Do uniforms fascinate you too? Do those badges bring an unusual spark to your eyes? Do you also want to do something for your beloved nation? If yes, then you are in the right place to get all your answers and can get one step closer to your dreams. The dream of serving your country with the pledge of keeping the citizens of the nation safe and sound, helping the people to maintain dignity, and truthfully follow all the rules, regulations, and laws forms mentioned in the Constitution of India.
India is a democratic country and has its own Constitution and regulatory authorities where public servants, Bureaucrats, governing party’s leaders and other politicians, MPs (Member of Parliament), MLAs (Member of Legislative Assembly), panchayat representatives (Sarpanch), etc. The UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) conducts a special exam named the (CSE) Civil services exam, which offers 24 different Bureaucratic posts; the one you get depends on several factors where most important is your Rank and later on your training’s report of on-field performance. In congruence with the Constitution of India, there are three All India Services (AIS) referred to in article 312 of the Constitution of India. The most desired and best 3 ranks are:
- IAS (Indian Administrative Services)
- IFS (Indian Foreign Services)
- IPS (Indian Police Services)
What role does UPSC play in the journey of being an IPS officer, and is there any other way to become an IPS officer apart from clearing UPSC with top ranks?
UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) conducts the Civil Services Exams in three stages:
- Preliminary Examination (Objective type Questions or MCQs)
- Mains Examination (Written and explanatory questions)
- Interview (Personality Analysis)
To appear in the preliminary exams of CSE conducted by UPSC, the candidate is required to appear for PET (Preliminary Eligibility Test). The aspirants need to be a graduate in any country recognized discipline or any undergraduate minimum and no maximum limit for education, the minimum age for appearing in prelims is 21 years for the general category and 32 years maximum for general (slightly different in the case of SC/ST/OBC or the differently able person), plus for being an IPS officer the standard height requirement for males is 165 cm. For females, it’s 150 cm and decreased by 5 cm for SC/ST candidates.
The candidates who excelled in the preliminary examination can only appear for the mains examination. There are 9 exam papers the IPS aspirants require to outshine the UPSC mains examination wherein the candidate must pass the exam of General English and Hindi, but their marks will not count under the final merit score.
Only when the candidate passes both preliminary and mains examination at once, then they get a chance to appear for the interview round where the top bureaucrats ask them several questions to analyze their personality, intentions, expectations, willingness to serve, ideas, opinion, and suggestions for the betterment of the system, administration, governance, laws, etc. for the growth and development of the country and its citizens.
After qualifying all the above examinations with grace marks, the candidate acquires the Ranks and, based on that, gets their respective posts as civil servants. Only the top rank holders have the authority to choose and express their preferred post amongst the IAS, IFS, IPS, IRS, etc.
The other ways to become IPS than appearing in the UPSC examination:
- Through promotions: The aspirant can fulfill their dreams of becoming the IPS officer by getting promoted from the state police officer to IPS officer.
- Through the Limited Competitive Examinations very rarely conducted by the UPSC: These exams are rarely conducted in the situation of the unfortunate death of some existing IPS officers or the termination or resignation of the civil servants. The UPSC conducts limited competitive exams for fulfilling the vacant places.
Conclusion
The civil service aspirants with the intentions and aiming to become the IPS officer do ask for a lot of willingness, both mental and physical strength, dedication and respect towards the post, their rights and duties, the commitment of putting the nation first, and above all the near and dear responsibilities, commitments and relationships. The IPS officer has the administrative rights and power to control the crime and unlawful occurrences. The Indian Police service officer is liable for the maintenance of peace and harmony in their respective region. The post is as big as the responsibilities on their shoulders, and as it is amongst the 3 most valuable All India Services, it gets immense respect and authority in return for their loyalty towards the nation and its Constitution. I hope the above article prevails on some helpful information that would help you get a little closer to your dreams and successfully turn them into reality.
