IAS, which stands for Indian Administrative Service, is one of the top services of the government of India. It acts as the administrative body of the All India Services of the Government of India. It is one of the most special career choices among millions of aspirants. One has to crack the UPSC Civil Service Examination to be recruited into the IAS. But one must be aware of the role of an IAS officer before starting their preparations.
The functional role of an IAS officer depend on the type of assignment he/she gets. The assignments are of three types:
Field Assignments
They are considered the most difficult roles out of all other assignments. There are various field assignments. They are as follows:
- Managing affairs of the government, which include framing, implementing, and reviewing policies.
- Managing various funds of the central government for different schemes.
- Consulting with various departments and elected representatives for all the different functions.
- Supervising the implementation of various schemes and policies of the government.
- Providing help and assistance during emergencies like natural disasters, major accidents, and riots.
- The first posting which is allotted to an IAS officer is mainly in the field. These assignments end at the district level for most IAS officers.
State Secretariat Assignment
An IAS officer is expected to use his/her expertise and experience during the state secretariat postings, which they gained in the field, and provide guidance to elected representatives to formulate various policies. Other than this, many IAS officers get posted to PSU (Public Service Undertaking) cadres on deputation and get a chance to be a part of the higher management of different PSUs such as industrial units, power stations, etc.
Central Secretariat Assignment
At the level of the Central Government, IAS officers who get the secretarial level of postings look after policy reviews, formulation, and implementation of different ministries. A lot of IAS officers are also deputed to various international bodies like the United Nations. Other than this, there are some provisions to transfer IAS officers to private organizations for a particular amount of time.
