(Survey) IAS - Youths First Choice To Begin Career With: ASSOCHAM

Despite complaints of falling standards and relatively lower salary, Indian Administrative Services continue to be preferred option for majority of youths as these provide with visible & invisible perks, social status and benefits with 100% job security, which remain totally incompatible with their private sector counterparts, according to The Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).
In a Survey carried out by ASSOCHAM on Have Civil Services Lost their Charm with Advancement in Liberalisation, 80% of 300 young executives opted for placement in corporate sector and responded to the Survey said, “IAS, IFS, IPS go on drawing the best available talent in them contrary to surfacing impressions that flight of talent has shifted more towards private sector with fast advancing liberalisation”.
The assertions that civil services are loosing their sheen and lustre are totally malicious and disparaging as every aspirant cannot withstand the rigors of layers of civil service examination, said ASSOCHAM President, Mr. Venugopal N. Dhoot.
Releasing the Survey, Mr. Dhoot said, “65% of executives, however, felt that since other channels for employment have opened up, particularly in information, communication and technology as the wave of liberalisation has advanced but it would be wrong to conclude that the first grade talent is being attracted in these sectors and it is the only second hand talent that is opting for civil services”.
Over 70% said that private sector does offer handsome package to young and bright executives for career making in which certainty for sustenance is always missing and it has a negative impact on personality making. While, in civil services, confidence building is a regular exercise as a result of continuous learning process with no element of uncertainty befalling any civil servant.
70% of respondents, however, regretted that impressions have been gaining ground that mediocrity has been prevailing in civil services. This is totally false and that private sector has been attracting brains cannot be substantiated with facts as for vast majority of young men and women, getting into civil services still remain the first priority.
55% of respondents have blamed the system for discouraging brighter and brilliant young men & women for opting for civil services due to often reported interventions of politicians in civil servants day to day routine life as this could be one reason which amount to demotivation.
75% of executives argued that private sector does pay them higher salaries with lot of perks but the sword is always hanging over their heads in case their non-performance is noticed and the element of job security is hardly there as no one in private sector is too sure that he will be able to retain his job despite working hard and long period of time.
Majority of executives that took part in the Survey were unanimous in endorsing a suggestion that Directorate of Audio Visual Publicity which normally comes out with government advertisement should occasionally print what the civil services are all about to attract talent in it. A special drive is called for to fuel and ignite youngsters interest in the civil services for reasons that they carry high growth prospects, decent conditions for jobs particularly for those that have honesty of purpose.
A suggestion was also mooted during the survey period saying that each state headquarter should have academy to train young boys & young girls for career making in civil services. These academic institutions should be entirely be managed by state governments with proper funding facilities and also facilities for giving stipend to those that belong to vulnerable section of society and cannot afford literature that go into preparation of civil service examinations. With the suggested move in place, the contribution of each state in the list of successful candidate for civil servants will enhance and that candidates from metros alone will not be there among successful candidates for civil services.
It may be mentioned here that Indian administrative services which came into effect slightly before India obtained her freedom continued to be cynosure for young and bright educated youth for many decades but from 1992-93 onwards, it was somehow felt that the brighter and more intelligent young populace have been preferring other professional avenues in corporate sector rather than concentrating in making priority career in Indian adminsitrative services, commented Mr. Dhoot.
The Survey also concludes that in the last couple of years, forward looking states in terms of intellectual input, their percentage in civil services has declined substantially. Demotivation and general apathy of good and educated lot towards civil services in the absence of right publicity exercise has been the primary cause for this.

Courtesy: The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India. (ASSOCHAM) web: http://www.assocham.org

U.P. Dominating in civil services

Not Bihar, it's UP all the way in civil services
NEW DELHI: Popular perception is that Biharis dominate the civil services. However, it is Bihar's neighbour, Uttar Pradesh that dominates the civil services year after year. On an average, over 16% of the selected candidates for the civil services each year are from UP. In the latest 2006 civil services examination results, UP maintains its 16% share.
In comparison, Bihar's contribution is an average 2%, though this year it has gone up to 5%. Delhi's contribution to the civil services is an average 26%, but this would include not only those from Delhi but also from Bihar, Orissa, the North East, West Bengal and even UP. Even if we were to concede half of Delhi’s contribution to Bihar, it would still not match UP.
Over 11 universities of UP have candidates appearing for the examination with at least a few making it each year.
But the university that records the greatest success in UP is the University of Allahabad that is the fifth largest contributing university to the civil services. Allahabad university tops in terms of the number of students appearing for the civil services exam. The other big contributors to the civil services from UP are IIT Kanpur, University of Lucknow and Benaras Hindu University, in that order.
Quite predictably, the highest number of successful candidates in civil services exam are from DU followed by JNU. University of Rajasthan is third, followed by Punjab University. The top eight contributing universities are all from north, followed by University of Pune and University of Bangalore in ninth and tenth respectively. On the basis of the number of candidates appearing for the civil services mains, the top 15 universities are all from the north again, except Osmania University in Andhra Pradesh that figures in the 11th place.
Among IITs, Delhi takes the lead, followed by Kanpur, Roorkee, Kharagpur and Mumbai in that order. In IIT Chennai, interest in civil services appears to have dried up completely, except for a slight resurgence in 2004.
Liberalisation and better job prospects in the corporate sector could have something to do with it. While northern universities might dominate top spots, when it comes to states, following Delhi and UP, the states that send the maximum number of candidates are Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, followed by Andhra Pra-desh. These states have a larger number of universities from where students appear for the exam, and even if the number of candidates appearing may not be as large a number as in Delhi or UP, the success rate seems better. The states with the least contribution seem to be Goa and Assam, if we are to discount the North Eastern states, as many students from there appear for the examination as Delhi candidates.
While Tamils may have retained their sway over the civil services, the Bengali babus, the original brown sahibs, seem to have lost out. Bengal's contribution to the civil services is just a little over 2%, with the bulk from University of Calcutta and IIT Kharagpur. Even Jadhavpur University has little or no contribution. Interestingly, Delhi and UP’s share in the all India civil services is declining as states like Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana gradually improve their share.
Courtesy: Times Of India