The Indian Administrative Service (Hindi: भारतीय प्रशासनिक सेवा) (abbreviated as IAS) is the administrative civil service of the Government of India. Indian Administrative Service officers hold key positions in the Union Government, State governments and Public Sector Undertakings. The Administrative Service is one of the threee All India Services.
The Constituent Assembly of India intended that the bureaucracy should be able to speak freely, without fear of persecution or financial insecurity as an essential element in unifying the nation. The IAS officers are recruited by the Union government on the recommendation of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and posted under various State governments. The officers carry high respect and stature in the society coupled with the significant task of administering public offices, making it one of the most desirable jobs in India. While the respective State Governments have control over them they can not censure or take disciplinary action against IAS and other All India Services officers without consulting the Union Government and the UPSC.
The examination is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission. It has three stages (preliminary, mains and interview) and is considered to be extremely challenging. Recently, the preliminary exam pattern has changed. There used to be 23 optional subjects along with a general studies paper. Now there will be no optional subjects in the preliminary examination. Instead there will be a second paper which will be common for all candidates (CSAT). It covers aptitude, general mathematics, comprehensive English, social studies, etc.
Entry into the IAS is considered very difficult. Almost all of the applicants rank IAS as their top choice because of the high prestige and diversity of career it offers.
Repeated attempts are allowed up to four times for General Merit candidates, seven times for OBC candidates. There is no bar on the number of attempts for SC/ST candidates. The upper age limit to attempt the examination is 35 for SC/ST and 30 years for the General Merit Candidate. The candidate should not be older than 30 years of age as on 1 August of that year. The minimum age is 21 years.
About 850 candidates are finally selected each year out of the nearly 550,000 (2010 data) but only a rank in the top 80 guarantees an IAS selection — an acceptance rate of 0.025 percent, which makes it one of the most competitive selection processes in the world.
Read more about Indian Administrative Service: Recruitment Into IAS, Allocation and Placement, Functions of The Civil Servant/Officer, Designations, Further Reading
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