The IAS (Indian Administrative Service) was formally constituted in 1947, and is the premier service in India. It offers an attractive and challenging career. Fame and glamour are also associated with this service. Even though most people tend to think being the DM or Collector is the most powerful and glamorous post, The IAS holds power at all levels. It is the service that is meant to place people straight at the top of any government organization and not the district alone. inspite of all the political interference if you are a determined person and diplomatic you can achieve anything for your country.
The IAS or the Indian Administrative Service, handles affairs of the government. At the central level, this involves the framing and implementation of policy. At the district level, it is concerned with district affairs, including development functions. At the divisional level, the IAS officers look after law and order, general administration and development work. Members of the Indian Administrative Service hold various administrative posts like District Collector, Heads of Departments, Heads of Public Enterprises at the state level etc. They can also be posted on deputation to the Central Government to various posts.
Being an 'All India Service', it follows the Cadre system. In this system officers are allotted to various state cadres and your service is allotted to that state. So for all practical purposes you belong to that state service and may be deputed elsewhere but you'll always be recognized by your parent cadre. These systems though very useful tend to positively and negatively affect careers. The cadre system is allotted on a basis of lottery and the toppers of each state may get a chance to get their home states if they have opted for such a preference.
Preliminary Examination Syllabus 2011
Scheme of CS (Preliminary) Examination
The Preliminary Examination consists of two papers of objective type (multiple-choice questions) carrying a maximum of 400 marks. The Question Papers (Test Booklets) are set in English & Hindi
Civil Services Aptitude Test
The new Recruitment Process of Civil Services Exam is called the CSAT or the Civil Services Aptitude Test. The CSAT is coming into effect from the Civil Services Examination, 2011. CSAT will not only enable us to choose civil servants with right aptitudes but also end the use of scaling system for varying subjects that has been a matter of concern for many. No changes are being introduced at this stage in the Civil Services (Main) Examination and Personality Test in the scheme of Civil Services Examination (CSE).From Civil Service Examination 2011, Preliminary Examination would consist of two papers- Paper I and Paper II. The syllabus and pattern of the Preliminary Examination would be as under :
(Paper 1) (200 marks) - Duration : Two hrs.
- Current events of national and international importance
- History of India and Indian national movement
- Indian and World Geography- physical, social, economic geography of India and the world
- Indian Polity and governance – constitution, political system, panchayati raj, public policy, Rights issues, etc.
- Economic and social development – sustainable development, poverty, inclusion, demographics, social sector initiatives etc.
- General issues on environmental ecology, bio-diversity and climate change-that donot require subject specialization
- General science.
(Paper II) (200 marks) – Duration : Two hrs
- Comprehension
- Interpersonal skills including communication skills
- Logical reasoning and analytical ability
- Decision making and problem solving
- General mental ability
- Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude etc. (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. –Class X level)
- English language comprehension skills (Class X level)
- Questions relating to English Language Comprehension skills of Class X level (last item in the Syllabus of Paper-II) will be tested through passages from English language only without providing Hindi translation thereof in the question paper.
- The questions will be of multiple choice, objective type.
