Roles and Responsibilities of an IAS officer
About Indian Administrative Service
All Indian Administrative Services include Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian forest Service(IFS), Indian revenue service(IRS) and Indian police service(IPS). States and union governments can employ you once you are a Civil Servant. An IAS officer represents the Indian government at the international level during bilateral conferences and discussions; they also work at inter-governmental organizations including the United Nations, World Bank and its agencies. The IAS officer plays a significant role at various levels of Administration concerning election in the nation.
IAS officer duties include carrying out an unbiased and planned election process for the state and election commission of India. The IAS was constituted in 1946 as the leading services under the Government of India.
Duties of an IAS officer
Becoming an IAS officer is one of the most respected professions in our country but the life of a Civil Servant is full of challenges. The Indian Administrative Service exam is conducted every year by the UPSC. Candidates join Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration after clearing the UPSC civil service exam. Here, they taste the life of a Civil Servant for the first time. The daily life of an IAS officer starts at 6 PM during training period and 60 minutes are scheduled for morning exercise or horse riding training. The time between 7 AM to 9AM is for daily routine or morning activities. After 9:30, it includes lectures, sports and extracurricular activities. Trainee officers also get free time after dinner. They can utilize this time for socializing and preparing for the next day. Evaluating the lifestyle of rural areas is an integral part of IAS training. Here, they learn to cope up with adversity.
Bharat Darshan or a tour of India is also included in the training of IAS officers. After this, the schedule of IAS officers changes according to their post. If an officer is posted in the field then his daily activity includes sports, supervising, multiple daily tasks of the department or district, visiting different areas to review the implementation of developmental activities and meetings.
These activities start at 9:00 AM and generally end about 9 PM. working beyond regular duty hours during emergencies such as riots and disasters is also included in IAS duties.
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Roles of IAS officer
Three types of roles are given to IAS officers depending on the type of assignment they get. Field assignments are most challenging that an IAS officer may be called upon to fulfill.
The essential functions of civil service include framing, implementing and reviewing policies, handling affairs of the government, consulting with various departments and electing representatives for these functions.
The Central Government allocates and manages various funds for different schemes. An IAS responsibility is to manage and disburse these funds. supervising the implementation of various schemes and policies of the Government and responding to emergencies such as accidents, riots and natural disasters in their jurisdiction are also the rights and duties of an IAS officer.
The first posting of an IAS officer is a field assignment where they work at various levels such as maintenance of law and order, overseeing development and administrative activities within the subdivision, as a sub divisional magistrate and duty as a collector or deputy commissioner or district magistrate.
Generally, the field assignments last at the district level for maximum IAS officers and they move to positions within the state government and work in the state secretariat.
Power of an IAS officer
Sections 107, 108, 109, 110, 133, 144 are about the powers for maintaining law and order given to magistrates as per the code of criminal procedure of the Indian penal code.
National Disaster Management act tell about the power of chief secretaries and Magistrates.Tenancy laws list out the powers of a collector regarding revenue.
The power of an IAS officer to enforce regulation in different situations are described in arms act, essential commodities act and drug license act.
All IAS officers are answerable to state and Central legislature.
An IAS officer holds an important and crucial position within the union government, the states and public sector undertakings as well.
Salary of an IAS officer
The basic pay of an IAS officer is 5610 according to the 7th Central pay commission. The cabinet secretary of the union gets the highest pay at rate 2,50000. Apart from this, an IAS officer gets some perks also while in service such as subsidized government accommodation, household help depending on the requirement like Cook, Cleaners, gardeners, security cover, government transportation, mobile internet and telephone charges, free stay in government rest house during duty etc.
An IAS officer is also allowed to proceed on paid study leave for up to 2 years to study in India or abroad.
Life of an IAS officer
Civil service gives the opportunity for youngsters to participate in the administration and development of their country. The life of an IAS officer is quite challenging but satisfying as well. Civil services is one of the most desirable careers because you will get additional perks and privileges that other jobs don’t offer. You get a chance to work within the government system.
Function of an IAS official
- An IAS officer is responsible for the maintenance of law and order, revenue Administration and general administration in the allocated area.
- An IAS officer is responsible for a majority of government affairs and also works in the areas of implementation of the policy under the consultation of a minister of farming etc. They must be available in all required places where they decide policies having been implemented and supervised.
- You will have the right to answer the state legislatures and parliament as well in case of any irregularities happening in your area. They are also responsible to maintain overall expenditure and answerable to the parliament and state legislature.
- You will join at the post of sub division level as a sub divisional magistrate after joining the civil services.
Power
- They have to manage the entire developmental work of the area under their control and the authority to ensure the law and order is maintained at all times.
- After this an IAS officer is posted at the district level and known as deputy officer or district magistrate. Here they will have more responsibilities and power to conduct programs.
- They can also serve at the post of state secretariat or as the head of a Public sector unit. They are also posted as the cabinet secretary, additional secretary, deputy secretary, joint secretary or the under secretary at the Central level.
Authority
- An IAS officer has complete authority, opportunity and capability to help the poor of society.
- IAS officers are responsible for the recovery of income and the unhindered functioning of tax courts.
- They work as an executive magistrate, head of development, district Development commissioner and supervise the implementation of the state and also Central government policies.
- IAS officers constantly visit places to monitor new policy implementation.
- They are also responsible for the management of the expenditure of public funds as per the rules of financial ownership.
- They hold different positions at various levels when it comes to policy making and decision making.
- They will need to be committed to contribute and give a definitive form to various policies.
Why Civil Service?
If you are eager to make a positive change in the lives of people then you can opt for the career of an IAS officer. The IAS exam is considered the most challenging exam and only a few candidates clear it. If you want to crack this exam then you should understand the demands of the exam and study accordingly.
Being a Civil Servant is a roller coaster journey. The basis of an IAS officer’s duties and responsibilities is to manage the everyday activity of the government including development and implementation of the policy in consultation with the minister, responsible for the specific department concerned.
How to prepare for IAS exam
In the initial stage, many students are unsure on how to begin and what to study for civil service exam preparation. There are numerous questions in their mind regarding exam eligibility, pattern, dates, papers etc. You will need to know the latest requirements of the Union Public Service commission because wrong guidance can waste your precious time and money.
The exam pattern of the civil service exam makes it a tough exam in the country. There are three stages of this exam: prelims, mains and interview. candidates have to cross each stage to move onto the next. You can clearly see that the difficulty level increases with each stage. The last but most important stage of civil service is an interview which may be a difficult task. UPSC interview not only checks aspirants knowledge but also their mental strength and ability to deal with different situations. So you will need a special kind of preparation to clear the IAS interview stage. A diverse range of subjects, vast syllabus, long preparation period increase the toughness of this exam.
When We talk about the success rate in the IAS exam then it is less than 1%. lakhs of aspirants appear in the Prelims exam every year but only a few of them appear in the mains exam and reach the interview stage. Candidates should follow a unique strategy and prepare with the right direction so that they can easily crack this exam.
How to prepare without coaching
Some candidates achieve good scores in this exam without any coaching. So, it is quite clear that coaching is not the only one solution for this exam. You can clear this exam with coaching and without coaching too. It over all depends on your discipline and determination. Some candidates prefer management, study schedule and preparation strategy of the institute but if you can make strategy on your own, manage your time effectively and can be disciplined then you can prepare for this exam without coaching.
Candidates should start their preparation early due to the vast syllabus of the UPSC exam and you should also have the right study material. Make short notes and mind maps on a daily basis. Try to develop a routine and believe in yourself that you can do it. Also, take mock test series at regular intervals.
Preparation after 12th
Starting early for this exam is always advantageous because you can choose your bachelor degree’ subject according to the IAS exam.
Follow the news regularly and give your opinion about the news daily. You can also join online test series and subscribe to monthly magazines like Youth Destination current affair magazine, Yojana, kurukshetra etc.
Preparation for IAS exam for working professional
Make a schedule according to your job and stick to it. you can socialize with the people who are in your situation, it will fulfill your social needs. make short notes and choose effective study material. Don’t waste your time in reading unnecessary news or in discussion.
