GyanCentral

Class 9, SSC board, the subject Civics gives an excellent insight into how the government machinery is modelled in our country. This years down the line if studied in some more detail throws open all the career choices Civil Services have to offer. While your usual imagination would caricature a sarkari office with broken furniture, lots of dust piling over files and officers yawning and sipping tea irrespective of tea time, a stark contrast to a corporate house with a pretty receptionist and everyone all eager to please leave alone the serene interiors and the glitter of corporate jobs; all of these add to the metropolitan crowds aversion and stereotyping of Civil Services. It would help many to look into these in greater detail. It is very very important to acknowledge the fact that the civil service are in many ways the custodians of the civil rights and entitlements of every citizen.

Civil services constitute all departments responsible for running the government machinery. The way our country is modelled civil services operate at different levels:

1. State Level –Departments responsible for the operations of a state
Governed through State Public Service Commissions, UPSC at the Centre, which conduct selection examinations for filling up vacancies in the various Group A, B, C and other State services

2. The centre- Departments responsible for the functioning of central agencies.
Accounting Services in different departments such as Railways, Post, Indian Accounting and Audit Services.
Officers in Departments such as: Revenue, Defence, Customs, Excise, Railways, Trade and Commerce, Information Agencies, Ordinance.
Administrative Services : Armed forces, Civil and Police services in Select States

3. All India Service - These are of three types:

i.Indian Administrative Services (IAS)
ii.Indian Police Services (IPS)
iii.Indian Foreign Services (IFS)

The Central and State Civil Servants are in charge of the governance of the various non-military departments to ensure that the administrative infrastructure works according to the Constitutional provision.

What are the types of works under Civil services?

It could range from the administration of a hamlet to a larger town, or strategic planning divisions such as energy conservation, land development or wasteland development, or water resources, Recycling, Climate change Related issues, IN academic terms there's room for everyone from a 12th Pass candidate to a PHD in Geology, There is room for everyone.

No wonder the number of aspirants for the Civil Services outnumbers many other competitive exams that enjoy Media Spotlight. Think about it the Railways alone employees over a million and a half people that is more than the countries Standing army at an approximate 1.1 million plus , Maharashtra State Police Force is operating under strength with an estimated forty thousand plus cadres. The numbers put together radically overshadow any private employer.

Today as the country gears up to face global challenges of the civil Services have a crucial role to play in the progress of the country. If you make your way to higher levels of the bureaucracy your thought process and decisions could well impact an entire generation.

Image Source - www.flickr.com/photos/usfbps