Career Path of IAS Officer - Training, Responsibilities, Salary

An IAS Officer or Indian Administrative Services Officer serves the Central and State Government. He or she is responsible for implementing and administering the policies formulated by the central and state governments. An IAS Officer provides them with valuable feedback for the decision making process. We can say that an IAS Officer provides assistance to the government in framing and administering and implementing policies. He or she provides feedback to the concerned ministries on implementation status and impact of policies.

IAS Officer is the most sought after career by the young aspirants for civil services. Each year around 800,000 candidates appear in the UPSC examinations. It is considered the most competitive examination. Candidates may only make six attempts in the UPSC examination. The maximum age limit is 32 years for appearing in the UPSC examination for General category. Relaxation in the age-limit and no. of attempts is provided to candidates in reserved categories.

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How to become an IAS Officer

Lakhs of aspirants drop their college placements each year to follow the IAS career path. After graduating they start preparing for cracking the UPSC examination. The minimum educational requirement to appear in the UPSC examination is successful completion of any undergraduate level degree. UPSC stands for Union Public Service Commission. It conducts the UPSC examination in India to recruit candidates for various civil services in India. UPSC examinations are conducted in two phases: Prelims and Mains. Those who clear both the rounds are invited for the interview round. Those who qualify the interview are selected for the UPSC services and provided with training. Top rank holders are selected for IAS officers’ roles.

Also Read: Career as IPS Officer

IAS Officer Training

After being selected, the journey begins from LBSNAA. LBSNAA stands for Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration. It is located in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand. The training period for the IAS officer role is two years before joining the service.

Candidates for Grade A posts including IAS, IPS and IFS are required to join a 3 months foundation course at LBSNAA.

Phase 1: Phase 1 of the training period for selected candidates for the IAS officer role comes with the academic module. It includes policymaking, land management, soft skills, project management, national security, e-governance and others.Their day starts at 6 am in the morning with exercise drills. It is followed by lectures and cultural activities in the evening.

Bharat Darshan: IAS Probationers are divided into small groups for the Tour of India known as Bharat Darshan. In this they experience the cultural heritage and diversity of India.

District Training: District Training is a year-long training programme. In this IAS, probationers get to study about the administrative set up in a specific district by being a part of it.

Phase 2: Phase 2 of the IAS probationers' training involves sharing and discussing the experiences of their Phase 1 training. Officers get to articulate their thoughts on various developmental programmes and issues as well as the ways to resolve them.

Assistant Secretaryship: After successful completion of the induction training session, officers are allotted their respective deputation. They get to work under a joint secretary in the ministries for a few months.

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Responsibilities of IAS Officer

IAS Officer duties include various functional roles based on the assignment. The type of assignments include Field, State Secretariat/Public Sector Undertakings and Central Secretariat. Field Assignments are considered the most challenging. We have listed here a few duties of IAS Officers.

• IAS officers are required to handle affairs of the government. It includes framing, implementation and reviewing policies.

• The role of IAS Officers includes consulting various departments and elected representatives for the above functions.

• IAS Officers role include managing and disbursing various funds of central government allocated for different schemes.

• They supervise the implementation of various government schemes and policies.

• IAS Officers are required to respond to emergencies such as natural disasters, riots and other major accidents in their jurisdiction and coordinate relief activities.

Also Read: Career as IFS Officer

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Perks of Being an IAS Officer

They get subsidised government accommodation. At district level postings, they get the best houses among any government service in India.

• IAS Officers are provided with household help such as gardeners, cooks and others.

• They get government transportation in most district and state-level postings.

• Charges for mobile, internet and telephone are reimbursed.

• IAS Officers are provided with free stay in government rest houses and bungalows during duty.

• IAS Officers are also entitled to a monthly pension after retirement based on their rank and length of service.

Also Read: Career as Indian Forest Service Officer

IAS Officer Career Path

We have provided here details of the career path of an IAS Officer. Selected candidates first go through training before joining as IAS officers. The duration of the training period is two years. The senior most role in the service of IAS officers is Cabinet Secretary. IAS officers must have an experience of 37 or more years in the service for the Cabinet Secretary role.

• Phase one trainee

• District Level Trainee

• Phase two trainee

• Assistant Secretaryship

• Joint Magistrate- SDM- Sub- Collector

• Municipal Commissioner

• Secretariat at State Level of joint secretary level

• District Magistrate or Collector Post

• Deputation Post of the Central Government of India

• Principle in State or Central Secretariat

• State Chief Secretary

• Cabinet Secretary

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IAS officer Salary

We have provided here details of IAS Officer salary based on their role, experience, and payscale.

Conclusion: IAS Officers are in charge of the administration of the entire district, state, department or the ministry. IAS Officers can influence the policies on health, economy, social initiatives and education. Being in the administrative services, one gets the opportunity to serve the people of the country.