Civil Services. Recruitment to the Indian
Forest Service is through a separate examination. The Competitive
Examination takes place in three stages:

Stage I: Preliminary Examination

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), an autonomous body that ensures
unbiased recruitment to the Civil Services, conducts the examination.
The notification for obtaining the application forms for the examination will appear in
the Employment News and also in other leading dailies.
The preliminary (prelims), a written examination is held in the month of June every
year. It consists of two papers, both in the objective type format.

Paper I: This paper is called the General Studies and carries a maximumscore of 150
points on 150 questions. It is of two hours duration. It covers
 these six topics - Indian History, the Constitution of India, Geography,Economics,
Science and Current Affairs.

Paper II: This is an optional paper on a subject of your choice, for instance, Political
Science, History, Economics, Psychology etc. A list ofthe optional subjects that can be
taken, can be obtained from the UPSC website - UPSC. Paper II carries a score of 300
points on 120questions and is also of two hours duration.Since, it is an extremely
competitive exam, the candidates taking theprelims must be extremely diligent and hard
working. Only the highest
scorers qualify for the second examination, that is, the Main Examination.The success
rate of preliminary exam is less than 10%.
Stage II: Main Examination

The Main Examination is a written examination in the subjective or essay type format.
It is generally held in the month of November/December. It includes
nine papers:
Papers I & II: These are the language papers, of 300 marks each. One is the English
language paper, which is compulsory; and the other is in any Indian language mentioned
in the eighth schedule of the Indian Constitution. Marks obtained in these papers are not
added in the total score, however qualifying or passing in them with the specified
minimum percentage is necessary.

Paper III: The third is an Essay paper of 200 marks. The candidate can choose to write
the essay in either English or in any Indian languagementioned in the eight schedule of
the Constitution.

Paper IV and V: These are the General Studies (G.K. and Current Affairs) papers of
300 marks each.

Paper VI, VII, VIII & IX: Here, the candidate will have to take two optional subjects,
which would contain two papers each. Thus, a total of four papers, where each paper
would be of 300 marks, with a total score of1200.The number of candidates, who pass
through this stage successfully, is further reduced in percentage when compared to the
numbers who
succeed in the prelims. An indication of the tough competition is the fact that, (on a
1:10 basis), if for instance, a thousand candidates pass the Main exam, there is in reality,
only 100 vacancies or civil service posts available.

Stage III: Personality Test

In this final round of elimination, the competition gets the toughest. Candidates are
selected on a 1:2 ratio. So, if there are ten vacancies, then twenty candidates will be
interviewed.The personality test follows the pattern of an oral interview or a viva voce.
An expert panel judges the candidate's over all personality, his/her social traits,
 presence of mind, and leadership qualities, apart from their intellectual capabilities and
aptitude for the work involved.When all the hard work of the candidate finally pays off
and he finds himself smoothly cruising out of, even the interview stage, he undergoes
compulsory training at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in
Mussoorie as a probationary officer. Training will be imparted in academic areas,
which comprise subject studies like economics, history, political science, etc. After this
foundation course, specific job-oriented training is conducted separately by each service.