Running India
Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers handle affairs of the government. Therefore, the work of the Civil Services affects virtually all aspects of modern life — environment, education, health, agriculture, law and order, defence, foreign affairs, social welfare, urban 
development and taxation. In a nutshell, it is the job of an IAS officer to look after civil administration and be involved with policy-making.
With a Master’s degree in industrial psychology, Radhika Jha, 33, joined the service in 2002 as an IAS probationer. Today, she is the additional secretary (basic and higher education), government of Uttarakhand. The work she does, says Jha, is challenging, satisfying — “and it’s a good life.”
“The scope of work for an IAS officer in the country is immense and much diversified,” says Jha. “You start off as a sub-divisional magistrate and go on to man government departments — health, education, technology etc, and then move to nodal co-ordination as secretary.
“This kind of a work profile is unmatched in the country. The challenges it entails makes it the most interesting career possible.”
It is, however, not easy to become an IAS officer. The recruitment process is extremely tough. Only the top 80 to 100 candidates in the Civil Services Examination become IAS officers.
“Out of around 4 lakh aspirants every year, the final acceptance level of about 0.00025 makes it the toughest competitive examination in our country,” says Bhaskar Khulbe, IAS, 1983 batch of the West Bengal Cadre, who is at present the resident commissioner and adviser (industry), government of West Bengal, in New Delhi.
With liberalisation, there has been a shift in the role and responsibilities of an IAS officer. “Economic reforms in the country after 1991 ushered in a paradigm shift in the role and responsibilities of IAS officers,” says Khulbe. “From regulators, they’ve become performance managers, whose role in the decision-making process is focused on service delivery and improving governance. An IAS officer today has more challenges and opportunities.”
Indeed, this is so because while operating within the framework of a democratic welfare state, their focus has shifted further towards development. And this is, perhaps, the reason why youngsters now are showing a renewed interest in the civil services.
“There was a period in the decade up to 2005-06 when bright students were disenchanted with the bureaucracy, with private employment looking more lucrative,” says Khulbe. However, he adds, over the past couple of years, some factors have led to a revival of youth interest in the Civil Services — the factors are “job cuts in MNCs due to the economic slowdown; demand for better governance 
being made and met; accountability and responsiveness of the public administration being perceived positively after introduction of the Right to Information Act; and the pay structure revision.”
However, the mechanism of delivering results needs to improve further, feels Nitesh Jha, IAS, additional secretary (infotech, science-technology and sports), government of Uttarakhand.
To serve India better, the “IAS as a service has to modify itself as per the changing ground realities,” says Jha. “It has to become more responsive and result-oriented.”
Author: Pranab Ghosh
Date: 14th Oct., 2009
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