The core of the Civil Services

EVERY YEAR, around this time of the year, university hostels in India are humming with activity. Surprising, considering the fact that it is vacation time, and most of the students should be in their home towns, relaxing in the summer holidays and meeting up with their old friends and relatives. A visit to any university hostel and it appears as lively and as busy as it was during term time.

To probe further, go to the common rooms or the mess. In both the places, you see animated discussions taking place. Hear them out it is about Shakespeare, Marx, Darwin, Malthus, Freud, Columbus, Gandhi etc. In between mouthfuls, arguments for and against are picked up and carried on during after-dinner walks, lasting probably till well past midnight. It is difficult for a boarder to escape the onslaught of such intellectual excitement.

Competing for the Civil Services can be a gut-wrenching, heart- breaking experience. Especially, if your sight is fixed on the crown, or the top three services. IAS, IFS and IPS. A student may actually be competing for nearly 30 services, but what really counts is this creamy layer. Or so it seems, till a few hard knocks later, reality dawns. It should not be so disturbing though, if you consider the fact that most of the Central Services are actually much more comfortable and family-friendly than the top All-India Services. For the glamour-struck and the power- driven, nothing but the best will do. However, it helps to know that should the glamour and the power prove to be too elusive, the next best alternative is not at all unpleasant. Welcome to the world of Central Services. There are about 25 in this category, many of which even those competing for the Civil Services examination are not aware of. The following is a brief list of the services and their job requirements:

Post and Telegraphs: This service looks after the revenue and expenditure of the Indian postal system. Officers of this service are involved with planning the expenditure of the department and minimising revenue deficits. This service too has a probationary period of two years during which the officers undergo departmental training.

Audit and Accounts: An officer of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service is under the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). The job includes audits of transactions of the central government, state governments and union territories and also of all the ministries and departments of the central government. At the ministerial level, a large number of financial advisers are drawn from the cadres. Officers of IAAS are also on deputation at various levels, including Secretaries to the Government of India. An IAAS officer is responsible for ensuring that proper accounts are maintained. Other duties include looking after matters of financial control, internal audit, interpretation of the government's financial regulations and rendering of financial advice. Postings could be anywhere in India or even abroad.

Customs and Central Excise: This is concerned with the fiscal administration of the Government of India. Those selected for Customs Service are trained in Chennai while the training for excise officers takes place in one of the metros. Customs officers are supposed to check and levy duty on taxable goods being imported into the country. Initially, they are posted in coastal towns and later at the international airports. Starting from assistant collector, they could rise to become principal collectors. The Excise Service follows a similar pattern of promotion.

Defence Accounts: The first appointment in this service is as assistant controller of defence accounts. Jobs in this service are restricted to cantonment towns. The next posting as deputy controller of defence accounts is in state capitals. In the senior grade, you become a full-fledged Controller of Defence Accounts. Postings, then, will only be in cities which are the headquarters of defence commands.

Revenue Service: During the probationary period in this service, on-the-job training is provided at an assistant commissioner's office for six months. After that, you serve as an assistant commissioner for two years in a major city. The work involves tax assessment in cases where it is more than the prescribed figure. An assistant commissioner deals with income and losses between Rs 2-5 lakh. A deputy commissioner handles cases above Rs 5 lakh. A commissioner comes in the senior administrative grade and the posting could be either in a metropolitan city or in one of the state capitals.

Civil Accounts: Your first posting in this service will be as Assistant Controller of Accounts in a ministry of the Government of India. In the senior scale, you will become Deputy Controller of Accounts and in the selection grade, Controller of Accounts. The next posting will be as Additional Controller General of Accounts while the highest career post in this service is Controller General of Accounts with a fixed salary higher than that in the Additional Secretary's scale.

Railway Services: There are three services under the Railways Traffic (IRTS), Accounts (IRAS),and Personnel (IRPS). The traffic service looks after the commercial and operational functions of the Indian Railways; the accounts service monitors the income and expenditure of the railway network; the personnel service deals with recruitment, promotions, training and welfare of railway employees.

Information Service: As an IIS officer, you can be posted anywhere in India, in various media organisations of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting or the Ministry of Defence (DIPR) requiring journalistic work and similar professional qualifications.

There are other services, but these are mainly in Group B like Central Secretariat Service, Railway Board Secretariat service, Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service and Customs Appraiser's Service etc.

Civil Services mean not just IAS, IFS and IPS, though undoubtedly, they are the most publicised and the most glamourous services. For those seriously interested in pursuing a career in this line, a hard look at some of these Central Services will hold them in good stead. Knowing more about these services could clinch the issue in favour of one of them. Many of the aspirants might decide that some of these services are more suitable to their nature and temperament than the much-hyped All India Services. Sometimes, in the long run, it is better not to follow the herd.

Vanit Sethi

vanit_sethi@rediffmail.com

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Training Centres

Indian Administrative Service:

Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy of Administration, Mussoorie.

Indian Foreign Service:

Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy of Administration, Mussoorie

and Foreign Service Institute, Delhi.

Indian Police Service:

National Police Academy, Hyderabad.

Indian Audit and Accounts Service:

IAAS Training School, Shimla.

Indian Customs and Central Excise Service:

Customs and Central Excise Training School, New Delhi

Indian Postal Services:

Postal Service Staff College, New Delhi.

Indian Information Service:

Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi.

Indian Railway Services:

Railway Staff College, Vadodara.

Indian Revenue Service:

National Academy of Direct Taxes, Nagpur. All Services

Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad.