The Indian Railway
Accounts Service (IRAS) is a Group ‘A’ civil service that one may get recruited
into on clearing the UPSC civil services exam. Every year the government
appoints 25-30 officers. The IRAS officers are responsible for maintaining and
managing the finances and accounts of the Indian Railways. At present, IRAS has
a cadre strength of about 800 officers.
Functions:
1.
Maintaining accounts
of the Indian Railways.
2.
Giving financial
advice to the executive in matters related to railways.
3.
Scrutinising all
investment and expenditure proposals of the various departments in railways.
4.
Preparation of the
budget.
5.
Carrying out
periodical financial reviews.
6.
Engaging in
fundraising and funds management.
7.
Maintaining accounts
and bookkeeping for railways.
8.
Conducting stock
inventory control.
9.
Settling claims and
recovering dues.
10.
Management accounting.
11.
IRAS officers are also
sent on deputation to various PSUs to hold finance portfolios.
Training of
Probationary Officers:
For IRAS officers,
overall training goes on for a period of approximately 2 years. The training
begins at LBSNAA, Mussoorie; then it continues at National Academy of Indian
Railways which is located at Vadodara. Further training goes in at NADT located
at Nagpur and NIFM which is located at Faridabad. IRAS probationers also
undergo 12-week training at IIM Calcutta. IRAS probationers also undergo
training at MDI, Gurgaon.
Career
Prospects:
Once the training
period is completed the IRAS Cadre officers can expect their career to kick off
and grow professionally in the following given below roles.
1.
At Zonal Levels –
Chief Account Officers and Financial Advisors.
2.
At Division Level –
Divisional Finance Manager
3.
Under Divisional
Railway Manager and General Manager – Inducted as Account Officers and Executives.
4.
The highest allocated
position for IRAS Cadre is the Financial Commissioner.
Grade & Pay
Scales:
This Group “A” civil
service is one the most important cog in the smooth functioning of Indian
Railways.
Below table gives
details on grade and pay scale of IRAS Cadre
|
Grade |
Designation
in Ministries |
Designation
on Railways |
Pay
Scale |
|
Junior Time Scale |
—— |
Assistant Financial Advisor/
Assistant Divisional Financial Manager/ Assistant Workshop Accounts Officer/ Assistant
Financial Advisor (Traffic)/ Assistant Electronic Data Processing Manager |
Rs.15,600-39100 + Grade Pay
Rs.5400 |
|
Senior Time Scale |
Deputy Director in GOI |
Senior Assistant Financial
Advisor/ Divisional Financial Manager/ Workshop Accounts Officer/ Senior
Assistant Financial Advisor/ Electronic Data Processing Manager/ Senior
System Analyst/ Deputy Director (Railway Board) |
Rs.15,600-39,100 + Grade Pay
Rs.6600 |
|
Junior Administrative Grade |
Deputy Secretary in GOI |
Deputy Financial Advisor &
Chief Accounts Officer/ Senior Electronic Data Processing Manager/ Joint
Director (Railway Board) |
Rs.15,600-39,100 + Grade Pay
Rs.7600 |
|
Selection Grade |
Director in GOI |
Deputy Financial Advisor &
Chief Accounts Officer/ Director (Railway Board) |
Rs.37,400-67,000 + Grade Pay
Rs.8700 |
|
Senior Administrative Grade |
Joint Secretary to GOI/ Secretary
in State Government |
Financial Advisor & Chief
Accounts Officer/ Executive Director(Railway Board) |
Rs.37,400-67,000 + Grade Pay
Rs.10,000 |
|
Higher Administrative Grade |
Additional Secretary in GOI/
Principal Secretary in State Government |
Principal Financial Advisor &
Chief Accounts Officer/ Advisor (Railway Board) |
Rs.37,400-67,000 + Grade Pay
Rs.12,000 |
|
Higher Administrative Grade + |
Special Secretary to GOI/ Chief
Secretary |
General Manager/ Director General/
Additional Member (Railway Board) |
Rs.75,500-80,000 |
|
Apex |
Secretary |
Financial Commissioner |
80,000 (fixed) |