Science

Engineering Services Examination is conducted annually for selection of officers for the engineering services that meet the technical and managerial functions in various fields of Engineering of the Government of India. Like in most countries, the Government of India recruits its civil servants and officials on the basis of merit, and middle management positions in the bureaucracy are filled through competitive exams. Many candidates take these exams, competing for limited posts. IES officers are selected by the union government on the recommendations made by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). A combined three-stage competitive examination (comprising five tests), called the Engineering Services Examination (ESE), is conducted by the UPSC for recruitment to the Indian Engineering Services. ESE is considered as one of the toughest examinations in India due to fewer posts with a selection ratio of 0.00275 (based on 2010 statistics) and due to its technical nature. Most IES officers are graduates of premier colleges like IITs, NITs, IIITs and Indian Institute of Science. Owing to highly competitive selection procedure, IES officers carry high respect and status and are mandated to manage and execute activities in diverse technical and managerial fields.