Indian administrative service is one of the three All-India Services. It is one of the prestigious and most coveted government jobs in India.

These services were constituted under the article 312 of the constitution. The services were started by British Government in the year 1893 and were called as Indian Civil Services. In 1946 the present format was implemented and the term Indian Administrative Services was coined.

Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension is the controlling authority of the services. The selected IAS officers hold the highest ranks in the government offices and play a major role in policy formation.

The IAS officers are recruited by Central Government on the recommendations made by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). The selected candidates are recruited all over the country in different states. The state government does have a control over the functioning of the IAS officers. But any kind of disciplinary action is under the authority of Central Government only. State level ministry is devoid of such powers.

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The examination is conducted on yearly basis by UPSC. It is rated as one of the toughest competition on global basis. The number of IAS aspirants is in lacs every year. Out of which only 850 are selected for the mains. And candidates who make up to first 80 ranks have chances of being inducted in the administrative services. An acceptance rate as low as 0.025% depicts the nature of competition one has to face while clearing the examination. Indian administrative service is ranked highest amongst all three services on the basis of preferences marked by the selected candidates. IRS and IPS follows in line.

The examination is conducted in three levels: prelims, main and personal interview. Changes have been made in the examination style. Earlier there were 23 optional subjects to choose from but now the prelims are common for all. There is a second paper which includes aptitude, general mathematics, General English etc. The lower age limit is 21 years and the upper age limit is 30 years for general category candidate. While the upper age limit is extended up to 35 years for SC/ST candidate. A general category aspirant is allowed four repeated attempts while it is 7 for the OBCs and unlimited for SC/ST category aspirants. The selected candidates are trained at ‘Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration’, Mussoorie. After selection, the IAS officers are allocated cadres. Each state has its independent cadre except for three joint cadres of Assam-Meghalaya; Manipur-Tripura; and Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram-Union Territories.

An IAS officer has varied responsible. Framing and implementation of Governmental policies is among the significant works. Working of Government and maintaining law and order of the state are under the jurisdiction of the IAS officer. He is also answerable to legislative assembly and the concerned ministry for the proper allotment and utilisation of the funds granted by the government.

Although, cracking IAS exam is considered as one of the toughest in the world. But it has been seen time and again that the Indian bureaucracy is considered one of the most lowered rated among the Asian economies. Foreign investors find it hard to deal with the Indian bureaucrats. The surveys conducted by the World Economic Forum and Transparency International also support the stated fact.

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IAS services are undoubtedly one of the most reputable jobs yet reforms are coveted to make them more reliable and independently functioning body.