Cadre Talks IAS versus IFS -II

For Part I click here.

So here we go Part II of why IAS is better or is IFS better.

Some statistics on my mind from the 2006 final results of CSM.

37 General Category got IAS including 2 physically challenged. Out of these 10 were insiders and rest were outsiders.

Meaning only 27% got the cadre which they wanted. Mind you cadre allocation is extremely important when it is the question of you having to spend the rest of your life in that cadre.

Comparatively IFS is a Central Service and there is no problem with Cadres.

The evil aspect about cadre is when you are alloted a ‘wrong’ cadre you are like a fish out of water. A person given NE cadre is already considering marriage with a girl from a ‘better’ cadre and he doesnt mind waiting for a year or two in LBSNAA while new batches come and he ‘nets’ his fish, be she ugly or obese. Darwin has lost here. There is no natural selection happening here.!! Sad.!!

Coming to the Training bit. IAS officers have training lasting 2 years of which 1 year is spent in districts. Comparatively, IFS officers have training of 3 years of which 1 year 2 months is spent learning a foreign language in a mission abroad. Remarkably, the remainder 2 years are spent in the heart of Civilization, Delhi, at the Indian Foreign Services institute.

Why are people still selecting IAS? i’m thoroughly confused. Hopefully, i won’t need to but if required i will be marking IFS as the numero uno choice next time. This time both the services are welcome, albeit IFS just edging out IAS at the moment on my rankings.

What do you think??

IAS versus IFS

the mains form is here and i guess it will be with you all very soon if it isnt already there. i’m having some last minute jitters filling up the services could some of you kindly give your opinions on what i’ve written below…

ifs – because of navtej sarna, nirupama rao, arundhati ghose – I want to be
in their shoes someday!! early career is great you get to learn new
languages interact with new people visit distant capitals. there is greater
camaraderie amongst batch mates because of a small batch size. time for
intellectual blogging. good exposure and opportunity for personal growth.
usually the best working environment which govt can provide. organising
cultural programs. I enjoy going to the india habitat centre often and
organising the same abroad will be great e.g. dance music. you don’t get
thrown away to distant villages and states. your cadre doesn’t become a
reason for one to contemplate leaving the job.

later in career too one could possibly join rajya sabha or like our new VP
mr. ansari hope to reach a titular office of grandeur.!

ias – because the tag is easily recognised by one and all. it reverberates
through peoples head as someone not to be messed with. minor irritants in
life get sorted out easily. how far is it true for ifs? however early in
career to be thrown amongst the villagers in an office which is a leaky road
side shack wouldn’t be a great thing. ass licking your way up the postings
and promotions ladder for getting anything worthwhile. I believe right now
im comfortably placed in new delhi, with ias, delhi itself would become a
luxury destination. why demote myself in life? but then top 45 ranks without
an aberration have picked IAS in 2006! maybe I missed some point? or maybe
they are all way too inspired to help the down trodden.?

policy formulation quite interesting but implementation is only – alright.
preparing answers for parliament more clerical sort of work in my opinion.

messing around with goons of politicians when polling has gone wrong and
I’ve to order a repoll would be dangerous for the family. staying in states
I will get a meagre Rs. 15 per month for children education. it would be
much better putting them in british school or american school via ifs.

what use is the intelligence and energy which I will bring to the government
if integrity itself will be battered and will force me to kill my ideals or
get out to save my skin!

later in the career one could again join rajya sabha or join politics e.g.
yashwant sinha, jaswant singh, manmohan singh and so on..

I believe there is some restriction imposed by mea against interacting with
certain people when on a mission abroad. is that true?

eventually I reasoned it will be luck if I got in top 50! so why not put ias
on top, ifs has a greater chance to come anyway! and would I be leading a
frivolous/fake life in ifs for the work profile available?
e.g. in the nuke deal what couldn’t be sorted out by the diplomats was
eventually sorted out by ias and technocrats. so will I only be a curious
traveller and a drama organiser in ifs at the end of it?

how difficult is it for an ias officer to go abroad… my neighbours just
returned from a 3 year posting to washington, he is from the 1979 ias batch
but he seems to have some major links as he was in delhi 10 years prior to
that and has now shifted his madhya pradesh office to MP bhawan in new delhi
and will stay here till his retirement! this is just an exceptionally well
connected case. what is the usual life..

I hope I can get this sorted out and be sure about things help will be
appreciated 🙂