UPSC Posts - Types of Civil Services

UPSC posts for 24 different Civil Services are filled through Civil Service Examination (CSE) conducted by Union Public Service Commission. Out of lakhs of aspirants, only a few thousand students can successfully clear this examination. Although there are 23 different Civil Services, the most popular services are Indian Administrative Services (IAS), Indian Police Services (IPS), Indian Revenue Services (IRS) and Indian Foreign Services (IFS). The allotment of services to successful candidates depends on the rankings obtained in the examination. A candidate after getting selected in service is appointed to various posts (in the span of his career) within that service except in some cases where he/she may go on deputation to another department in another service.

The UPSC Prelims 2024 is going to be held on 26th May. UPSC aspirants can visit the linked article and know more about the prelims examination.

UPSC Posts – 3 Types of Civil Services

1. All India Civil Services

1. Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
2. Indian Police Service (IPS)
3. Indian Forest Service (IFoS)

2. Group ‘A’ Civil Services

1. Indian Foreign Service (IFS)
2. Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IAAS)
3. Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS)
4. Indian Corporate Law Service (ICLS)
5. Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS)
6. Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES)
7. Indian Information Service (IIS)
8. Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS)
9. Indian Communication Finance Services (ICFS)
10. Indian Postal Service (IPoS)
11. Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS)
12. Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS)
13. Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS)
14. Indian Revenue Service (IRS)
15. Indian Trade Service (ITS)
16. Railway Protection Force (RPF)

3. Group ‘B’ Civil Services

1. Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service
2. DANICS
3. DANIPS
4. Pondicherry Civil Service
5. Pondicherry Police Service

All India Services

Brief details on the two All India Services are given below.

Indian Administrative Service (IAS)

1. Indian Administrative Service is one of the 3 All India Services.
2. IAS is the permanent arm of the Government of India and State Governments.
3. IAS cadre is responsible for formulating and implementing Government policies.
4. The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is an All India Administrative Civil Service of India.
5. The IAS probationers begin their training at LBSNAA, Mussoorie.

To read about IAS Training at LBSNAA, one can check the linked article.
The Indian Administrative Service is the most popular civil service among all the aspiring candidates.

Also read, How to become an IAS Officer?

Indian Police Service (IPS)

1. Indian Police Service is the one among the three All India Services.
2. IPS officers are trained at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy in Hyderabad.
3. The IPS officers occupy senior positions in Police service.
4. The IPS officers occupy senior positions in RAW, IB, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) etc.

Indian Forest Service (IFoS)

1. Indian Forest Service (IFoS) is one among the three All India Services.
2. The highest designation of IFoS officers serving with Central Government is Director General (DG) of Forests.
3. The highest designation of IFoS officers serving for the State Government is Principal Chief Conservator of Forests.
4. Indian Forest Service Cadre comes under the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change.
5. IFoS officers also get an opportunity to work at numerous organisations like the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO).

Group ‘A’ Civil Services

All the posts for which the UPSC Exam is conducted are highly reputed and desirable, be it the All India Services, Group ‘A’ or Group ‘B’ posts.

The details on all Group ‘A’ Civil Services are given below.

Indian Foreign Service (IFS)

1. IFS officers begin their training at LBSNAA and then move on to Foreign Service Institute located in New Delhi.
2. It is one of the most popular Group ‘A’ civil services.
3. IFS officers handle the foreign affairs of India.
4. IFS officers can go on to become High Commissioner, Ambassadors, Permanent Representative of India at UN, and Foreign Secretary.
5. A candidate selected into IFS cannot reappear for the Civil Service Exam.

Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IA&AS)

1. IA&AS is one of the most popular Group ‘A’ civil services.
2. They begin their training at NAAA, Shimla.
3. This cadre comes under Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
4. This cadre does the financial auditing of Central Government, State Governments and Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).

Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS)

1. This cadre comes under the Group ‘A’ civil service.
2. They function under the Ministry of Finance.
3. The head of this cadre is Controller General of Accounts.
4. They are trained at National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM), Faridabad & Institute of Government Accounts and Finance (INGAF).

Indian Corporate Law Service (ICLS)

1. This is Group ‘A’ service that functions under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
2. The primary objective of this service is to govern the corporate sector in India.
3. Training for the probationary officers takes place at ICLS Academy, located at Manesar Campus of Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs(IICA).
4. ICLS officers would be given extensive training on law, economics, finance and accounting.

Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS)

1. This cadre comes under the Ministry of Defence.
2. The officers of this cadre are first trained at CENTRAD, New Delhi. Then, NIFM; National Academy Of Defence Financial Management Institute, Pune.
3. IDAS cadre officers mainly serve the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Ordnance Factories.
4. The main objective of this cadre is to audit defence accounts.
5. This service is headed by Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA) and also acts as Chief Accounts Officer to the Heads of DRDO, BRO and Ordnance Factories.

Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES)

1. The training of officers from this cadre takes place at the National Institute of Defence Estates which is located in New Delhi.
2. The primary objective of this service is to manage the cantonments and land belonging to the defence establishment.

Indian Information Service (IIS)

1. This is Group ‘A’ service which is responsible for managing the media wing of the Government of India.
2. The primary responsibility of this service is to act as a bridge between the Government and the public.
3. IIS comes under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
4. The initial training for recruits of this cadre takes place at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC).
5. Officers from this cadre work in different media departments like DD, PIB, AIR etc.

Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS)

1. This is Group ‘A’ civil service tasked with the responsibility of managing a large number of Indian Ordnance Factories which produces defence equipment, arms and ammunitions.
2. This service comes under the Ministry of Defence.
3. The candidates recruited under this cadre undergo training at National Academy of Defence Production located at Nagpur for a period of 1 year 3 months.

Indian Communication Finance Services (ICFS)

1. It comes under Group ‘A’ civil service, it was earlier known as Indian Post & Telecommunication Accounts and Finance Service (IP&TAFS).
2. The candidates recruited for this cadre undergoes training at National Institute of Financial Management located at Faridabad.
3. The primary objective of this cadre is to provide accounting and financial services to Indian Posts and Telecommunication Departments.

Indian Postal Service (IPoS)

1. This service also comes under Group ‘A’ civil services.
2. The candidates recruited for this cadre undergoes training at Rafi Ahmed Kidwai National Postal Academy (RAKNPA) located in Ghaziabad.
3. IPoS officers are recruited as higher grade officers in India Post. This service is responsible for running the India Post.
4. This service is responsible for diverse services offered by India Post; from traditional postal services, banking, e-commerce services, disbursing old-age pensions, MGNREGA wages.

Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS)

1. IRAS officers are responsible for maintaining and managing the finances and accounts of the Indian Railways.
2. After the recruitment, the probationers of the IRAS undergo a training programme for two years at the National Academy of Direct Taxes in Nagpur; Railway Staff College in Vadodara; and specialized training institutes along with on construction organizations, division, manufacturing establishments of the Indian Railways, and zonal railways.

Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS)

1. The initial training is initiated at LBSNAA and they will receive further training at various institutes like National Academy of Direct Taxes, RCVP Noronha Academy of Administration, Dr Marri Channa Reddy Human Resource Development Institute.
2. The next training will take place at the National Academy of Indian Railways located at Vadodara.
3. The primary responsibility of officers from this cadre is managing the behemoth Human Resources of Indian Railways

Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS)

1. IRTS comes under Group ‘A’ civil service.
2. IRTS cadre officers undergo training at Railway Staff College located at Vadodara and Indian Railway Institute of Transportation Management located in Lucknow.
3. Their primary responsibility of revenue generation for Indian Railways.
4. This service acts as the bridge between railways and public; railways and corporate sector.
5. This service should manage the Operation and commercial wings of Indian Railways.

Indian Revenue Service (IRS)

1. IRS officers undergo initial training at LBSNAA, further training takes place at NADT which is located at Nagpur and National Academy of Customs, Excise and Narcotics located at Faridabad.
2. IRS cadre functions under the Ministry of Finance.
3. The primary objective of this cadre is to collect direct and indirect taxes

Indian Trade Service (ITS)

1. This is one of the Group ‘A’ civil service.
2. Recruited candidates undergo training at Indian Institute of Foreign Trade located in New Delhi.
3. The primary goal if this cadre is to manage the International Trade and Commerce for the country.
4. This cadre comes under the Ministry of Commerce and is headed by Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT).

Railway Protection Force (RPF)

1. The main objective of this cadre is to provide fool proof security to Indian Railway passengers and protect the property and assets of Indian Railways.
2. RPF comes under the Ministry of Railways.
3. RPF is a Paramilitary force.
4. Recruited candidates undergo training at Jagjivan Ram Railway Protection Force Academy located at Lucknow.

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Group ‘B’ Civil Services

The details on all Group ‘B’ Civil Services are given below:

Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service

1. This service comes under Group ‘B’ civil service. Their objective is to provide basic support services to Indian Armed Forces and Inter-Services Organisations.
2. This service comes under the Ministry of Defence.
3. The Defence Secretary is the head of this cadre.

DANICS

1. This service acts as a feeder service to the Indian Administrative Service.
2. The full form is Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Services functioning under the Government of India.
3. The initial posting of officers from cadre is the role of Assistant Collector (District Administration, Delhi).
4. The officers from this cadre are responsible for the administrative functions of the Delhi and other Union Territories.

DANIPS

1. DANIPS is an acronym for “NCT of Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Police Service”.
2. It is a federal police service in India, administering Delhi and the Union Territories of India.

Pondicherry Civil Service

1. The recruitment for this cadre takes place through the Civil Service Examination conducted by UPSC.

Pondicherry Police Service

1. The recruitment for Pondicherry Police service takes place through Civil Service Examination conducted by UPSC.
2. This is a Group ‘B’ civil service.

The above details would help candidates prepare for UPSC 2023 in setting up their goals.

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