Power, challenges, unmatched opportunities for specialisation, decision-making autonomy, and the ability to change your environment—no other career offers such exposure and variety as the civil services. It comes as no surprise that many professionals still want to switch to the civil services if given a chance.
Of the 307 candidates that were selected through the ui’sc exams in 2006-2007, as many as 93 are qualified engineers, 24 medical doctors and another 54 are from the science field.
What is it in the civil services that keeps the youth of this country so captivated despite the odds? The pay scales of Indian Civil Service officers still come across as a bit of a rude joke in comparison to a very bullish private sector which is willing to command the best and pay a price for it as well. Even after 30 years of service, an officer of the rank of secretary to the government of India would not draw more than Rs 56,000 as monthly salary. The services barely produce 550 odd jobs every year—this number is likely to go down further rather than up. And the thought of being in a transferable service with little control over who is pulling the strings could be daunting to many. Yet, the odds are anything but a deterrent for those who are motivated by the prospect of cracking the examinations through some dizzying competition.
Out of 3.49 lakh aspirants, approximately 500-550 (depending on the annual requirement put out by the department of personnel) are practically handpicked for a force that provides the steel frame of the country. For each person who makes it, there are 580 who don’t. If that’s not challenging enough, what is? In fact, the civil services have held sway over the Indian masses even as defence services are losing their appeal. The number of candidates who appeared for the Union Public Service Commission (UPsC) entrance examination increased from 3,36,196 in 2003-2004 to 3,36,840 in 2005- 2006. On the contrary, the number of applicants who appeared for the defence services examinations went down from 2,69,970 in 2003-2004 to 2,45.2 14 in 2005-2006.
“I agree that the civil services are not as attractive to the youth because the MNC salaries have a bigger pull and the real talent is going there. But, even a CEO of a large company does not have the kind of impact that a young person like me would have in our first posting itself as deputy commissioner,” says Nitin Desai, a 2006 batch ii’s officer trainee who also happens to be an lIT graduate. Nitin decided to take up the police services against all opposition from family and friends and feels that people like him—though in a minority—would do well to change the services as well as do away with the stereotypes that have come to be associated with it over the years.
A mention of the word bureaucrat’ is enough to bring up images of power giddy ‘babus’ obsessed with procedures,
out of sync and inaccessible to the masses they have to govern. This stereotype could be a thing of the past if we continue to get this kind of talent in our civil services—professionals who have given up thriving careers and chosen to step into governance for improving the force as well as their own prospects of long term learning. This is one reason why the median age of the services has also gone up by a few years. On an average, a majority of the males fall in the 24-28 age group whereas it is 2 1-26 for the females. Most of them have already appeared for the exam at least two times and could also be posted with a service. “The IQ level and maturity level of these candidates is very high irrespective of where they come from, rural or urban,” says Kalpana Dube, senior deputy director at the academy in
Mussoorie. At this stage, aspirants have made up their mind and chosen the services for all the right reasons, not just
because of the prestige-power factor. “Remember that the government is the most benevolent employer of them all,”
adds Dube, as she does a quick analysis. After all, which company in the private sector invests two years on training new recruits, gives them two years off after five years of service (in case they desire) as study leave, rarely gives its officers high blood pressure and ulcers for not fuffihling targets and deadlines. What’s more, in case there are any allegations of corruption and misuse of power, no civil servant can by removed by any state government without the central public services commission following the due procedure of enquiry.
Officers are given more perks as they go up the seniority ladder. There is free housing, conveyance, even free domestic help and generous reimbursements for education, medical and travel expenses. So if you are posted with the
railways in Delhi, you could be staying in a sprawling bungalow in Chanakyapuri, in Mumbai, it would be no less than Churchgate. For this reason, civil service still remains an extremely coveted career, especially for women who are now making up almost a quarter of the candidates being selected every year. They also happen to have a higher strike rate, 16.2 per cent compared to 7.8 per cent for the male candidates. It is an extremely secure career with a lot of respect and prestige attached to it for women, adds a railway accounts officer.
But our young talented crop is not just excited about the unmatched non-pay perks. It is the wide canvas on which they get to operate. Satwant Khanalia, another 2006 batch Indian Foreign Officer trainee, who happens to be an MBA in international relations, believes that the civil services give you an opportunity to formulate policy for your country, thereby exposing you to a completely new set of challenges. On the other hand, the private sector happens to be completely lacking in this regard. Take the case of Amaninder Dhindsa, former IT professional with Adobe, who is happy with his Indian Revenue Services posting. In his new avatar as a customs officer, he will not miss spending a major part of his day trapped in a room full of computers and wires. That is neither a sustainable nor a desirable lifestyle, he explains.
As a civil service officer, one receives top of the line training in the three K5A areas—knowledge, skills and attitudes. Personality development is key and students often experience a makeover of sorts after they have completed their training at the different academies. For instance, trainees at the LB5NAA compulsorily go on difficult treks to different locations for a number of days. They are expected to tide over physical difficulties, their inhibitions and develop a sense of esprit d’corps. They are then exposed to administration at different levels beginning right from the village level. They must work with officers posted at this level and prepare case studies on which they are assessed, In addition to local governance, they also get an exposure to the functioning of international organisations like the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organisation, to name a few. Interspersed with study and hectic lecture schedules are cultural programmes, dance shows, sports meets and even occasional blood donation camps to complete the bonanza. Officer trainees could also pick up an additional language at the academy and then further hone their language skills at the state academies. The exposure, therefore, is truly varied and unique.
Training undertaken at the various apex and state level academies is also quite dynamic. It is frequently moulded to the changing demands of the market. B-governance is an upcoming area, for example. And to get going, all the central training academies have been networked. The academy also formulates its own case studies so that trainees are able to pick up from a variety of experiential accounts. As the government withdraws from different sectors, the role of bureaucracy is also being redefined as that of a facilitator rather than a controlling authority. For this reason, public-private partnership is another important module at the training academies. Trainees get to work with the private sector and understand its constraints and demands. This all- round training makes senior officers ideal head-hunting material for the private sector. Maruti chief Jagdish Khattar who was an lAS officer before he became the president of Maruti Udyog recalls how the civil services stint prepared him to take tough decisions early in life.
The notion of a government person as a babu, who is only a file pusher, and a pen pusher may be fast changing. So, if you are not chasing the moolah but want autonomy to do things that have far-reaching consequences, civil services is your best bet.
For Atul Kumar, his passion for becoming an Indian Administrative Services (lAs) officer emanated from the need to make government servants more accessible and positive. “Everyone blamed the government for all the wrong that was
happening and nobody was praising it for all the right that it has done,” he noted. This attitude had to be changed
and that could only happen when people like him chose to get into the lAs with the right set of objectives.
The lAS is really the civil service dream. A majority of the three-and-a- half lakh students who sit for the
gruelling preliminary-mains-interview routine every year aspire to become administrative officers. Of these, only 80-90 will make it. This makes it it a selection rate of 0.01 per cent—perhaps even more gruelling than the lIT-nM selections. Many of these are officers who are already serving civil servants for instance, Mona Pruthi, last year’s usc civil services
topper was a customs officer who wanted to get into the lAS. What is it that gives the administrative services
their unique unmatched sheen? To begin with, if the Indian Civil Services (ics) offers you a wide canvas to be able to actualise your ideas and objectives, the lAS is really considered to be the frontrunner service in this regard. With the top brass being allotted to this service, it is really the cremedc-la creme of the civil service crop of talent, the brightest and the most competent (although a number of the toppers choose to go for the other central services like the Indian Police). lAS officers wield phenomenal amount of power, not to mention the proximity they enjoy to the elected respresentative of the country, no less than the level of the minister. Dr Prashant Goyal, a member of the 2006 batch presently undergoing his training at the academy and a medical doctor by profession, did not mind giving up all his years of MBBS study to chase his lAS dream. “It would mean being able to touch many more lives than a doctor ever could on his own,” he says. Because of the uniqueness of the service, the training imparted is also unique in many ways. After the foundation course at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy of Administration (lB5NAA) along with officer trainees from all the other services, lAS officer trainees proceed for extensive training called phase I-professional training. This includes an initial exposure to academic inputs from a variety of experts after which they proceed for ‘bharat darshan’ for two months. Different groups are sent off to different districts, villages and state level administration, Here, they observe and work as attachment trainees with both the state and non-governmental machinery. They could be attached to the municipal corporations or NGOs, reveals a LBSNAA faculty member.
After this exposure to state machinery, trainees return to the academy for their phase 2 professional training. Henceforth begin detailed sessions in law, Constitution, public administration laws, system of governance, ethics and a host of other subjects. Training is imparted in a total of fourteen modules. Experts from different areas are roped in as visiting faculty to provide necessary case studies laced with personal experiences.
Once the seminars, conferences and lectures are over, officer trainees are once again headed to different states; this time, it is the state to whose cadre they have been allotted. Trainees spend a substantial portion of their time at the state training institutes. These are responsible for training the provincial cadres that have been selected through the state public service commissions and offer state specific training in issues like language, laws and so on. Adds Kalpana Dube, senior deputy director at LBSNAA, “Often there are unpleasant surprises for the officer trainees. The first is when they don’t get the service of their choice, and the other is pertaining to their cadre in case it is a cadre-specific service like the lAS.” Getting a home cadre (the state to which you belong) is a dream come true for all officers. In case they are allotted cadres that they are not really looking forward to, faculty members take on the onerous task of motivating them all along the way.
After their training, officers go on to assume phenomenal amount of responsibility in their first posting itself. Even at the first level called the junior time scale, they are posted as sub-divisional magistrates who look after law and order, general administration and development work. After approximately four years of service, they go on to become district officers variously known as district magistrate, district collector or deputy commissioner. This is also the most prestigious and identifiable post held by members of the service. Here, they look into district affairs, including implementation of developmental programs. Officers can also serve in the state secretariat as heads of department or in public sector undertakings. In the state secretariat, they can begin at the level of undersecretaries to the Government of India. After nine years of service, they are eligible for the post of deputy secretary. Approximately 67 per cent of the posts are directly filled from the usc candidates and 33 per cent from the provincial cadres. lAS officers have to function in consultation with the concerned minister. They could also be deputed to the central administration in various capacities. At the top of the hierarchy is the Cabinet secretary followed by secretary, additional secretary, joint secretary, director, deputy secretary and under secretary. All these are incredibly prestigious postings.
Being a diplomat is much like being a fish in a glass bowl. Whatever you do or say is analysed, observed, and assessed ad riauseum. Now that could be a privilege or a curse depending which way you look at it. Hard core diplomats are trained to believe that the former is truer than the latter and are prepared to face the consequences either way.
“Even a casual remark made at a time when you have your guards down can snowball into a full blown controversy,” says ambassador Surendra Kumar who also happens to be the director of the Foreign Services Institute (FsI) in Delhi. The FSI is the apex training body for the foreign services and routinely takes in an annual crop of 20-25 from the ui’sc after they have finished their foundation course at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy in Mussourie.
The foreign services are perhaps the most glamourous of the civil services. Traditionally considered to be the gateway to the world, they provided ample opportunities to travel and see places that you could only see on a map. However, with the economy on fast track growth and MNC5 dominating the workspace, the opportunity to travel abroad is no longer the domain of the foreign services. But then there are other perks. For one, your circle of friends could include many ambassadors, high commissioners and even heads of state. There is an opportunity to experience a number of cultures from very close quarters, not to mention the prestige factor involved in representing your country wherever you go.
In addition to this, diplomats must at all times keep themselves up to date on world affairs, economic and political developments. By design or default, this poses a great opportunity for self improvement, says a foreign services
officer who also happens to be a medical doctor and gave up his practice to be in the services. Speaking on condition of anonymity, he adds, “India is taking its due place in the world and we have to do a good job of representing her,” he adds. But its not just about basking in the limelight and attending endless parties. There are some downsides as well. Imagine, serving your three year tenure in war stricken places like Afghanistan or Iraq. Diplomats often face life- threatening situations in such places. Almost 85 per cent of the postings are not Geneva, Paris and Washington. Also, the journey to head of mission or ambassador for a grade one mission is long—it could take upto 30 years before you are selected to go as head of mission. In most of the cases, political appointees take precedence over an officer whose term has matured.
There are challenges to be faced on a daily basis like dealing with alien languages, culture and food. Often, procuring basic amenities that one is used seems like a bit of an ordeal. And of course, family life takes a serious setback.
But don’t be dismayed. Diplomats invent means to amuse themselves when they feel lonely in a foreign land and the government of the host country as well as the home country pitch in with their best.
Those who dream of the foreign services are definitely looking out for adventure, a sense of authority and the ability to be instrumental in policy implementation. Diplomats are key to designing foreign policy and its implementation. ‘As diplomats, our job is to conduct India’s relations with the neighbours, with the region and the world at large,” says KumaL
A typical training module would include plenty of discussions with the guest faculty with other classmates that tend to be from different backgrounds and professions, interspersed with course work, practical experiences gauged at organisations like the IMF, UN, World Bank, a prominent B- school like uM-Ahmedabad, the Supreme Court, the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Human Rights Commission and even army training. The idea is to be able to equip the future diplomats with indepth knowledge of the different services. Guest faculty could include former ambassadors, senior teachers at JNU and ou and some very eminent personalities that usually make an appearance only on television, here, you get to be up, close and more engaged. The idea is to have multi-dimensional understanding of how the country is run, views and opinions held by different political groups and social communities.
Promotion and remuneration is as per government scales. An ambassador at the grade three level is equivalent to a joint secretary to the Government of India, a grade two ambassador is equivalent to a secretary and a grade one ambassador is equivalent to a full secretary. One is required to put in 25 years of service at the grade three level before being appointed head of mission. Promotion to grade A is after an average 32-33 years of service.
While the pay scales are the same as that of other government functionaries, diplomats also get a foreign allowance that varies from one country to another. “Our diplomats should not feel in any way less capacitated than the others. They are given a lifestyle that is at par with the other diplomats,” says KumaL In addition to this, other expenses like their children’s school and college education, medical and health expenditure, house and travel expenses are all paid for by the government.
For Satwant Atwal Trivedi, Superintendent of Police, Himachal and Assistant Director of the National Police Academy in Hyderabad, her training as a police officer gave her the confidence to match up to any thug who could be many times stronger and more ruthless than her. “Just having the confidence made all the difference. Plus, the uniform was my biggest safety,” she says as she recalls the times she had to go around patrolling areas that were notorious for crime, most of these happened to be in the dead of the night.
Training for the police force is one of the most rigorous a civil servant has to undergo because it involves the responsibility of combating crime. Each year, close to 100 candidates receive a 46-week training at the apex body, the Sardar Vallabhai Patel National Police Academy at Hyderbad.
A typical day starts at 6 am with parades, physical fitness exercises followed by training in operating weapons like AK-47, light machine guns and revolvers. This goes on for almost three and a half hours before trainees can proceed to classrooms. Here, basics of law, criminology, policing and forensic sciences take over for the major part of the day with senior police officers who have been there, done that, pitching in as lecturers. “The idea is to combine theory with practical knowledge and our teaching is mostly demonstrative,” says Director General of the Academy, Dr G.S. Rajagopalan.
Teaching young officers the nittygritties of ethics and criminology might not be such a daunting task but the challenge is to be able to convey the same level of understanding to people from diverse backgrounds—they could be doctors, engineers, lawyers, horticulturists, even former teachers. All the trainees have to be prepared to take on the onerous responsibility of managing and motivating a workforce.
Post training, they go on to become superintendents of police and in effect, the commandant of a battalion that also happens to be armed. They must plan and manage this workforce and deploy it for disaster management, management of events like elections, public gatherings and so on.
In addition to this, there is the responsibility of carrying out crime reviews, analysis of crime trends, charting out crime preventing strategies, collection of intelligence or information pertaining to criminal activities and nexus and passing this on to the right quarters.
Trainees get large doses of law and criminology. Those who are not familiar with the field are not at any particular disadvantage because of the nature of instruction. In fact, a majority of the students who are able to crack the ur’sc choose subjects like geography, sociology, statistics, mathematics that are more scoring. The latest trend is that of engineering students taking on the civil services. Therefore, there’s little chance that you
could be studying the same subject that you prepared for the entrance examination. Those who do, have to practically unlearn and then begin afresh. Dr Rajagopalan’s case is a quotable example. After an MA in Political Science, he scored more in history than political science and economics in his upsc entrance exam. “This happens because examiners are looking for a basic understanding of how you interpret the knowledge you already have rather than the depth of knowledge,” he explains. The major difference between a police job and that of any other is that of commitment. This is not your typical 9-5 job. Officers are working practically round the clock without getting paid much for it. Working conditions might not be the best either especially if you are posted in far flung areas, not to mention the frequency of transfers. Despite all the obvious drawbacks, police services happen to be the second most popular among the civil services after the administrative services. Not surprising because it offers a unique combination of challenge with tremendous job satisfaction, “People come to the police when they have lost all other hope. If you are able to help them at that time then they really bless you and that gives immense satisfaction,” says SP Atwal. Police officers are trained for all this and more. They have to be team players and ready to put their lives on the line if the situation requires. Officers are also routinely required to go on deputation to different apex agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation, Narcotics, Intelligence Bureau and so on and this gives them great exposure.
Once the training is over, officers get a taste of the real thing when they are posted as circle officers or assistant superintendents of police (ASP) put incharge of a sub division. Average tenure at the ASP level is two years after which promotion to p is more or less automatic. “This is a very attractive proposition because just after four years (two years of training and two of work), a person can rise to the si’ level with entire districts under their control. There are people who’ve left lucrative jobs for such work experience,” adds Dr Rajagopalan. At the ASP level, one starts with Rs 15,000 per month and goes on to Rs 55,000 per month at the level of director general.
Having an income tax officer on your side could save you from a lot of trouble. No wonder, then that the revenue services are the fourth most sought after, after the administrative, police and foreign services. “The IRS is the service of the future because no country can operate in isolation and economic concerns are taking precedence over political issues in the 21st century,” says Saroj Bala, director of the National Academy of Direct Taxes, Nagpur.
An IRS pfficer has to complete the assessment of tax returns which requires a lot of inquiry and investigation work. Over the years, there has been a sea-change in the nature of work. It involves more technology play and less of examining files.
Officers are also sent on deputation to a variety of organisations like the WTO, World Bank, OECD, SEBI, vigilance department, Enforcement Directorate, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Narcotics Control Bureau apart from the Ministry of Finance. This gives them a lot of exposure.
Starting with the prestigious post of assistant commissioner, IRS officers can become deputy commissioners in approximately four years, joint commissioners in 8-10 years, additional commissioners in 10-21 years and finally commissioner after 30 years of service. Some of the fortunate ones could also be selected as chairperson of the Central Bureau of Direct Taxes.
Interested in knowing what’s leaving and coming to the Indian ports, or the classification and supervision of industry goods? Customs could be your true calling. Of course, many people end up with Customs and Central Excise simply because they don’t want to be restricted to a state cadre all their life like the police services.
Customs and Central Excise, like revenue, falls under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance and even offers great scope for some academic satisfaction while on the job. Consider distinguishing between items like wildlife products, archaeological items, antiques, skins and hides, health and medicinal goods among a host of others. And if this wasn’t enough, having to distinguish between 500 different varieties of cloth that are produced and traded in the country.
The National Academy of Customs Excise and Narcotics at Faridabad is the apex body that trains A-level officials of this service. Annually, around 65 trainees are taken into the institute for a year-long training. This also includes some in-service attachments that would include the major customs houses among other things. New concepts like e-commerce, money laundering, service tax have been recently introduced into the curriculum as they offer great opportunities. An academy official stated that the arena of service tax would prove to be another area of opportunity in the years to come.
Workingwith the largest rail services in the world brings with it immense responsibilities. After all, how many other officers would be managing 15 million people who opt for this mode of transport every day.
Owing to its sheer size, railways happens to be the largest employer among all the government agencies. The categories under railways for which a candidate can apply include Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTs), Indian Railway Accounts Service (wAs), Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPs) and Indian Railway Protection Force (IRPF).
The job holds challenges ranging from taking care of all commercial aspects of Railways like reservation, catering and ticket checking, ensuring proper recruitment of personnel, protection of railway property, passenger security and disaster management.
Says Shri Kant Mishra, vice principal, Jagjivan Ram Railway Protection Force Academy, Lucknow, ‘Anybody joining the railways should remember that it is a job of responsibility combined with hospitality. The passenger is to be treated with respect and courtesy while ensuring a safe journey for him.”
After completion of training, candidates go on to take the positions of assistant security commissioner for IRPF, assistant commercial manager or assistant operations manager with IRTS, assistant account officer for IRAS, and assistant personnel officer for the IRPS.
Indian forests cover an area of 6,34 lakh square kilometres and are home to a teeming variety of wildlife and unique plants. Joining the Indian Forest Service will give you an opportunity to manage these vast resources.
Forest service personnel are selected by the ui’sc through a separate examination which is different from the regular civil services exam. Only candidates with a science background in college are eligible to apply.
Selected candidates undergo rigorous training at the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (IGNFA), Dehradun. They are also required to lead a big team of subordinate forest staff to protect and conserve the forests. The job responsibilities also include protecting the land against land mafia and stopping illegal wildlife trade. Candidates can choose from from a broad range of topics which include wildlife management, biodiversity conservation, remote sensing and geographical information systems, forest resource assessment, forest engineering, and marketing and certification. On completion of two-year training, candidates are posted as assistant conservator of forests. They are promoted as deputy conservator of forests after four years of service.
Speaking of the advantages of this field, a source from IGNFA says, “The main attraction primarily lies in the healthy mix of administrative, managerial and technical responsibilities.”
The Indian postal service, with over 1.55 lakh post offices, is the most widely distributed postal service in the world and could be a part of the Guinness Book of World Records. It is also one of the few organisatons that truly has a pan India presence. And no matter how much you blame them for inadequate service in the cities, the truth is that in several rural sections, postal service still offers the only link with the central government.
The primary responsibility of an officer is to ensure efficient functioning of all the post offices that fall under their geographical jurisdiction. For this, they are granted tremendous decision making freedom in management and marketing department. This invariably is a source of great exposure that further leads to better career opportunities and growth prospects.
It is one of the few civil services which offer a unique multi-dimensional exposure to its officers in their first posting itself. The officers have to deal with personnel, financial operations and project management. This is unlike any other service where different cadres are assigned for each of these departments. ‘In our first posting itself we get to manage one to three districts and have 700-1000 people working under us,” says Manoj Kumar, Indian Postal Service probationer. This offers an overwhelming exposure for human resource management, he adds.
After induction and training, the officer is posted as a Senior Superintendent of Post Office or Senior Superitendent of Railway Mail Service. From here officers can rise up to the level of secretary, Department of Posts who is also the Chairman, Postal Services Board.
(to be continued)
