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Q1.Tell
me something about Civil Services
Examination?
Q2.What
does it take to opt for civil
service?
Q3.What
is the Cadre System in civil
services ?
Q4.What
is the Selection Process ?
Q5.What
are the Job Prospects ?
Q6.What
is the Remuneration ?
Q1.Tell
me something about Civil Services
Examination?
A1.Civil
Services Introduction A country
as vast and thickly populated
as India needs a well organised
government machinery for proper
governance. There are two
facets to the administration
of a country. One is security
for which the country has
its defence services and the
other is the non-military
part, which is taken care
of by the Civil Services.
The origin of the IAS can
be traced back to the year
of India's independence, 1947.
The IAS operates at three
levels -central, district
and divisional. Work at the
central level involves the
framing and implementation
of policies. The functions
of the IAS at the district
level encompass all district
affairs with special emphasis
on development. General administration
and development work is the
responsibility of the IAS
at the divisional level. The
post of an IAS officer carries
a lot of responsibility. The
work definition of an IAS
officer would encompass framing,
modifying and interpreting
policy matters in consultation
with the concerned Minister.
Implementation of policies
calls for supervision and
also travelling to the places
where the decisions taken
are being implemented. Implementation
entails disbursement of funds,
which calls for personal supervision.
The officers are answerable
to the Parliament for any
irregularities that may occur.
At the top of the hierarchy
of IAS officers is the Cabinet
Secretary followed by Secretary/
Additional Secretary, Joint
Secretary, Director, Under
Secretary and then the Junior
Scale Officers. These posts
are filled according to seniority.
The Indian
Police Service (IPS) As the
name suggests, the main responsibility
of the IPS is public safety
and security. The Indian Police
Service is divided into various
departments like the Crime
Branch, the Criminal Investigation
Department, Home Guards and
the Traffic Bureau. The area
of functioning for the IPS
can be broadly divided into:
maintenance of law and order,
crime prevention and detection,
traffic control and accident
prevention and management.
The IPS also has several policing
agencies like the Intelligence
Bureau, the Central Bureau
of Investigation, Cabinet
Secretariat Security, Border
Security Force and the Central
Reserve Police Force. After
the initial probation of two
years, an IPS officer is given
charge as an Additional Superintendent
of Police of a district. This
post is usually held for two
years and then comes the next
appointment, that of the Superintendent
of Police and then the post
of the Deputy Inspector General
(DIG). The hierarchy in the
IPS cadre is like this - the
Director General of Police
(DG) is the head of the entire
Police force of a state. Special
divisions of the Police force
like the Border Security Force,
the CBI, etc., have a Director
General at the helm.
The Indian
Forest Service (IFS) The maintenance
of the natural resources of
the country is very essential
for a balanced all round development
of the country. Maintenance
of forests is so important
for maintaining the ecological
balance that the Indian Forest
Service has been set up for
this very purpose. The All
India Forest Service came
into being in 1966. The areas
of functioning for the Indian
Forest Service include protection
and conservation of forests,
wildlife and forest produce.
Top
Q2.What
does it take to opt for civil
service?
A2.Mental
alertness; interest in a variety
of subjects; good intellect
in order to be able to tackle
any subject or situation;
an ability to sift, weigh
and apply differing opinions
from various people; leadership
qualities; the ability to
inspire others and to channelise
available talent; tact and
diplomacy; and, integrity.
These are some personality
traits that you should look
for in yourself when you consciously
make a decision to opt for
civil service.
Top
Q3.What
is the Cadre System in civil
services ?
A3.The
Civil Services has been divided
into various grades to facilitate
functioning. The grade determines
the area of work. Junior scale
officers work in the states
that they are allotted to.
Senior scale officers work
as Under Secretaries in the
State. Officers in the Junior
Administrative Grade, which
is reached after nine years
of service, hold the position
of a Deputy Secretary. When
officers make it to the Selection
Grade, which is reached after
fourteen years of service
they hold the position of
Directors or Deputy Secretary.
The next scale is known as
the Super Time Scale or the
Senior Administrative Grade
and the officers in this grade
hold the post of a Joint Secretary,
Additional Secretary, Secretary
or Cabinet Secretary. The
Civil Services can be broadly
classified as All India Services
and Central Services.
Top
Q4.What
is the Selection Process ?
A4.Eligibility
for the Civil Services Preliminary
Examination The minimum age
requirement for appearing
for the Civil Services Preliminary
Examination is 21 and the
upper age limit is 28 years.
The minimum academic requirement
is graduation in any discipline
from a recognised Indian University
or an equivalent academic
qualification. All candidates
are allowed four attempts.
There is a relaxation for
SC/ST candidates on the number
of attempts, if they are otherwise
eligible.
For
entry to the civil service,
there's a multi-step examination
process. The entire process
takes a full calendar year.
The Union Public Service Commission
(UPSC) first conducts an objective
type preliminary examination
for screening candidates.
The Preliminary Examination:
There are two papers for the
preliminary round. There is
one on general studies and
another on an optional subject.
The question papers are set
in both Hindi and English.
Each paper is for a duration
of two hours. General study
covers history, geography,
economics and so on. The question
papers have objective type
multiple choice questions.
The general studies paper
carries 150 marks. The syllabus
for the optional subject is
the same as that for graduation
level. The question paper
for the optional subject carries
300 marks. The optional subject
for the second paper may be
chosen from the following-
¨ Agriculture ¨ Animal
Husbandry and veterinary science
¨ Botany ¨ Chemistry
¨ Civil Engineering ¨
Commerce ¨ Economics ¨
Electrical Engineering ¨
Geography ¨ Geology ¨
Indian History ¨ Law ¨
Mathematics ¨ Mechanical
Engineering ¨ Philosophy
¨ Physics ¨ Political
Science ¨ Psychology ¨
Public Administration ¨
Sociology ¨ Statistics
¨ Zoology
The
Main Examination: The preliminary
round is basically a screening
round. The marks obtained
are not counted for in the
final stage of the examination.
For candidates who clear the
preliminary round, there is
the main round. The second
stage is the main examination
that includes written tests
and an interview. The written
test consists of nine papers
(essay type answers to be
written) - ¨ Paper I:
One Indian language that is
included in the Eighth schedule
of the Indian Constitution.
These languages are Assamese,
Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi,
Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam,
Marathi, Oriya, Pali, Punjabi,
Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu
and Urdu. This paper is of
a qualifying nature and the
marks obtained are not counted
for ranking. This paper is
not compulsory for candidates
from the states of Arunachal
Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya,
Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim.
¨ Paper II: English. The
English language paper is
also of a qualifying nature
and the marks obtained are
not counted for ranking. ¨
Paper III: Essay ¨ Paper
IV &V: General Studies
¨ Optional Subject I (two
papers) ¨ Optional subject
II (two papers). For papers
VI, VII, VIII, and IX two
subjects are to be chosen.
The list of subjects from
which the choice may be made
is - ¨ Agriculture ¨
Animal Husbandry and veterinary
science ¨ Anthropology
¨ Botany ¨ Chemistry
¨ Civil Engineering ¨
Commerce & Accountancy
¨ Economics ¨ Electrical
Engineering ¨ Geography
¨ Geology ¨ History
¨ Law ¨ Management
¨ Mathematics ¨ Mechanical
Engineering ¨ Philosophy
¨ Physics ¨ Political
Science & International
Relations ¨ Psychology
¨ Public Administration
¨ Sociology ¨ Statistics
¨ Zoology ¨ Literature
in one of the following languages
-: Arabic, Assamese, Bengali,
Chinese, English, French,
German, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada,
Kashmiri, Marathi, Malayalam,
Oriya, Pali, Persian, Punjabi,
Russian, Sanskrit, Sindhi,
Tamil, Telugu, Urdu Except
English, the question papers
are set in both Hindi and
English.
The
total marks secured in both
the written tests and the
personal interview determine
the rank of a candidate. The
Interview This is the last
hurdle to be cleared. The
interview carries 250 marks
and there are no stipulated
minimum qualifying marks.
The main aim of the interview
is to assess a candidate's
overall personality. The interview
is conducted by a board. The
board is fully informed about
the candidate and they base
their questions on a record
of the candidate's career,
which is provided to them.
The aspects that are generally
looked into are the candidate's
grasp of academics and general
awareness as in current affairs,
social issues, etc. It is
basically a test of the potential
of a candidate. The board
tries to assess whether he
or she can rise to the demands
of the job of a Civil Servant.
Top
Q5.What
are the Job Prospects ?
A5.Depending
upon his rank, a candidate
is recruited to services such
as the Indian Administrative
Service (IAS), Indian Police
Service (IPS), Indian Foreign
Service (IFS) and other departments
including Finance, Post and
Telegraph, Revenue, Secretariat
and so on. The appointment
offers executive power. Promotions
are time bound and increase
in privileges are automatic.
Selected candidates are first
put through a training session
for a short period. He is
usually sent to an academic
staff college associated with
the service to which he is
allocated. The greatest thing
about civil service is the
job security. Special facilities
include subsidised accommodation,
telephone and transport facilities,
medical benefits, leave travel
concession, etc. After retirement,
there are very good social
welfare facilities. Last but
not the least is the immense
satisfaction one derives at
being able to participate
in the development process
of the country.
Top
Q6.What
is the Remuneration ?
A6.The
Government of India has fixed
salary grades for Civil Servants.
Approximately the range of
salaries drawn at various
levels is as follows:
-
Junior
Officers: Rs. 8000-275-13500
-
Senior
Officers: Rs. 10650-325-15200
-
Junior
Administrative Grade:
Rs. 12,750-375-16,500
-
Selection
Grade: Rs. 15,100-400-18,300
-
Additional
Secretary: Rs. 22400-525-24500
Secretary/Cabinet
Secretary: Rs. 26,000/30,000
(The above scales only provide
an idea of the pay scales.
Different branches of the
service have different scales
of pay.)
In
addition to the salary civil
servants receive various allowances
such as Dearness Allowance,
City compensatory Allowance,
Leave Travel Allowance, Medical
and subsidised housing. |
