Career in Indian Trade Service (ITS)

The Indian Trade Service (ITS) is a Group ‘A’ central service that prospective candidates can get into on clearing the UPSC civil services examination. ITS service was started in 1977. Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) handles the Indian Trade Service (ITS). Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) comes under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The main mandate of the ITS is to take care of India’s foreign trade and commerce.

Functions:

1. Implementing the provisions of the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992; Safeguard Measures (Quantitative Restrictions) Rules, 2012; Foreign Trade Policy (FTP), 2009-2014; Handbook of Procedure, Volume-I, 2009-2014; ITC (HS) Classification of Export and Import Items, 2012; and Handbook of Procedure, Volume-II (Standard).
2. Formulating policy in international trade.
3. Promoting exports.
4. Implementing trade policy.
5. Negotiating international trade deals and commercial diplomacy.
6.  The officers can also be sent on deputation to work in other ministries and departments and also to international organisations like World Bank, ADB, UN organisations, etc.

Training of Probationers:

The ITS officers’ training takes place in two stages:

1. Foundation Course Training – at any of the national academies including LBSNAA.
2. Probationary Professional Training at the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), New Delhi for 8-9 months.

Career Options :

1. Under the Ministry of Trade and Commerce, the ITS cadre officers start with the role of Under Secretary, later they get promoted to Deputy, Joint and Additional Secretary Levels.
2. ITS cadre officers also get the opportunity to serve on deputation with foreign missions, WTO and UN.
3.  Indian Trade Service (ITS) cadre officers get the opportunity to serve at Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FICCI).

 

Grade, Designation, Salary:
Indian Trade Service (ITS) offers an attractive salary and ladder of growth for its cadres. Candidates interested in the field of trade and commerce must opt for this Service.

The below table gives information on the salary associated with various designations in ITS

Grade	Designations	Salary
Junior Time Scale	Assistant Director-General of Foreign Trade	Rs.15,600-39100 + Grade Pay Rs.5400
Senior Time Scale	Deputy Director-General of Foreign Trade/ Under Secretary	Rs.15,600-39,100 + Grade Pay Rs.6600
Junior Administrative Grade	Joint Director General of Foreign Trade/ Deputy Secretary	Rs.15,600-39,100 + Grade Pay Rs.7600
Selection Grade	Joint Director General of Foreign Trade/ Director	Rs.37,400-67,000 + Grade Pay Rs.8700
Senior Administrative Grade	Additional Director General of Foreign Trade/ Development Commissioner, Special Economic Zone/ Trade Advisor	Rs.37,400-67,000 + Grade Pay Rs.10,000
Higher Administrative Grade	Director-General of Foreign Trade/ Senior Development Commissioner, Special Economic Zone	67000-3%-79000

 

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Career in Indian Revenue Service (IRS)

 

The Indian Revenue Service (IRS) is the largest Group A Central Service, which is directly related to the revenue section of the Government of India. The IRS plays a crucial role mainly in the collection and management of the various direct and indirect taxes through the Income Tax Department. This article helps aspirants to understand more about the duties of designations, payscale,  roles and responsibilities associated with Indian Revenue Service (IRS).

IRS comprises two branches:

• IRS (Income Tax)
• IRS (Customs and Central Excise).

And it should be noted that IRS officials are often considered as the guardians of the financial borders of the country.

What are the eligibility conditions?

The eligibility criteria for the Indian Revenue Service exam are the same as for other civil services. Once the candidate clears the UPSC examinations and gets allotment to the Indian Revenue service as per his/her rank.

What are the trainings offered for selected candidates?

Candidates who are selected for the service will undergo a compulsory 3 month foundational training at Lal Bahadur National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie (Uttarakhand). After this, the Customs and Excise officers undergo 15 month rigorous training at National Academy of Customs Excise and Narcotics, Faridabad, while income tax officers are trained at National Academy of Direct Taxes, Nagpur headed by the Director General of Income Tax (Training).

What are the posting offered for IRS officials?

After completion of training, the officers are designated as Assistant Commissioner (Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) / Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), and may rise up to the level of Chief Commissioner with a few fortunate ones reaching the top post of Member/Chairperson (CBDT/CBEC). Director General of Income Tax (Training) also supervises the functioning of seven Regional Training Institutes at Bangalore, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Chennai, Chandigarh and Ahmedabad and 26 Ministerial Staff Training Units spread over the country.

What are duties and responsibilities of an IRS Officer?

IRS is a Central Civil Service that functions under the Department of Revenue in the Union Ministry of Finance and is concerned with the collection and management of the various direct and indirect taxes, accruing the same to the Union Government. Some of the important roles and responsibilities of an IRS official include:

• Law enforcement and intelligence organisations like the Central Bureau of Investigation, Research and Analysis Wing, Intelligence Bureau etc.
• Responsibilities in the Income Tax and Customs Departments - IRS officers are charged with profound responsibilities of identifying the tax evasions.
• Statutory powers to search for and seize illegally accumulated wealth and arrest the culprits to prevent further evasions.
• Play a significant role in probing and exposing of many scams in the country IRS officers perform all important border postings and protect the country from smuggling and safeguard its economic borders.
• Undertake patrolling missions in high seas and preventive operations against piracy and smuggling.

What are the career prospects for IRS?

IRS Officer in the Indian Revenue Service is the one of the finest services in the country as like as IAS. There are many reasons for choosing a career as IRS official:

• A newly recruited IRS officer could rise up-to the post of Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax. Besides, at the apex level, he can also get selected as a Member or Chairperson of the CBDT. The intermediate grades in this career progression are Deputy Commissioner, Joint Commissioner, Additional Commissioner, Commissioner, Principal Commissioner and Chief Commissioner of Income Tax.
• There are many scopes for worldwide cooperation in the work areas of exchange of information, transfer pricing, and taxation of cross-border transactions, the Government of India decided to create a network of Income Tax Overseas Units (ITOUs). Not just in the country, IRS officers also serve in such ITOUs which are part of the Indian Missions at select places abroad.
• An IRS officer is also eligible to be selected or appointed as Member to the top bodies like Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Authority for Advance Ruling, Income Tax Settlement Commission and Income Tax Ombudsman.
• Since they belong to civil service, IRS officers, at different levels, serve other Ministries/Departments /Organisations under Central Staffing Scheme and other deputations on the lines of officers of All India Services (Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service & Indian Forest Service) and other Central Services.

Payscale:

Indian Revenue Service Officers have ample scope for promotions and have attractive pay scales. The following table gives information on the Designations and Payscales associated with Indian Revenue Service (IRS).

 

Designation	Pay Scale
Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax	Rs. 80,000 (fixed)
Chief Commissioner of Income Tax	Rs. 75,500-80,000
Principal Commissioner of Income Tax	Rs. 67,000-79,000
Commissioner of Income Tax	Rs. 37,400-67,000 + grade pay of Rs. 10,000
Additional Commissioner of Income Tax	Rs. 37,400-67,000 + grade pay of Rs. 8,700
Joint Commissioner of Income Tax	Rs. 15,600-39,100 + grade pay of Rs. 7,600
Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax	Rs. 15,600-39,100 + grade pay of Rs. 6,600
Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax	Rs. 15,600-39,100 + grade pay of Rs.5,400

 

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Career in Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS)

The Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) is one of the Group ‘A’ services options, available for candidates who have successfully cleared the UPSC Civil Services Exam. Personnel from this cadre primarily manages the transportation department of the Indian railways. This is the service responsible for revenue generation in the railways. It is the 5th most coveted Group “A” Civil Service. There are two major wings in the traffic service – Operations and Commercial.

The article has information on the Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) functions, salaries and career prospects.

Roles & Responsibilities:

1. Coordinating the production and sale of transportation output.
2. Managing the customer interface of railways.
3. In the operations wing, ensuring smooth and fast transportation of freight and passengers.
4. In the commercial wing, an officer has to deal with the sales, pricing, service and marketing aspects of passenger and freight business.
5. An IRTS officer can also be sent on deputation to other ministries and departments under the Central Staffing Scheme.

The IRPS is the youngest Civil Service in India. It was established in 1976 and the first batch of officers recruited through the UPSC Civil Service Exam was in 1980.

Functions:

The IRPS is the only service amongst the Group ‘A’ services to cater to the human resources and personnel management in a department of the Central Government. The functions of the IRPS officers are given below:

1. Personnel Management: manpower planning, recruitment, training, seniority, promotions, transfer, posting, reservation, payments, wages, salary and final settlement.
2. Industrial Relations: maintaining cordial industrial relations, workers’ participation in management, welfare activities and grievance redressal.
3. Legal and court matters: legal work, implementation of labour laws and hours of employment regulation.

Training of Probationary Officers: 
The IRPS probationers undergo training for 93 weeks. This includes a Foundation Course for 15 weeks at the LBSNAA, Mussoorie. After this, they are trained at various other institutes like the National Academy of Indian Railways (NAIR), Vadodara, National Academy for Direct Taxes (NADT), Nagpur, etc. The officers have also imparted field training on zonal railways, construction, divisions, organizations and manufacturing units of the Indian Railways.

Career Prospects:
After the training period of Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS) cadre, officers will gain the opportunity to climb the ladder in the below-given professional growth trajectory.

1. Railway Division

1. Assistant Personnel Officer
2. Divisional Personnel Officer
3. Senior Division Personnel Officer

2. Zonal Division of Railway Departments

1. Assistant Personnel Officer
2. Senior Personnel Officer
3. Deputy Chief Personnel Officer

3. Zonal Headquarters – Headed by Chief Personnel Officer

4. Zonal Railway Unit – Headed by Principal HOD

5. Other Roles include:

1. Additional Divisional Railway Manager
2. Divisional Railway Manager
3. Chairman of the Railway Board
4. General Manager in higher Administrative Roles

 

Grade & Payscale:

IRPS cadre was formed with the aim of managing a million workforce of Indian Railways. This cadre offers good opportunities for its officers to rise up the ladder.

Below table gives complete details on IRPS grades and respective pay scales

Grade	Railway Staff College	Division	Zonal/ Production Unit HQ	Workshop/ Other Units	Railway Board	GOI under Central Staffing Scheme	Pay Scale
JTS	IRPS(Probationer)/ APO/ Asst. Professor	Assistant Personnel Officer	Assistant Personnel Officer	Assistant Personnel Officer	——	——	Rs.15,600-39100 + Grade Pay Rs.5400
STS	Professor	Divisional Personnel Officer	Senior Personnel Officer	Workshop Personnel Officer/ Senior Personnel Officer	Under Secretary	Under Secretary	Rs.15,600-39,100 + Grade Pay Rs.6600
JAG	Professor	Senior Divisional Personnel Officer	Deputy Chief Personnel Officer	Deputy Chief Personnel Officer	Deputy Secretary	Deputy Secretary	Rs.15,600-39,100 + Grade Pay Rs.7600
SG	Professor	Senior Divisional Personnel Officer	Deputy Chief Personnel Officer	Deputy Chief Personnel Officer	Director	Director	Rs.37,400-67,000 + Grade Pay Rs.8700
SAG	Senior Professor	——	Chief Personnel Officer	Chief Personnel Officer	Executive Director	Joint Secretary	Rs.37,400-67,000 + Grade Pay Rs.10,000
HAG	——	——	Chief Personnel Officer	Chief Personnel Officer	Adviser	Additional Secretary	67000-3%-79000

 

 

 

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Career in Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS)

 

The IRPS is the youngest Civil Service in India. It was established in 1976 and the first batch of officers recruited through the UPSC Civil Service Exam was in 1980.

Functions:

The IRPS is the only service amongst the Group ‘A’ services to cater to the human resources and personnel management in a department of the Central Government. The functions of the IRPS officers are given below:

1.       Personnel Management: manpower planning, recruitment, training, seniority, promotions, transfer, posting, reservation, payments, wages, salary and final settlement.

2.       Industrial Relations: maintaining cordial industrial relations, workers’ participation in management, welfare activities and grievance redressal.

3.       Legal and court matters: legal work, implementation of labour laws and hours of employment regulation.

Training of Probationary Officers:

The IRPS probationers undergo training for 93 weeks. This includes a Foundation Course for 15 weeks at the LBSNAA, Mussoorie. After this, they are trained at various other institutes like the National Academy of Indian Railways (NAIR), Vadodara, National Academy for Direct Taxes (NADT), Nagpur, etc. The officers have also imparted field training on zonal railways, construction, divisions, organizations and manufacturing units of the Indian Railways.

Career Prospects:

After the training period of Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS) cadre, officers will gain the opportunity to climb the ladder in the below-given professional growth trajectory.

1. Railway Division

1.       Assistant Personnel Officer

2.       Divisional Personnel Officer

3.       Senior Division Personnel Officer

2. Zonal Division of Railway Departments

1.       Assistant Personnel Officer

2.       Senior Personnel Officer

3.       Deputy Chief Personnel Officer

3. Zonal Headquarters – Headed by Chief Personnel Officer

4. Zonal Railway Unit – Headed by Principal HOD

5. Other Roles include:

1.       Additional Divisional Railway Manager

2.       Divisional Railway Manager

3.       Chairman of the Railway Board

4.       General Manager in higher Administrative Roles

 

Grade & Payscale:

IRPS cadre was formed with the aim of managing a million workforce of Indian Railways. This cadre offers good opportunities for its officers to rise up the ladder.

Below table gives complete details on IRPS grades and respective pay scales

Grade	Railway Staff College	Division	Zonal/ Production Unit HQ	Workshop/ Other Units	Railway Board	GOI under Central Staffing Scheme	Pay Scale
JTS	IRPS(Probationer)/ APO/ Asst. Professor	Assistant Personnel Officer	Assistant Personnel Officer	Assistant Personnel Officer	——	——	Rs.15,600-39100 + Grade Pay Rs.5400
STS	Professor	Divisional Personnel Officer	Senior Personnel Officer	Workshop Personnel Officer/ Senior Personnel Officer	Under Secretary	Under Secretary	Rs.15,600-39,100 + Grade Pay Rs.6600
JAG	Professor	Senior Divisional Personnel Officer	Deputy Chief Personnel Officer	Deputy Chief Personnel Officer	Deputy Secretary	Deputy Secretary	Rs.15,600-39,100 + Grade Pay Rs.7600
SG	Professor	Senior Divisional Personnel Officer	Deputy Chief Personnel Officer	Deputy Chief Personnel Officer	Director	Director	Rs.37,400-67,000 + Grade Pay Rs.8700
SAG	Senior Professor	——	Chief Personnel Officer	Chief Personnel Officer	Executive Director	Joint Secretary	Rs.37,400-67,000 + Grade Pay Rs.10,000
HAG	——	——	Chief Personnel Officer	Chief Personnel Officer	Adviser	Additional Secretary	67000-3%-79000

 

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