Group B Services: DANICS, DANIPS, Pondicherry, AFHQ

The Group B services in UPSC's Civil Services Examination are five: the Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service (Section Officer's Grade), DANICS, DANIPS, the Pondicherry Civil Service (PONDICS) and the Pondicherry Police Service (PONDIPS). In full, DANICS and DANIPS are the Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Civil Service and Police Service. The Government reported 195 Group 'B' vacancies for CSE 2025, up from 142 in CSE 2024.

The CSE fills them alongside the IAS, IFS, IPS and the Group 'A' services. Each serves one part of the Government: the Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service works in the Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence; DANICS and DANIPS serve Delhi and the other Union Territories named in their titles; and PONDICS and PONDIPS serve Puducherry. This guide sets out what each service's own rules say about its grades and how much of it is filled through the Civil Services Examination. The rules are of different ages, so each is given with its date.

Group 'B' vacancies, by category

Category	CSE 2024	CSE 2025
General	55	79
EWS	15	17
OBC	44	61
SC	15	27
ST	13	11
Total	142	195

UPSC's result notices give the five services together; they do not split the figure by service.

The five services at a glance

Service	Rules	Entry post	Share filled through CSE
Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service (AFHQCS)	AFHQ Civil Service Rules, 2018 (Ministry of Defence)	Section Officer, Level 8	50% of Section Officer vacancies
DANICS	DANICS Rules, 2003 (Ministry of Home Affairs)	Entry Grade	50% of Entry Grade posts
DANIPS	DANIPS Rules, 2003 (Ministry of Home Affairs)	Entry Grade	50% of Entry Grade posts
Pondicherry Civil Service (PONDICS)	Pondicherry Civil Service Rules, 1967	Grade II	50% of substantive Grade II vacancies
Pondicherry Police Service (PONDIPS)	Pondicherry Police Service Rules, 2003	Entry Grade	50% of Entry Grade posts

In every case the rest of the posts go to officers already in government service, by promotion or, for AFHQCS, partly through a departmental examination. In all five you start on two years' probation.

AFHQ Civil Service

The 2018 rules apply to the Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence (Army, Navy and Air Force), the Defence Staff Headquarters and inter-service organisations. The service has six grades: Assistant Section Officer, Section Officer, Deputy Director, Joint Director, Director and Principal Director. The four highest are Group 'A'; Section Officer is Group 'B' gazetted.

• Your post. Section Officer at Level 8 of the pay matrix (₹47,600 to ₹1,51,100). After four years of approved service you get the non-functional Level 10 (₹56,100 to ₹1,77,500).
• How Section Officers are recruited. 50% through the Civil Services Examination, 40% by promotion of Assistant Section Officers with six years' service, and 10% through a limited departmental examination held by UPSC.
• Promotions. Deputy Director (Level 11) after six years as Section Officer; Joint Director (Level 12) after five years as Deputy Director; Director (Level 13) after five years as Joint Director; Principal Director (Level 14) after three years as Director. All are by selection.

DANICS and DANIPS

These are the civil and police services for the territories in their names: Delhi, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The Ministry of Home Affairs is the cadre controlling authority of both, under rules notified on 6 August 2003.

• How you join. Under both sets of rules, half of the Entry Grade posts are filled by direct recruitment and half by promotion, and the direct recruitment vacancies are filled on the basis of the Civil Services Examination conducted by UPSC. To be considered, list the service among your preferences in the CSE application.
• Four grades. Entry Grade, which is Group 'B', and Selection Grade, Junior Administrative Grade-II and Junior Administrative Grade-I, which are Group 'A'.
• Entry pay. An MHA letter of 29 December 2025 describes the DANICS Entry Grade as being in Level 8 of the pay matrix. The 2003 rules print pay scales from before the 6th and 7th Pay Commissions, so we don't quote them.
• Promotion. Under the 2003 rules, Entry Grade officers with at least eight years of approved service can be considered for Selection Grade, Selection Grade officers with at least thirteen years for Junior Administrative Grade-II, and Junior Administrative Grade-II officers with at least eighteen years for Junior Administrative Grade-I, on a departmental promotion committee's recommendation.
• The posts. The 2003 schedules list Entry and Selection Grade posts such as Executive Magistrate and Sales Tax Officer in Delhi for DANICS, and Assistant Commissioner of Police in Delhi and Deputy Superintendent of Police in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep for DANIPS.

Delhi Police's training division says directly appointed DANIPS probationers of Delhi Police train for 24 months: 12 at the Police Training College, Jharoda Kalan, and 12 in a district.

PONDICS and PONDIPS

• Pondicherry Civil Service. The 1967 rules, amended up to 1990 according to their footnotes, set three grades: Grade II (Group 'B'), Grade I or Selection Grade, and the Junior Administrative Grade (both Group 'A'). Selection Grade needs eight years in Grade II; the Junior Administrative Grade needs five years in Grade I. The Administrator posts members against duty posts under the Government of Puducherry, such as Deputy Secretary, Under Secretary and Deputy Collector.
• Pondicherry Police Service. The 2003 rules, notified by the Government of Pondicherry in December 2004, give it the same four grades as DANIPS and make the Government of Pondicherry its cadre controlling authority. Promotion to the Entry Grade is from Inspectors of Police with three years' service.

The CSE 2026 notice lists AFHQCS, DANICS and PONDICS among the services identified as suitable for persons with benchmark disability; the two police services are not on that list. If you want one of these services, put it in your preference list, because you can only be allotted a service you have listed. See service preference and DAF.