Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts the Civil Services Examination (CSE) annually. Through CSE exam, candidates are recruited in Indian Administrative Services (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Revenue Service (IRS), etc. Lakhs of candidates aspire to become IAS officers. All the aspirants who start their journey of UPSC preparation are often excited about IAS Salary, perks and benefits related to these services. The excitement is justified as IAS is an All-India service which offers immense opportunities for an officer in every realm of the society.

What is IAS Salary?

Candidates should know that now an officer derives his/her salary decided on the 7th Pay Commission recommendation. The lowest grade IAS Salary pay in the IAS is 16,500 INR following which an officers’ salary pay scale ranges from 56100-132000 INR. The grade pay in the service increases with the years of experience in the field. The first promotional grade pay of an officer is of 20000. Candidates should also know that the highest salary in IAS is given to the IAS officer of the rank of Cabinet Secretary. Also, the post of Cabinet Secretary is the highest post an IAS officer can get. The salary of the Cabinet Secretary is 250000 INR.

Posts in IAS

To understand the salary distribution, candidates should know the different posts that he/she can achieve with years of experience. There are posts broadly divided under the district administration, state secretariat, and central secretariat. The following points are to be noted:

1. Sub-divisional Magistrate, Undersecretary and Assistant Secretary are the posts at the beginning of the career in IAS. These come under the district administration, state secretariat, and central secretariat respectively. As mentioned before, the salary is 56100 INR.
2. After 5-8 years of experience, one is promoted to Additional District Magistrate, Deputy Secretary and Under Secretary posts under the district administration, state secretariat, and central secretariat respectively. The salary of these officers is 67700 INR.

Posts under District Administration are:

1. Sub-divisional Magistrate
2. Additional District Magistrate
3. District magistrate
4. Divisional commissioner

Posts under State Secretariat are:

1. Undersecretary
2. Deputy Secretary
3. Joint Secretary
4. Special secretary-cum-director
5. Secretary-cum-commissioner
6. Principal Secretary
7. Additional Chief Secretary
8. Chief Secretary

Posts under Central Secretariat are:

1. Assistant Secretary
2. Undersecretary
3. Deputy Secretary
4. Director
5. Joint Secretary
6. Additional Secretary
7. Secretary
8. Cabinet Secretary

Key Highlights of IAS Salary & Perks

1. An officer gets a lot of perks and benefits other than the salary that he/she derives from the service.
2. The security of the service is immense. And the salary that an officer withdraws from the service can never be at his/her disadvantage
3. An officer gets residential and transport facilities where the expenses of such facilities are borne by the Indian government.
4. Depending upon the posts of the officer, the perks like the help of security guards, chauffeur, cooks, gardeners, etc, for their service is provided
5. They have post-retirement facilities offered to them by the Indian government like they have life-long pensions, also they may be appointed to various commissions. 

The salary and perks look lucrative for the aspirants but the basic requirement to reach there is hard work from scratch. It is a tough competition between lakhs of aspirants to get into IAS, hence each aspirant should think out of the box to defeat their competitors. To begin with, aspirants should know the syllabus of the exam and UPSC Exam pattern. A diligent preparation will make it easier for you to get into these services.

When all these points are well noted by the aspirants, it will come as a motivation to them. Right from the IAS salary to other perks and benefits motivate the candidates. Hence, it is important that the candidate knows everything about the exam.

This year, Prelims is going to take place on 4th October 2020 while Mains will start from 8th January 2021. Aspirants should buckle up as the exam approaches and they should up their ante for the same.