SriDivi: 2012

IAS Officer : Salary and Other Facilities

IAS stands for Indian Administrative Service. It is one of the most prestigious jobs in India. The Salary of an IAS officer is how much is such a question which is being asked daily by thousands of job seekers. In India it is said that the salary in government services is too low. Many bright students do not want to join the government services for low salary. But IAS is not everything about salary, it is not a simple job for making money, it is also about serving the nations and its billions of people. After the 6^thpay commission the salary of an IAS officer in India is not that bad too. I am going to discuss about the salary and facilities of Indian Administrative service officer.

Pay Scales

In government services in India Pay Scales is not the total salary. It only indicates the minimum and maximum basic pay of an employee. The IAS are promoted to total four pay scales according to service seniority. These five scales are named as Junior Scale, Senior Time Scale, Junior Administrative Grade , Selection Grade and Super Time Scale.

Junior Scale:

In Junior Scale the new recruit joins at the payband 3, that is, Rs: 15,600 – 39,100.

In addition he gets a Grade Pay of Rs 5400. This is the time of training and learning. The new recruit is placed into a two years probation period. After that he is posted as a SDM ( Sub Divisional Magistrate ), also known as SDO or Sub-Collector.

Salary of an IAS is not that bad

Senior Time Scale:

After , at least 5 years of service the IAS is promoted to Senior Time Scale at the payband of 15,600-39,100 and a grade pay of Rs. 6600. At that period he may be posted as a District Magistrate (DM) or Collector or a Joint Secretary of a Government ministry.

Junior Administrative Grade:

Payband : 15,600-39,100

Grade Pay: 7,600

The IAS may hope to be promoted to this scale after 9 years of service. He will get the posts of special secretary and various Head of the Government Departments.

Selection Grade:

Payband: 37,400-67,000

Gradepay: Rs 8,700

This grade needs a minimum of 12-15 years in the service. The officer will now get the post of a Secretary to a ministry.

Super Time Scale

Payband: 37,400-67,000

Gradepay: Rs 8,700

After completing a minimum 17 to 20 years of service the officer gets the Super Time Scale salary. He becomes Principal Secretary of a very important department of the government.

Above Super timescale:

A limited number of bright individuals are selected for above Super Time Scales (Payband: 37,400-67,000 and Grade Pay: 12,000).

The highest basic salary is Rs. 80,000 (fixed) for an IAS. Only the central Cabinet Secretary is given the Basic salary of Rs. 90,000 (fixed).

IAS is not only about money, but also about power

What is the Total Starting Salary of an IAS ?

Now, I know you shall want to know how much total money they get after joining the service. It is difficult to understand all this jargons: Pay Band, Grade Pay etc.

Now, this total pay is changeable with time. At this moment the total payment of an IAS recruit can be roughly estimated as below:

Basic Pay: Rs 23,640

D.A. (@65%): Rs 15,366

H.R.A.(@30%): Rs 7,092

T.A.: 5,280

Total: Rs 51,378

This is the average salary of an IAS officer in India at the beginning of his career.

His basic will increase at the rate of 3% per annum. You may expect a D.A. increment of average 10% to 14%. The IAS may hope to get double salary after each 7 to 9 years.

The Maximum Salary of an IAS officer:

The highest salary is drawn by the Cabinet Secretary among the IAS. He gets Rs.90,000 fixed as basic pay. Fixed means he shall not get any increments.

His estimated Salary is as follows:

Basic Pay: Rs 90,000

D.A : Rs 58,500

HRA: Rs 27,000

T.A.: Rs 5,280

Total: Rs 1,80,780

This salary may increase with the increment of DA.

IAS Officer - Salary and Perks

If you compare this job with a top private sector one, you may find out some very good facilities and perks.

i) An IAS is often given a superb accommodation, usually a big Bungalow with its own Security guards, Gardeners, Servants and Cooks. All of these are given to him for a very low rent.

ii) He gets government cars, usually with Red lights.

iii) He also gets the facilities of free electricity and telephone bills.

iv) During official travels for duty they get the accommodation in very good Government Bungalows and Rest houses.

v) Power and prestige is the greatest perks for an IAS.

vi) The security of the job is much more than that of a lucrative private sector job. In fact, it is very, very tough even for a chief minister to terminate an IAS officer’s job. They have their legal safe guards against that.

vii) They can apply for a study leave for 2 to 4 years in a reputed foreign university, the cost of which will be paid by the government.

viii) They shall get life time pensions and other retirement benefits.

There are many more about these facilities and perks. It is impossible for a big private sector employee to get such.

Moreover, an IAS is behind the formation and implementation of the policies of the Central and the various State Governments. You can work for the good of the people and this is the greatest perk among all.