Numerous candidates across the country aspire to become an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer. Of the 24 most respectful civil services posts, the one of an IAS officer is the most sought-after and desired one. Every year, lakhs of aspirants show up at the IAS exam with a zeal and spirit to contribute to Civil Services in the Government of India. An IAS officer is responsible for maintaining administration work under the Government of India, maintaining overall expenditure, ensuring the law and order situation and supervising government affairs.
Life of an IAS officer: Roles and duties

An IAS officer's role functions on the basis of the kind of assignment allotted to them. Basically, three types of assignments are assigned to the IAS officers, which are namely:
  1. Field Assignments
  2. Public Sector Undertakings/State Secretariat
  3. Central Secretariat
Field Assignments

If placed on par with the other roles assigned to an IAS officer, the field tasks are considered to be the most difficult ones. Usually, the first posting that an IAS officer is allotted is that of the field task. Some such field responsibilities that an IAS officer needs to fulfill include:
  1. Management of government affairs, which involves framing, implementation and reviewing of the policies.
  2. Consulting and interacting with various departments and elected representatives to ensure the smooth conduct of all functions.
  3. Managing and disbursing funds issued by the central government for certain government schemes.
  4. Scrutinizing the implementation of various schemes and policies introduced by the government.
  5. Providing assistance immediately in case of emergencies and mishaps like major accidents, riots or natural calamities. 
State Secretariat Assignments

During the course of the state secretariat postings, an IAS officer, on the basis of the experience and acumen gained during field work, must impart guidance to the elected representatives for the formulation of policies. Alongside this, a number of IAS officers are also designated to PSU cadres where they achieve a pivotal place in the higher management of different PSUs like Power stations and industrial units.

Central Secretariat Assignments

IAS officers appointed on Secretariat level in the Central government assume charge of inspecting the policy reviews, formulation and implementation of various different ministries. As a part of the same, numerous IAS officers are also deputed to International bodies such as the UN (United Nations).

Other roles of an IAS officer:
  • Sub-divisional activities: An IAS officer, holding the designation of an SDM (Sub-divisional magistrate) is required to maintain the law and order state in the division and also take stock of administrative and developmental activities.
  • District-level functions: While discharging the duty of a District Level Magistrate, an IAS officer is supposed to perform the functions similar to that of an SDM. The field assignments are often executed at the district level and many other IAS officers are transferred to different positions in the state.