Why do professionals prefer IAS/ IPS ?
Daya Sagar Sharma
November 03, 2008
A Look Through the Mist
A new subject has attracted legislators, thinkers, journalists and one could say the economists as well. Why should not we ban the entry of professionally qualified personnel into the IAS or IPS Services ?
Some have argued that government spends, directly or indirectly, a lot of money on the education of an Engineer or a Doctor and in case these professionals join general services like IAS or IPS the hard spent government money goes into the gutter. Good some thinking of the type has emerged to care for the state expenditure.
It was even in the year 1995 as well that some candidates from the general education side had suggested that engineering graduates should not be allowed to appear in entrance examination for IAS /IPS/IAAS/IRS and such like services. The reaction had been in response to the high rate of success in UPSC prime entrance examination from amongst the candidates with engineering degree, even clear walking away with almost 75 % of top ranks by engineering graduates ( doctors etc were not named at that time because they did not figure at the rate as the engineers figured to oust the generalist). The position is not much different in 2008.And now expenditures made by the society/ government have been talked about.
But the question that needs to be answered is …..WHY DO THE TECHNOCRATS ATTEMPT JOINING SUCH SERVICES WHERE EVEN ORDINARY GRADUATE COULD WELL FIT ?
Better before starting such discussions those so concerned with the subject would have asked the Engineers, Doctors, Post Graduate in Sciences, and the like and more so the rank holders amongst these categories of technocrats from even premier institutions like Indian Institute of Technology, BITS Pilani, IIMs that why do they try all hards to enter the general services like IAS ( where minimum qualification is any graduate degree) and let go waste the technical expertise/ professionalism they otherwise acquired through so much of hard work and investment , even as acquired out of aims and ambitions ? have observed that the engineering graduates prefer to enter IAS than to go for IES ( Indian Engineering Service ) since they feel that the top seat of civil governance in the Union Secretariat will generally be occupied by an IAS officer and not by the IES( Indian Engineering Service) officer. Such views were expressed by one of the engineering graduate who had ranked in top 5 of IAS list and had laid preference for IAS and not Indian Engineering Service.
I had been investigating in this direction for more than 12 years now. And have been able to work out some reasons for such type of thinking being developed. A few years earlier in India we used to talk of brain drain to out side India and it was reasoned that since the engineers/ scientists/ doctors are not well paid in terms of cash and career in India that is why they attempt leaving for US/UK/ other countries. And now the question is of brain drain from professional bank to the general service bank. The reason in this case lies both in Career Prospects, involvement in governance of the affairs of the society and perks in terms of monetary as well as social authority. The disparity between the IAS and other Government services is so huge that any one would prefer IAS . This aspect has been neglected by the Legislature as well as the executive all these years.
Imagine a graduate from IIT joins State Government Service even through State Public Service Commission as Assistant Engineer . Data over last three decades will show that even after over 35 years of professional service in the normal course he would reach maximum to the level of a Chief Engineer. In the bureaucratic level of governance/management a Chief Engineer would normally be placed in the Secretariat at the level of a Special Secretary . Some rare cases could be reported for higher placements but the same has been out of some personal likings/ appreciations / favours as extended by the Political Levels in Governance. Where as one who joins IAS through UPSC practically starts after probation with the level of Additional Secretary in State Governments and occupies the chair/ status of Secretary to the Government ( above the Special Secretary) in a period of not more than one and a half decade.. And the time train so smoothly takes a IAS recruit to the levels of Commissioner, Additional Chief Secretary ( Principal Secretary), Chief Secretary, Union Secretary. And above all there is the tremendous difference in the service conditions. And imagine in case a graduate engineer joins as Junior Engineer, most probable he will not rise beyond the level of an Executive Engineer at the time of superannuation. Same is the case with Veterinary Medicine/ Agriculture Graduates/ Doctor. The departmental promotion cases of IAS/ IPS are time bound and given effect in a smooth regular manner. Where as in other government services the DPC´s are so irregular . The service conditions and prospects of promotions for engineers and doctors in government departments are so remote, rather processing of their promotion cases is not given any priority and inflicts so much harassment on them that many decide to even forget about any promotions. Many retire sitting in a Chief Engineer´s chair but in regular service records they may be still being reflected as incharge Executive Engineer ( Asstt executive Engineers). The same has been the case with many Directors of field departments who were still in the grade of Deputy Director at the time of superannuation and their promotion as regular grade director was done in some cases even after retirement.
Under such circumstances the professional commitments of non IAS officers/ professionals too would get frustrated. Any one would look for a career with better security and prospects. The cream out of the professional lot would surely attempt such change over of to even move away prom their professional stream.
Why do IAS perform with zeal and efficiency?
Where as the case of services like IAS is placed in very genuine and due slot and the promotions and advancement in the service career is almost regular. There have been cases of IAS cadres where some senior IAS did not have merits for promotion to next superior status seat but was still promoted to next grade/ status because his junior has to be promoted in view of the suitability for promotion ( it does not happen rarely, rather it has been happening frequently).This is also one of the reasons for most of IAS service officers performing with so much of zeal and efficiency. Had such regular service conditions of promotion ( even as per merit and suitability) through grade and status been there in the technical services as well, surely the brain drain from technical streams would not have been there towards general services.
Of course the intake into IAS is only nearly 150 in a year but it attracts the cream out of the technocrats. And to this adds the flow to other services like IPS, IAAS, IRS, other Central Services, State Provincial Services.
Before nineteen ninety there was not much attraction for IPS. There have been cases where those in training for IPS tried again for IAS. But after the law and order conditions deteriorated in India and the militancy levels kept on rising IPS too has now become attractive and is even first preference for some candidatea. The police became socially important even for the politician and the bureaucrat. The power to day is being seen with the policeman. The service conditions of IPS also were given special attention. Ghulam Nabi Azad has said in J&K Assembly during 2006 Budget Session that state has been creating posts of DGP, IGP , DGP and SSP simply to accommodate the promoted IPS officer. This is enough to support the view points expressed above.
The promotion avenues were given due consideration and the service became attractive. Even the levels of Additional Director General and Director General of Police in States have grown much in number. Due care is being given to these services with timely progress in service career.
If I am not wrong an IPS probationer after completing probation gets the honour of bearing the Ashoka Crown( ranks equivalent to a Army Major ) a few years after beginning the regular service and rising to the level of DIG would make any one to surprise when the process of promotion to the level of Army Brigadier is seen.
So, the cream looks at IAS/IPS. These services are getting the best lot from amongst the engineers and doctors. Experience has shown that majority of IAS officers with Engineering Professional Background have been found to carry on the development works and programmes in a much better way than the general category candidates and have displayed better understanding as regards the working of the Heads of Departments in the field . In general they have been found to have due appreciation of importance of professional cadres in the field. Ofcourse the cadre progress for IAS is faster than for Indian Engineering/ other services and hence Engineers prefer IAS more to IES since they can comfortably rise to the level of Secretary to Government of India. Till the service norms for the professional services are not elevated , let the doors of IAS/ IPS remain open for the best lot, and surely those who come from professional institutions have high percentage of quality grey matter.
( *Daya Sagar is a social activists and leading scribe on J&K affairs dayasagr@yahoo.co.uk)
A new subject has attracted legislators, thinkers, journalists and one could say the economists as well. Why should not we ban the entry of professionally qualified personnel into the IAS or IPS Services ?
Some have argued that government spends, directly or indirectly, a lot of money on the education of an Engineer or a Doctor and in case these professionals join general services like IAS or IPS the hard spent government money goes into the gutter. Good some thinking of the type has emerged to care for the state expenditure.
It was even in the year 1995 as well that some candidates from the general education side had suggested that engineering graduates should not be allowed to appear in entrance examination for IAS /IPS/IAAS/IRS and such like services. The reaction had been in response to the high rate of success in UPSC prime entrance examination from amongst the candidates with engineering degree, even clear walking away with almost 75 % of top ranks by engineering graduates ( doctors etc were not named at that time because they did not figure at the rate as the engineers figured to oust the generalist). The position is not much different in 2008.And now expenditures made by the society/ government have been talked about.
But the question that needs to be answered is …..WHY DO THE TECHNOCRATS ATTEMPT JOINING SUCH SERVICES WHERE EVEN ORDINARY GRADUATE COULD WELL FIT ?
Better before starting such discussions those so concerned with the subject would have asked the Engineers, Doctors, Post Graduate in Sciences, and the like and more so the rank holders amongst these categories of technocrats from even premier institutions like Indian Institute of Technology, BITS Pilani, IIMs that why do they try all hards to enter the general services like IAS ( where minimum qualification is any graduate degree) and let go waste the technical expertise/ professionalism they otherwise acquired through so much of hard work and investment , even as acquired out of aims and ambitions ? have observed that the engineering graduates prefer to enter IAS than to go for IES ( Indian Engineering Service ) since they feel that the top seat of civil governance in the Union Secretariat will generally be occupied by an IAS officer and not by the IES( Indian Engineering Service) officer. Such views were expressed by one of the engineering graduate who had ranked in top 5 of IAS list and had laid preference for IAS and not Indian Engineering Service.
I had been investigating in this direction for more than 12 years now. And have been able to work out some reasons for such type of thinking being developed. A few years earlier in India we used to talk of brain drain to out side India and it was reasoned that since the engineers/ scientists/ doctors are not well paid in terms of cash and career in India that is why they attempt leaving for US/UK/ other countries. And now the question is of brain drain from professional bank to the general service bank. The reason in this case lies both in Career Prospects, involvement in governance of the affairs of the society and perks in terms of monetary as well as social authority. The disparity between the IAS and other Government services is so huge that any one would prefer IAS . This aspect has been neglected by the Legislature as well as the executive all these years.
Imagine a graduate from IIT joins State Government Service even through State Public Service Commission as Assistant Engineer . Data over last three decades will show that even after over 35 years of professional service in the normal course he would reach maximum to the level of a Chief Engineer. In the bureaucratic level of governance/management a Chief Engineer would normally be placed in the Secretariat at the level of a Special Secretary . Some rare cases could be reported for higher placements but the same has been out of some personal likings/ appreciations / favours as extended by the Political Levels in Governance. Where as one who joins IAS through UPSC practically starts after probation with the level of Additional Secretary in State Governments and occupies the chair/ status of Secretary to the Government ( above the Special Secretary) in a period of not more than one and a half decade.. And the time train so smoothly takes a IAS recruit to the levels of Commissioner, Additional Chief Secretary ( Principal Secretary), Chief Secretary, Union Secretary. And above all there is the tremendous difference in the service conditions. And imagine in case a graduate engineer joins as Junior Engineer, most probable he will not rise beyond the level of an Executive Engineer at the time of superannuation. Same is the case with Veterinary Medicine/ Agriculture Graduates/ Doctor. The departmental promotion cases of IAS/ IPS are time bound and given effect in a smooth regular manner. Where as in other government services the DPC´s are so irregular . The service conditions and prospects of promotions for engineers and doctors in government departments are so remote, rather processing of their promotion cases is not given any priority and inflicts so much harassment on them that many decide to even forget about any promotions. Many retire sitting in a Chief Engineer´s chair but in regular service records they may be still being reflected as incharge Executive Engineer ( Asstt executive Engineers). The same has been the case with many Directors of field departments who were still in the grade of Deputy Director at the time of superannuation and their promotion as regular grade director was done in some cases even after retirement.
Under such circumstances the professional commitments of non IAS officers/ professionals too would get frustrated. Any one would look for a career with better security and prospects. The cream out of the professional lot would surely attempt such change over of to even move away prom their professional stream.
Why do IAS perform with zeal and efficiency?
Where as the case of services like IAS is placed in very genuine and due slot and the promotions and advancement in the service career is almost regular. There have been cases of IAS cadres where some senior IAS did not have merits for promotion to next superior status seat but was still promoted to next grade/ status because his junior has to be promoted in view of the suitability for promotion ( it does not happen rarely, rather it has been happening frequently).This is also one of the reasons for most of IAS service officers performing with so much of zeal and efficiency. Had such regular service conditions of promotion ( even as per merit and suitability) through grade and status been there in the technical services as well, surely the brain drain from technical streams would not have been there towards general services.
Of course the intake into IAS is only nearly 150 in a year but it attracts the cream out of the technocrats. And to this adds the flow to other services like IPS, IAAS, IRS, other Central Services, State Provincial Services.
Before nineteen ninety there was not much attraction for IPS. There have been cases where those in training for IPS tried again for IAS. But after the law and order conditions deteriorated in India and the militancy levels kept on rising IPS too has now become attractive and is even first preference for some candidatea. The police became socially important even for the politician and the bureaucrat. The power to day is being seen with the policeman. The service conditions of IPS also were given special attention. Ghulam Nabi Azad has said in J&K Assembly during 2006 Budget Session that state has been creating posts of DGP, IGP , DGP and SSP simply to accommodate the promoted IPS officer. This is enough to support the view points expressed above.
The promotion avenues were given due consideration and the service became attractive. Even the levels of Additional Director General and Director General of Police in States have grown much in number. Due care is being given to these services with timely progress in service career.
If I am not wrong an IPS probationer after completing probation gets the honour of bearing the Ashoka Crown( ranks equivalent to a Army Major ) a few years after beginning the regular service and rising to the level of DIG would make any one to surprise when the process of promotion to the level of Army Brigadier is seen.
So, the cream looks at IAS/IPS. These services are getting the best lot from amongst the engineers and doctors. Experience has shown that majority of IAS officers with Engineering Professional Background have been found to carry on the development works and programmes in a much better way than the general category candidates and have displayed better understanding as regards the working of the Heads of Departments in the field . In general they have been found to have due appreciation of importance of professional cadres in the field. Ofcourse the cadre progress for IAS is faster than for Indian Engineering/ other services and hence Engineers prefer IAS more to IES since they can comfortably rise to the level of Secretary to Government of India. Till the service norms for the professional services are not elevated , let the doors of IAS/ IPS remain open for the best lot, and surely those who come from professional institutions have high percentage of quality grey matter.
( *Daya Sagar is a social activists and leading scribe on J&K affairs dayasagr@yahoo.co.uk)
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