How to become an IAS officer – It is one of the top most job cum responsibility in the government sector and the competition in this field are too high. To become IAS, aspirants have to qualified UPSE civil services exam which is one of the toughest exams in India. We call UPSE civil Services exam by many different names like UPSE exam, civil services exam, and IAS exam. The name of the respective authority which conducted this exam is UPSE (Union Public Service Commission). This examination is conducted every year to recruit civil servants for various posts. Every year, approximately 10 Lakh candidates register for this exam and out of which, approx 1,000 are selected. In this article, we will discuss everything about IAS officers. Let’s get started without delay.
Who is IAS Officer?
IAS (Indian Administrative Service) is not only a job it’s a big responsibility which is given to those candidates who secure top ranks in the Civil Services Examination. An IAS officer contributes to many tasks like To implement the laws in their areas made in the Parliament as well as making a new policy or maintaining law & order, crises management, revenue collection, giving feedback etc.
IAS officer role and job profiles
The role of an IAS officer is to implement and administer the policies framed by the central and state government and help the government to take better decisions for us as well as provide valuable feedback on any government decision. Basically, an IAS officer assists the government in the following.
In policy administration and framing
Policies implementation
Provide key feedback on policies after implementation
Job profiles
There are some major profiles of IAS officer and the work of different profiles are different. The profile names are the following.
- District magistrate/district collector
- sub-divisional officer
- Divisional Commissioner
- chief secretary
- Cabinet Secretary
IAS Officer Important Links
Here are given all the important links that candidates use according to their needs.
| Title | Links |
|---|---|
| Official Website | Click Here |
| Apply online | Click Here |
| FAQ | Click Here |
| Help desk | Click Here |
IAS Officer Important Dates
Here is given the schedule of the exam, Aspirants have to proceed accordingly.
| Events | Dates |
|---|---|
| Application Begin | March 2021 |
| Application Ended | March 2021 |
| Preliminary Admit card | May 2021 |
| Prelims Exam Date | June 2021 |
| Preliminary Result | August 2021 |
| Main Exam Date | September 2021 (5 Days) |
| Main Exam Result | Nov-Dec 2023 |
| Personality Test/Interview | Feb-Mar 2024 |
| Final Result | April 2024 |
IAS Officer Eligibility criteria
If aspirants want to become IAS Officers then they have to three stages of UPSE CSE that is Prelims, Mains & Interview and the eligibility criteria to appear in the UPSE exam are the following.
Nationality
- Aspirants must be citizens of India for IAS/IPS
Age Criteria
| Category | Age Limit |
|---|---|
| General | 21-32 |
| OBC | 21-35 |
| SC/ST | 21-37 |
| Ex-Servicemen | 21-37 |
| Blind/Deaf-Mute and orthopedically Challenged | 21-42 |
Educational qualifications
- Aspirants must have a bachelor’s or equivalent degree from any recognised university/institute.
- There is no minimum marks requirement in the qualifying exam.
- Appearing Candidates of the qualifying examination are also eligible for prelims.
Attempt Limit
- General category candidates have only 6 attempts to clear UPSE IAS exam
- OBC & Physically Challenged candidates to have a total of 9 attempt
- SC/ST candidates have unlimited attempts up to the age limit
How to become an IAS officer?
There are 3 stages to becoming an IAS officer
1. Preliminary, which is conducted in June
| Paper | Paper Name | Type | No. of Question | Marks allotted | Time allotted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | General Studies | Objective | 100 | 200 | 2 hours |
| Paper 2 | General Studies II (CSAT) | Objective | 80 | 200 | 2 hours |
2. Mains, which is conducted in September-October
| Paper | Subject | Time allotted | Total marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper A | Compulsory Indian Language | 3 Hours | 300 |
| Paper B | English | 3 Hours | 300 |
| Paper I | Essay | 3 Hours | 250 |
| Paper II | General Studies I | 3 Hours | 250 |
| Paper III | General Studies II | 3 Hours | 250 |
| Paper IV | General Studies III | 3 Hours | 250 |
3. Interview, which is conducted in March-April
After the Interview round, A final list is prepared on the basis of the interview and Shortlisted candidates are sent to LBSNAA, Masuri for 2 years of training and the salary starts one month after training. But after training, Rs. 56,100 get and out of which 10,000 are deducted for the mess charge
IAS Officer Syllabus & Pattern
Here is given the CSE syllabus so that the preparation of candidates can be better.
The preliminary Exam contains two papers and both papers are objective multiple-choice papers. Paper, I will test you on General studies which include subjects such as History, Geography, Current Affairs etc while Paper II will test you on Aptitude which includes Comprehension, Problem-solving skills, Analytical Ability etc. Both papers will be of 200 marks each. After qualifying prelims, Candidates will write mains which is the second stage.
Mains is a written examination and it will contain 9 papers the subject topics include language, Technology, Indian Heritage, Security & Disaster Management, ethics etc. All papers of Mains will be of total 1750 marks. Those who have cleared the Mains exam will be shortlisted for a personal interview which will be 275 marks. The main purpose of this personal interview round is to check whether candidates are mentally alert or not, have moral integrity, leadership etc. The final list will be prepared on the basis of a total of 2025 marks and the shortlisted candidates will be sent for training.
IAS Officer Pay Scale/Salary
Here is given below the UPSE IAS salary after the 7th pay commission.
| Post | Grade | Pay Scale | Basic Pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| SDM, SDO or Sub-collector | Junior or Lower Time Scale | 50,000-1,50,000 | 56,100 |
| DM or Collector or Joint Secretary | Senior Time Scale | 50,000-1,50,001 | 67,700 |
| Special Secretary or the head of various government department | Junior Administrative | 50,000-1,50,002 | 78,800 |
| Secretary to a Ministry | Selection Grade | 1,00,000-2,00,000 | 1,18,500-1,44,200 |
| Principal Secretary of a very important department of the government | Super Time Scale | 1,00,000-2,00,000 | 1,82,200 |
| Varies | Above Super Time Scale | 1,00,000-2,00,000 | 2,05,400 |
| Chief Secretary of states, Union Secretaries in charge of various ministries of the government of India | Apex Scale | 2,25,000(Fixed) | 2,25,000 |
| Cabinet Secretary of India | Cabinet Secretary Grade | 2,50,000(Fixed) | 2,50,000 |
IAS Officer Helpdesk
If any of the aspirants have any trouble then they can contact to the following details.
- Facilitation Counter: 011-23098543 / 23385271 / 23381125 / 23098591
- Email: [email protected]
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Frequently Asked Questions
Take online or offline coaching which is affordable, as well as their faculty, should be excellent and make an easy timetable with proper sleeping time and follow the timetable daily. Do not use your mobile phone so much.
First, you have to visit the official website of UPSE and then Click on the link of an apply online button and then select the application form after that fill in all the required details and pay the application fee to complete the form.
IAS Exam is a Civil Service Exam which is conducted by UPSE to complete the requirement of 24 different posts like IAS, IPS, IFS etc.
According to the 7th pay commission, The salary of an IAS officer is Rs. 56,100 which starts to be received after a month of training. Apart from this, An IAS officer is also given several allowances. Together, the salary becomes more than one lakh.
It is not possible to become an IAS Officer only on behalf of class 12th. In order to become an IAS Officer, Candidates must qualify CSE exam which is conducted by the UPSC and the eligibility to appear in CSE Exam Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree. so, Candidates have to take admitted to graduation with any subject and their bachelor’s degree.