About the Author - Lohit Matani | A Bouquet of Services by IPS Lohit Matani and IPS Vishal - UPSC PDF Download

It was the month of August, 2014 when I got the information that I have been selected in the Indian Police Service (IPS). It was a happy moment as I had faced 3 years of hardship to see this day. On the 21st day of December, 2014, I took a flight from Delhi to Hyderabad to join the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (NPA). On landing at the airport, we found a bus of NPA waiting for us. And to receive us was a tall and dark man named Mr. Soman. Mr. Soman had a big Veerapan like moustache. He greeted us with the salutation ‘Jai Hind’. I still remember that moment when I was greeted with those two words for the first time. The words made me realize that I was one of the few selected people to serve my nation, ‘Hindustan’. Like me, many candidates were selected in different services to serve the nation.

After going through 1 year and 9 months of police training, I came to know about some aspects of police service. However, my knowledge and understanding about the different branches of Indian Government was skewed.

It was only during the 91st Foundation Course at the Dr. Marri Channa Reddy Institute of Human Resource Development (MCR HRDI), Hyderabad, (I skipped my original Foundation Course at LBSNAA, Mussoorie) that I realized the importance of other civil services of the Indian Government. There I interacted with the officer trainees of Indian Postal Service (IPoS), Indian Forest Service (IFoS), Indian Revenue Service (IRS), Indian Statistical Service (ISS), Indian Economic Service (IES), Indian Trade Service (ITS), Indian Post and Telecom Accounts and Finance Service (IP&T AFS) and Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS).

The lack of knowledge among the government servants about the different branches of government was a matter of concern for me. During an informal discussion, I discussed this concern with my IPS batch mates Vishal, Lokender, Pushparaj and Raja Banthia. “Being a public servant, if we do not know about the role of different civil services, what would be the awareness level of the common public?”, asked Vishal.

“And on what basis had we preferred the Indian Police Service over other services? Every year candidates provide a preference list of different civil services without having adequate knowledge about them”, added Pushparaj.

Then Lokender came out with an idea. “We should write a book mentioning the roles and responsibilities of different civil services for the benefit of the civil service oriented people”, he mentioned excitingly.

“And we should also include some case studies to make their work profile and role clear”, I concluded.

Thus, Vishal and I decided to write this book called “A Bouquet of Services”. The book deals with the roles, responsibilities, career path, cadre structure, advantages and disadvantages of different All India Services and Central Civil Services recruited by UPSC. It also contains 3 case studies showcasing the work life, challenges and ethical dilemmas faced by the Civil Servants of different civil services.

The roots of the civil service go back a long way in human history. The key to the survival of the ancient Egyptian civilization that flourished as early as 3000 BC, was the civil service- the historical model of all the later bureaucracies. The waterways for the whole country needed central management, which required a body of scribes and officials. Once in place, the scribes and officials found their second realm of business in the extensive construction activities which were organized along military lines. It was only a matter of time before they took over the administration of the entire state.

In India, the legends of the Aryans speak of the evolution of the administrative apparatus. The gods, at war with the demons, were on the verge of defeat. In desperation, they got together and elected a king to lead them. The origins of the early Aryan administrative system may perhaps be traced to these legends.

After this, the bureaucratic system of India evolved in the period of Delhi Sultanate, Mauryan Empire, the Mughal Rule and the British Colonial Empire.

The present civil service structure of India traces its origin to the Macaulay Committee under Lord Macaulay. The committee which gave India its first modern civil service in 1854 recommended that the patronage based system of the East India Company should be replaced by a permanent civil service based on a merit based system through competitive entry examination. While designing a civil service after independence, the Indian political leaders chose to retain elements of the British structure of a unified administrative system such as an open-entry system based on academic achievements, elaborate training arrangements, permanency of tenure, important posts at Union, State and district levels reserved for the civil service, a regular graduated scale of pay with pension and other benefits and a system of promotions and transfers based predominantly on seniority.

These civil services are far superior to any job in the private sector. They run the entire administration of the country. The elected ministers of India lay down the policies required to properly run the administrative machinery, which is then carried out by the civil servants in various Central and State government agencies.

These civil servants are selected by various exams conducted by the Union Public Service Commission, including the Civil Services Examination. UPSC is the central authority that conducts various examinations to recruit candidates for various government services such as All India Services, Central Civil Services, Indian Forest Service, Indian Economic Service, Indian Statistical Service, Engineering Services, Defence Services, and so on.

The importance of Civil Services in a democracy like India is very high. For effective administration, it is vital that our political leaders are given non-partisan advice. Effective co-ordination is required between various institutions of governance. The Indian government expects the civil servants to offer free, frank and unbiased advice to the government (irrespective of who is in power) to fulfill their responsibility to the public.

Given the significance of the role played by civil service executives, it is only fair that recruitment to these services is done in a conservative manner. The various exams conducted by UPSC are following:

1. Civil Services Examination (Recruitment to 25 different All India Services and Central Civil Services),
2. Indian Economic Service (IES) Examination,
3. Indian Statistical Service (ISS) Examination,
4. Engineering Service Examination,
5. Central Defence Service (CDS) Examination,
6. Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) Examination,
7. National Defence Academy (NDA) and Naval Academy Examination,
8. Combined Geo-Scientist and Geologist’s Examination, and
9. Indian Forest Service Examination.

In this book, we have discussed about the following services:

• 20 All India Services and Central Civil Services recruited by the Civil Services Examination.
• Indian Forest Service,
• Indian Economic Service, and
• Indian Statistical Service.

We have not discussed the profile of Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service (DANICS), Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Police Service (DANIPS), Pondicherry Civil Service (PCS) and Pondicherry Pondicherry Police Service (PPS) as they are the Group B service of IAS and IPS, having a similar work profile.

The civil services in India are grouped into three broad categories. Services whose members serve both the Union and the State Governments are termed as All India Services. Services whose members serve only the Union Government are termed Central Civil Services. Apart from these, the State Governments have their own group of services- State Civil Services.

While serving in these services, officers also enjoy opportunities to go on deputations to different organizations. These organizations vary from being those of international repute to national institutions to public sector undertakings to universities. Presently deputation to private organizations is still not open in India. However, officers have many after service opportunities to serve in important private organizations.

This book is important for the college going youth who have a bent to know about the work profile, career path, advantages and disadvantages of different civil services. It is also very important for the students preparing for the various examinations conducted by UPSC, including the Civil Services Examination. This provides them an insight to compare the importance of different civil services and help them in choosing among them. Further, it is also important for the newly recruited civil servants undergoing their initial years of training or posting. It will give them an overview of the structure of the various wings of the Indian Government.

 Amazon Link for Hard Copy: https://www.amazon.in/Bouquet-Services-Important-Examination-Interview-ebook/dp/B072NCG9FP

Lohit Matani
IPS, Maharashtra