How to Become an IPS Officer?
IPS stands for Indian Police Service. It is a part of Civil Services of Government of India. In this article, you will be reading about the topic – how to become an IPS officer in India.
If you want to become an IPS officer, this article will be of help to you. This article has been crafted keeping the needs of Civil Service (UPSC) aspirants in mind. Here, you’ll find the steps involved in becoming an IPS officer.
There are many Civil Services, which are pillars of the Government of India. Here’s a list of Civil Services in India. Among these Civil Services, IPS, along with IAS, commands the most respect and prestige!
List of Civil Services in India
Group A Services
- Indian Administrative Service
- Indian Police Service
- India Foreign Service
- Indian P & T Accounts & Finance Service
- Indian Audit and Accounts Service
- Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise)
- Indian Defence Accounts Service
- Indian Revenue Service (I.T.)
- Indian Ordnance Factories Service (Assistant Works Manager, Administration)
- Indian Postal Service
- Indian Civil Accounts Service
- Indian Railway Traffic Service
- Indian Railway Accounts Service
- Indian Railway Personnel Service
- Post of Assistant Security Commissioner in Railway Protection Force
- Indian Defence Estates Service
- Indian Information Service (Junior Grade)
- Indian Trade Service, Group ‘A’ (Gr. III)
- Indian Corporate Law Service
Group B Services
- Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service (Section Officer’s Grade)
- Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Civil Service
- Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Police Service
- Pondicherry Civil Service
- Pondicherry Police Service
- IAS and IPS are the most preferred choice among Civil Service aspirants. This is the main reason why only toppers (in Civil Service exam) get selected for IAS and IPS training!
- IPS officers done important roles in the Police service of India. They are directly involved in the Nation-building process. If you want to bring about a change in the society, this profession is for you!
- Being an IPS officer, you’ll get a change to bring about change at the grassroots level! You’ll get a chance to improve the lives of people through development in areas such as – social security, law and order, crime prevention, women safety etc.
- In short, it is a challenging and immensely satisfying profession. IPS officers also get to enjoy good salary package and additional benefits (such as housing, pension, medical benefits etc). It is an influential post that commands respect in the society.
How to become an IPS Officer?
Becoming an IPS officer is not an easy task. It is a challenging and demanding job. Only the best candidates are selected to this post.
In order to select these deserving candidates, Government of India has tasked UPSC with the task of conducting Civil Services examination.
Examination
In order to become an IPS officer, a candidate must crack the tough Civil Services examination. UPSC is the body that conducts this examination.
Civil Services Examination (CSE): Details
Civil Services examination is ranked among the toughest examinations in the world. The exam is conducted once each year. The entire exam spans over a period of one year!
The Civil Services examination consists of two main parts. They are –
- Preliminary examination
- Mains examination
- Interview/Personality Test
The first stage of CSE is preliminary examination. Preliminary examination consists of objective type papers (general studies and aptitude test). Candidates who clear preliminary examination are called to appear for mains examination.
The second stage of CSE is mains examination. It consists of nine papers. Candidates who manage to clear mains examination are then called to appear for Interview/Personality Test.
Preliminary Examination
Preliminary Examination is well known as prelims exam. The prelims exam consists of two papers –
- Paper 1
- Paper 2
You’ll find details about each paper in the table provided below –
| Preliminary Examination | ||||
| Paper | Type | Duration | No of Questions | Marks |
| Paper 1 | General Studies | 2 Hours | 100 | 200 |
| Paper 2 | Aptitude Test | 2 Hours | 80 | 200 |
Mains Examination
Mains examination consists of 9 papers. Out of the 9 papers, 2 are qualifying papers and 7 papers used for ranking candidates.
Details about mains examination have been provided in the below table –
| Mains Examination | ||
| Paper | Type | Marks |
| Paper A (Qualifying Exam) | Language | 300 Marks |
| Paper B (Qualifying Exam) | English | 300 Marks |
| Paper 1 | Essay | 250 Marks |
| Paper 2 | General Studies 1 | 250 Marks |
| Paper 3 | General Studies 2 | 250 Marks |
| Paper 4 | General Studies 3 | 250 Marks |
| Paper 5 | General Studies 4 | 250 Marks |
| Paper 6 | Optional Subject, Paper 1 | 250 Marks |
| Paper 7 | Optional Subject, Paper 2 | 250 Marks |
Eligibility Criteria
If you want to become an IPS officer, you must crack CSE. In order to appear for CSE, you must satisfy some requirements. Here they are –
Educational qualifications required
All candidates must have as a minimum one of the following educational qualifications:
- A degree from a Central, State or a Deemed university.
- A degree received through correspondence or distance education.
- A degree from an open university.
- A qualification recognized by the Government of India as being equivalent to one of the above.
The following candidates are also eligible, but must submit proof of their eligibility from a competent authority at their institute/university at the time of the main examination, failing which they will not be allowed to attend the exam:
- Candidates who have appeared in an examination, the passing of which would render them educationally qualified enough to satisfy one of the above points.
- Candidates who have passed the final exam of the MBBS degree but have not yet completed an internship.
- Candidates who have passed the final exam of ICAI, ICSI and ICWAI.
- A degree from a private university.
- A degree from any foreign university recognized by the Association of Indian Universities.
Age Limit
- The candidate must be between the age of 21-32 years (for the General category candidate) on August 1 of the year of examination. However, age relaxations dies exist for SC, ST, OBC and Physically Handicapped candidates.
- For Other Backward Castes (OBC) the upper age limit is 35.
- For Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST), the limit is 37 years.
- The upper age limit is relaxed for certain candidates who are backward with respect to other factors and physically handicapped (PH) people.
Nationality
For the Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Police Service, the candidate must be a citizen of India.
For other services, the candidate must be one of the following:
- A citizen of India.
- A citizen of Nepal or a subject of Bhutan.
- A person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia or Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India.
Posts and career growth
After completing training, IPS Officers are commissioned as Deputy Superintendent of Police or Additional Superintendent of Police at the District level. With time, they are promoted to higher posts such as – superintendent of Police, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Senior Superintendent of Police, Deputy Inspector General, Inspector General, Additional Director General of Police, and Director General of Police.
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