UPSC Civil Servants Hierarchy and Pay Scales
The Union Public Commission of India (UPSC) is India’s chief recruiting agency and has the responsibility of conducting end-to-end recruitment and selection activities for numerous services falling under it. The most sought after ones are the All India services, which include Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Foreign Service (IFS). The recruits (known as Civil Servants) from all these services serve the Government of India and the respective states where they are stationed.
Each of these arms of All India services has a separate ranking system and pay scales, relating to the services undertaken by them. Currently, the salaries of all Civil Servants are determined by the 7th Pay Commission of India. The basic salary for every service is supplemented with allowances like House Rent Allowance (HRA), Dearness Allowance (DA), Travel Allowance (TA), etc.
Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
IAS, the administrative arm of the All India services, is generally the most coveted of all. Many aspirants who take the UPSC exam dream to be IAS officers.After acceptance of service, the IAS officer joins the workforce for a probationary period as a sub-divisional magistrate. Upon completion of the probation period, the officer is assigned an executive administrative role in a district as a district magistrate and collector. The tenure for this executive role can last several years. Post this, the IAS officer may be promoted to a divisional commissioner and put in charge of the whole state administrative division.
The following table lists the various ranks and corresponding pay scales for IAS officers:
IAS OFFICER PAY SCALE | ||||
PAY LEVEL | RANK | BASIC PAY | ||
DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION | STATE SECRETARIAT | CENTRAL SECRETARIAT | ||
| 10 | Sub-divisional Magistrate | Undersecretary | Assistant Secretary | Rs. 56,100 |
| 11 | Additional District Magistrate | Deputy Secretary | Undersecretary | Rs. 67,700 |
| 12 | District Magistrate | Joint Secretary | Deputy Secretary | Rs. 78,800 |
| 13 | District Magistrate | Special Secretary cum Director | Director | Rs.1,18,500 |
| 14 | Divisional Commissioner | Secretary cum Commissioner | Joint Secretary | Rs.1,44,200 |
| 15 | Divisional Commissioner | Principal Secretary | Additional Secretary | Rs.1,82,200 |
| 16 | No equivalent rank | Additional Chief Secretary | No equivalent rank | Rs.2,05,400 |
| 17 | No equivalent rank | Chief Secretary | Secretary | Rs.2,25,000 |
| 18 | No equivalent rank | No equivalent rank | Cabinet Secretary of India | Rs.2,50,000 |
Indian Police Service (IPS)
IPS is a prestigious service which gives an opportunity to serve the people of India. This arm of All India services is shouldered with the responsibility of managing and upholding the safety and security of the people of India by maintaining law and order, and detecting and preventing crime. IPS is not a police force in itself, rather it is a service that provides leaders and commanders to staff the Central and state armed forces.The following table will take you through the ranking and pay-scale system of IPS officers:
IPS OFFICER PAYSCALE | |
RANK | BASIC SALARY |
| Deputy Superintendent of Police | Rs. 56,100 |
| Additional Superintendent of Police | Rs. 67,700 |
| Senior Superintendent of Police | Rs. 78,800 |
| Deputy Inspector General of Police | Rs. 1,31,100 |
| Inspector General of Police | Rs. 1,44,200 |
| Director General of Police | Rs. 2,05,400 |
| Director General of Police/ Director of IB or CBI | Rs. 2,25,000 |
Indian Foreign Service (IFS)
IFS is regarded as one of the most sophisticated services of the All India services owing to its nature of work and responsibility. It is an administrative diplomatic service entrusted to manage and maintain foreign relations and diplomacy of India concerning, but not limited to, trade, defence, cultural and public diplomacy.Upon acceptance to IFS, the fresh recruits undergo one of the longest and the most challenging service training in the Government of India, where one easily takes over a year to graduate to the first level.
IFS officers are the ones who represent India in their assigned Embassies, High Commissions, and Consulates in various countries along with Permanent Missions to multilateral organisations like UN. They protect India’s national interests in the country of posting while promoting friendly relations with that nation.
The below table gives a glimpse of ranks and payscales of IFS officers:
IFS OFFICER PAYSCALE | ||
GRADE | BASIC PAY | PAY GRADE |
| Junior Time Scale | 8000 | 5,400 |
| Senior Time Scale | 10,650 | 6,600 |
| Junior Administrative Scale | 12,750 | 7,600 |
| Senior Administrative Scale | 18,400 | 10,000 |
| Selection Grade | 15,100 | 8,700 |
| Super Administrative Scale | 18,400 | 10,000 |
| High Commissioner/ Ambassador | 26,000 | |
Other Services
There are also some other services under UPSC whose pay scales are based on rank and service rendered. A few of them are IFoS, IRS, ITS, etc.OTHER SERVICES’ PAY SCALES | |
SERVICE | PAY SCALE(Depending on rank) |
| Indian Forest Service | 15,600-67,000 |
| Indian Revenue Service | Up to 80,000 |
| Indian Railway Traffic Service | Up to 1,20,000 |
| Indian Railway Accounts Service/ Indian Railway Personnel Service | Up to 56,000 |
| Indian Trade Service | Up to 50,000 |
*Disclaimer: The information provided here is for reference purposes only. Although we make every effort to keep the details on our website up to date, any changes in the ranking system or pay scale by the official authorities can lead to a difference between the actual data and that present on our site. Hence, for latest information, we request the readers to verify the data from official government portals.