Home » Working Women » Careers - Civil Services, Armed Forces » The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) This was constituted formally in the year 1947. Handling essentially administrative affairs, IAS officers man the key posts in the districts as well as at the Central or State secretariats. At the Central level, this involves policy framing and implementation. At the district level, the service mostly deals with development works besides administrative affairs. At the divisional level, the service looks after law and order, general administration and development work.

While work at the secretariat involves a lot of paperwork, preparation or reports and answers asked in the Parliament, discussions etc., a field job requires you to implement the Government policies. The field job involves greater interaction with people, touring, supervising and co-ordinating the work of Governmental and non-Governmental agencies and receiving ministers, senior officers etc.

Superintendents of Police (SPs), District Magistrates (DMs), etc., are the Field Officers in the Central Government while Deputy superintendents of Police (DSP), Block Development Officers (BDOs), Assistant Engineers etc., are the State Government employees working in the field posts.

In the IAS cadre, the post of DM or DC - District Collector, also called Deputy Commissioner in some states is one of the important field assignments covering a vast area of work. As a DM, one is in charge of law and order, attending and convening of meetings and conferences, receiving VIPs, inspections supervising relief operations, organising Government campaigns and any other miscellaneous work that may come up. Supervising the allotment and proper utilisation of funds by field staff is another important job.