IAS vs IPS: Exam, Training, Cadre and Pay Compared

The IAS and the IPS are both All India Services, filled through the same Civil Services Examination and the same rank list. Both need Indian citizenship, both start at Level 10 of the pay matrix, and both place their officers in a state cadre. They differ in who controls the service, where officers train, the posts they hold and the grades their pay rules set.

This guide compares the two only on points official documents state. It does not say which is "better" or "more powerful": that depends on the work you want, and no official source ranks them.

Side by side

	IAS	IPS
Exam	Civil Services Examination	The same exam and rank list
Vacancies, CSE 2024 and 2025	180 and 180	147 and 150
Authorised posts, all cadres, 1 January 2025	6,877	5,099
Cadre controlling authority	Department of Personnel and Training	Ministry of Home Affairs (Police-I Division)
Training after the Foundation Course	LBSNAA, Mussoorie: Phase I, district training, Phase II	Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy, Hyderabad
First posting, as the academy describes it	LBSNAA's Phase II page: Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO)	SVPNPA: Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) in the state
Pay rules	IAS (Pay) Rules, 2016	IPS (Pay) Rules, 2016
Top grade	Cabinet Secretary, Level 18 (one post); Apex Scale, Level 17	Apex Scale, Level 17: Director General of Police (Head of Police Force)
Sitting the exam again	Not allowed while a member of the IAS	Allowed once more for those allotted the IPS in CSE 2026, with an exemption from training; an IPS officer cannot opt for the IPS again

Pay grades, level by level

Both services use the 7th Pay Commission pay matrix, and the CSE Rules 2026 print the same pay range for each level. The grades and their timing differ:

• Levels only one service has. The IPS has Level 13A, the Deputy Inspector General, and Level 16, the HAG+ scale at which state Directors General of Police sit. The IAS has neither, and goes from Level 15 straight to Level 17, but it has the Cabinet Secretary at Level 18.
• Timing. Up to the Selection Grade the two rules match: an officer becomes eligible for the Senior Time Scale after 4 years, the Junior Administrative Grade after 9 (with Phase III training) and the Selection Grade after 13. The IPS rules then make an officer eligible for DIG at 14 years and Inspector General at 18 (with Phase IV), while IAS officers become eligible for the Super Time Scale at 16 (with Phase IV).
• A link between the two. When IAS officers of a batch are posted at the Centre at a level from 10 to 15, the IPS rules grant that level on a non-functional basis to IPS officers who are two or more years senior to them and have not yet been promoted to it.

These are basic pay figures; allowances come on top. The IAS salary guide explains how pay is fixed, and IPS salary and ranks covers the IPS in more detail.

Training

Both start with the 14-week Foundation Course at LBSNAA, which the academy runs for the All India Services, the Indian Foreign Service and the Group A services together. Then:

• IAS. Phase I at LBSNAA, a year of district training in the state, and Phase II back at the academy. LBSNAA and IAS training goes through each phase.
• IPS. The Basic Course at the SVPNPA in Hyderabad, which aims to prepare probationers first for duties as Sub-Divisional Police Officers and later as Superintendents of Police in districts and specialised units. Its indoor subjects include the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, the BNSS, investigation and forensics, alongside outdoor training.

Who controls each service

DoPT is the cadre controlling authority for the IAS; the Home Ministry's Police-I Division is the cadre controlling authority for the IPS. DoPT's own page on state reorganisation names the same split: DoPT for the IAS, the Home Ministry for the IPS and the environment ministry for the Indian Forest Service. DoPT remains the nodal authority for the rules of all the All India Services, so the conduct rules and the 2026 cadre allocation policy apply to both. Under that policy, IAS and IPS cadres are allotted the same way, by home state, merit and roster; see cadre allocation.

Choosing between them

This is advice, not a rule. The two services lead to different work: the IAS to district, secretariat and ministry posts, the IPS to policing posts, from the sub-division and the district up to Director General of Police. List the one whose work you want first, and list the other only if you would join it. Your order is final once submitted, as service preference explains, and the overview of all 23 services shows where both sit among the rest.