IAS Officer Career Journey: From Probationer to Cabinet Secretary

An IAS career begins once UPSC recommends you, the Government allocates you the Indian Administrative Service and you are appointed on probation. From there it runs on two tracks: your state cadre, where you work in districts and the state secretariat, and deputations to the Government of India. This guide follows that career step by step, using DoPT's IAS (Pay) Rules and LBSNAA's own description of training.

First, close to two years of training

Training runs in four parts. Three are courses of the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in Mussoorie; between Phase I and Phase II comes a year of district training in the state you are allotted.

Pay grades and promotions

The IAS (Pay) Rules, 2016 fix eight grades, each on a level of the 7th Pay Commission's pay matrix. The rules also say when you become eligible for each grade up to the Super Time Scale, and from the Selection Grade up, appointment is by selection.

How promotion works

• Eligibility by years of service. The rules make an officer eligible for the Senior Time Scale after 4 years of service, the Junior Administrative Grade after 9, the Selection Grade after 13 and the Super Time Scale after 16, counted from the year of allotment. The appointment itself follows DoPT's promotion guidelines, which the rules refer to.
• Training is a condition. The Junior Administrative Grade needs the Phase III mid-career training, and the Super Time Scale needs Phase IV.
• From the Selection Grade up, it is selection. Appointment to the Selection Grade and above is "by selection on merit", with due regard to seniority, and only against vacancies the state has cleared with the Central Government. The pay rules set no year of service for the Higher Administrative Grade and the Apex Scale, so when an officer reaches them depends on the officer, the cadre and the posts available.

Posts at each level in the Government of India

When IAS officers work at the Centre, Part C of the pay rules' Schedule II sets the pay level of each post. Under Secretary and Deputy Secretary each span two levels:

Pay level	Grade	Post in the Government of India
11	Senior Time Scale	Under Secretary
12	Junior Administrative Grade	Deputy Secretary or Under Secretary
13	Selection Grade	Director or Deputy Secretary
14	Super Time Scale	Joint Secretary
15	Higher Administrative Grade	Additional Secretary
17	Apex Scale	Secretary or Special Secretary
18	Cabinet Secretary	Cabinet Secretary

There is no Level 16 for the IAS: the rules go straight from the Higher Administrative Grade (Level 15) to the Apex Scale (Level 17).

Pay beyond the basic

The figures above are basic pay. Officers also draw dearness allowance, under orders the Central Government issues from time to time, and other allowances depending on posting. We don't quote a total "in-hand" salary, because it changes with these allowances and with where an officer is posted.