Formerly called the Imperial Civil Service, the IPS is among the most prestigious along with IAS and IFS and stands for ‘Indian Police Service’.
The IPS was established under British rule. However, back then it was called the Indian Imperial Police Service. It was in 1948 that it changed its name to what it is now. The Indian Police Service is controlled and regulated by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The duty of an IPS officer is to maintain peace in the country by making sure that everyone abides by law and order. They are also responsible for law enforcement and making sure that peace is maintained throughout the country.
Who is an IPS Officer?
An IPS officer is a widely respected and honorable position who is responsible for maintaining peace and making people abide by law and order in the country. Unlike other civil services exams, IPS is not department-specific. Therefore, an IPS officer will have to multitask from managing border responsibilities and peace to crime prevention and management of disaster management. If you think you can take the responsibility of multitasking and have strong decision-making skills then IPS may be the career for you.
Eligibility
Just like other posts, eligibility criteria have been laid down for IPS officers too. The eligibility criteria are as follows:
- The candidate should be of Indian nationality.
- In the general category, the candidate should be at least 21 years of age and a maximum of 32 years of age. Relaxation for OBC, ST, SC, and PwD is provided as follows:
- OBC candidates must have a minimum age of 21 and a maximum age of 35 years.
- The minimum age of SC/ST candidates must be 21 and the maximum age is 37 years
- For PwD candidates, the maximum age limits are 42, 45, and 47 years of age for the General, OBC, and SC/ST categories, respectively.
- The candidate must have a minimum educational qualification of a bachelor’s degree from a recognized university/institute.
Fitness
- Height (in cm): The minimum height of a male candidate should be 165 cm. For SC/OBC candidates, the minimum height should be 160 cm.
- Also, the minimum height of female candidates must be 150 cm. Relaxation of 5 cm is provided for SC / OBC female candidates.
- Chest: The chest size of men should be a minimum of 84 cm whereas for women it should be a minimum of 79 cm.
- To be considered for this position, a candidate must have healthy eye vision, i.e., 6/6 for near vision, and 6/9 for distant vision. For weak eyes, vision should be 6/12 or 6/9.
Exam Pattern
Becoming an IPS, IFS, IRS, etc. Officer, the candidate needs to qualify for the national Civil Services Examination, also referred to as UPSC-CSE, conducted and regulated by UPSC alongside other government services. To become an IPS officer, the candidate will have to pass through a rigorous selection procedure. Candidates who qualify for the preliminary exam are called for the main exam. On the basis of marks secured in the Main exam, they will be called for an interview. The total marks of the Main exam and Interview sum up to produce the final result.
A. PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION
UPSC CSE Prelims consists of two papers namely General Studies I and CSAT (General Studies Paper-II). While CSAT is qualifying in nature, the marks obtained in the General Studies paper determine your selection for UPSC Mains. It means your score in the General Studies Paper will be considered for the Prelims cut-off
| Name of the Paper | No of Questions | Marks Allotted | Time Allotted | Nature of Exam |
| Paper 1: General Studies 1 Objective Type | 100 | 200 | 2 hours | The score will be considered for Cut-off |
| Paper 2: General Studies 2(CSAT) Objective Type | 80 | 200 | 2 hours | Qualifying Nature- Candidates will have to score 33% to qualify CSAT. |
B. MAIN EXAMINATION
- One of the toughest exams to qualify for, the Mains examination is a theoretical paper consisting of 9 papers out of which 2 papers are qualifying in nature. These papers consist of English Language and Indian languages. Both papers are 300 marks each
- If a student fails in Language, then the rest of the paper will not be checked.
- Apart from this, 2 papers are optional. This means the candidate can select one optional subject out of 48 options given depending upon which these 2 papers will be based.
- The papers, with the exception of the language papers, each carry 250 points.
C. Interview
As soon as a candidate passes the mains examination, they will be invited for a personal interview that will last 45 minutes to 1 hour. The interview will be conducted offline and by a highly experienced panel. After the interview process is done, the compilation of marks is done in which the marks of qualifying exams aren’t added.
Prelims Examination
1. Paper I: This paper is of 200 marks.
a. General Knowledge consisting of national and international current affairs,
b. Indian History as well as National Movements,
c. Indian and World Geography
d. Political Science/Civics comprising of Indian Political System
e. Economics
f. Environment
g. Basic Science
2. Paper II: This paper is of 200 marks.
a. English Reading and Comprehension
b. Interpersonal skills
c. Logical and analytical reasoning
e. General Mathematics
f. Data interpretation
Main Examination
The main exam for the civil services consists of a written examination and an interview. The written examination consists of a total of 9 papers, of which two are for qualifying (A and B) and seven for merit. The syllabus for prelims and mains is almost the same. The only difference is that mains give candidates the option to select their optional subject.
The written examination consists of the following papers:
| Paper | Subject | Parts of Subject | Duration | Total Marks | Nature of paper |
| Paper A | Compulsory Indian language | One of the Indian Languages to be selected by the candidate from the Languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. | 3 Hours | 300 | Qualifying |
| Paper B | English | English | 3 Hours | 300 | Qualifying |
| Paper 1 | Essay | Essay | 3 Hours | 250 | Merit |
| Paper 2 | General Studies I | General Studies-I (Indian Heritage and Culture, History, and Geography of the World and Society) | 3 Hours | 250 | Merit |
| Paper 3 | General Studies II | General Studies-II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice, and International Relations) | 3 Hours | 250 | Merit |
| Paper 4 | General Studies III | General Studies-III (Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management) | 3 Hours | 250 | Merit |
| Paper 5 | General Studies IV | General Studies-IV (Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude) | 3 Hours | 250 | Merit |
| Paper 6 | Optional I | Optional Subject-Paper 1 | 3 Hours | 250 | Merit |
| Paper 7 | Optional II | Optional Subject Paper 2 | 3 Hours | 250 | Merit |
| Sub Total (Written Test) | 1750 | ||||
| Personality test | 275 | ||||
| Grand total | 2025 |
Training
- month training at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA).
- In the first 3 months, the candidates undergo a foundation course after which they are sent to the IPS Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA) Hyderabad.
- The total duration of training for IPS officers is about two and a half years.
- Candidates who perform exceptionally well in the training are honored with the Prime Minister’s Baton.
- IPS training tests the physical fitness of an individual.
Job Roles
- Deputy Superintendent of Police: The responsibility of the Deputy Superintendent of Police is to either draft, review, or update information on pending criminal cases in the district as well as prepare points for meetings and discussions with senior officials and police members. They also play a role in coordinating visits with police officials as well as the state police administration and the police administration Research Division.
- They are additional Superintendents of Police, who are assigned specific divisions and are put through a learning process under their seniors.
- Superintendent of Police: A Superintendent of Police is in charge of the police’s financial department. An IPS Officer supervises staff and ensures that all civil and criminal administrations that are pending with the government are resolved in a timely manner.
- Joint Commissioner of Police: A Joint Commissioner of Police is a special advisor who works at the level of a secretary. They also advise the police on policy-making and matters of the utmost importance.
Salary of an IPS Officer
The IPS officer undergoes a rigorous selection process upon completion of which they are rewarded with handsome pay and extra perks. Apart from being provided free accommodation facilities, lifetime pension, free healthcare services, study leave for 2 years along with free power costs and a vehicle, they are also provided with high pay. The salary of an IPS officer depending upon their position according to the 7th pay commission is given below -:
| Position | Salary |
| Director-General of Police | Rs. 2,25,000.00 |
| Additional Director General of Police | Rs. 2,05,400.00 |
| Inspector-General of Police | Rs. 1,44,200.00 |
| Deputy Inspector General of Police | Rs. 1,31,100.00 |
| Senior Superintendent of Police | Rs. 78,800.00 |
| Additional Superintendent of Police | Rs. 67,700.00 |
| Deputy Superintendent of Police | Rs. 56,100.00 |
FAQs regarding IPS
There are various departments like the crime branch, research and analysis wing (R&AW), criminal investigation department (CID), etc. Wherein an IPS can work.
The number of attempts for each general category is limited to 6.
The syllabus of UPSC-CSE is largely based on grades 6-12. To begin with, start with NCERT, and after completing the topics, revise and write and take as many mock tests as possible.
The skills required to become an IPS officer are communication skills, physical fitness, endurance, attentive listening, logical reasoning, etc.
There is a negative mark of 0.66 on the GS-1 paper and 0.83 on the GS-2 paper
