Becoming an IAS officer is one of the most desired job profiles in our country.
The Indian Administrative Services offer the prestige of being associated with a government job and a host of perks at the same time.
This article focus on IAS salary based on ranks and scale. Candidates opt for Civil Services not always due to the attraction of salary or perks.
Though the private sector may offer better packages, the list of candidates who leave their cushy job to enter public service for a lesser salary is not small.
In India, the different groups of government employees are entitled to receive different pay scales.
It directly points towards the maximum or minimum of their basic pay in accordance with their positions.
Pay Scales for IAS officers
The Indian Administrative Services or IAS officers have five scales namely the Junior Scale, Senior Time Scale, Junior Administrative Grade, Selection Grade and Super Time Scale.
The salary of the IAS officer is among the highest paying salaries in the government sector.
Here is a glimpse of what the Indian Administrative Officers receive as pay scales in different scales.
Update – The Union government issued implementation notification of the 7th Pay Commission 25 July 2016. Finance Minister announced that a fitment factor of 2.57 would apply for pay revision of all employees. And the rate of annual increment has been retained at 3%. The pay commission had recommended 14.27 per cent hike in basic pay at junior levels, the lowest in 70 years.
Salary Structure of IAS Officer after 7th pay commission
| Grade | Pay Scale | Grade Pay | Post |
| Junior Scale | 50,000 – 1,50,000 | 16,500 | Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), SDO, or Sub-Collector (after 2 years’ probation) |
| Senior Time Scale | 50,000 – 1,50,001 | 20,000 | District Magistrate (DM) or Collector or a Joint Secretary of a Government Ministry |
| Junior Administrative Grade | 50,000 – 1,50,002 | 23,000 | Special Secretary or the Head of Various Government Departments |
| Selection Grade | 1,00,000 – 2,00,000 | 26,000 | Secretary to a Ministry |
| Super Time Scale | 1,00,000 – 2,00,000 | 30,000 | Principal Secretary of a Very Important Department of the Government |
| Above Super Time Scale | 1,00,000 – 2,00,000 | 30,000 | varies |
| Apex Scale | 2,25,000 (Fixed) | NA | Chief Secretary of States, Union Secretaries in charge of various ministries of Government of India |
| Cabinet Secretary Grade | 2,50,000 (Fixed) | varies | Cabinet Secretary of India |
These newly announced pay scales of 7th Pay Commission are not the full or in-hand salary of an IAS officer.
The pay scale is used to determine the basic pay of the employee on the basis of which they are entitled to allowances and entitlements like
- Dearness Allowance(revised every year as per inflation index)
- House Rent Allowance (generally considered as 40% of Basic) as well as TA.
HRA and Transport Allowance for Central Government Employees as recommended by 7th Pay Commission
HRA @ 24%, 16%, and 8% have been proposed for X, Y and Z class cities respectively.
7th Pay Commission has also recommended for enhancement of HRA while DA crosses 50% and 100%.
As far as Transport Allowance is concerned, there is no increase. DA @ 125% has been merged with existing Transport Allowance.
7th Pay Commission has done away with the Pay Band – Grade Pay System which existed before.
Scales of IAS officers (Approx.)
- Junior Scales (0-4 years)
- Senior Scales (4-9 years)
- ->Senior Timescale (4 years+)
- ->Junior Administrative grade (9 years+)
- Selection Grade (13 years+)
- Super Times Scale(16 year+)
- Above Super Time Scale(25 years+)
IAS Prelims Books
IAS Officers Salary (in hand) Per Month after 7th pay commission
A rough estimation of the total salary earned by an IAS officer has been made, keeping all the components of his salary in view:
| BASIC | 15600-39100 | 37400-67000 | 67000- 79000 |
75500- 80000 |
80000 | 90000 | ||||
| ALLOWANCES | 5400 | 6600 | 7600 | 8700 | 8900 | 1000 | ||||
| BASIC +ALLOWANCES |
21000 | 25350 | 29500 | 46100 | 49100 | 53000 | 67000 | 75500 | 80000 | 90000 |
| PAY LEVEL | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 13A | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| Net Salary in Hand |
56100 | 67700 | 78800 | 118500 | 131100 | 144200 | 182200 | 205400 | 225000 | 250000 |
Pay Level for each rank
The Pay Levels for each rank are as follows:
- Level 10: (1-4yrs) ASP/SDM/ Asst. Commissioner in IRS
- Level 11: (5-8 yrs) SP/DM/Deputy Commissioner in IRS
- Level 12: (9-12 yrs) SSP/DM (DS in GOS)/Joint Commissioner in IRS
- Level 13: ( 13-16 yrs) SSP/DM (Director in Government of India)/Additional Commissioner in IRS
- Level 13A: (14th yr) DIG (No parallel Scale in IAS or IRS)
- Level 14: (16-24 yrs) IG/Commissioner (IAS/IRS)/JS in GOI
- Level 15: ( 25-30 yrs) ADG/Additional Secretary in GOI/Principal Secretary in State/ Principal Commissioner in IRS
- Level 16: (30-33 yrs) Additional Chief Secretary /DG/Chief Commissioner in IRS
- Level 17: (34-36 yrs) Chief Secretary/DG/Secretary of GOI/ Principal Chief Commissioner in IRS
- Level 18: (37+ yrs) Cabinet Secretary to Government of India
Now you can understand the pay level and salary for each rank after 7th pay commission
Net in hand salary for IAS/IRS officers after 7th pay commission
For ASP/SDM/ Asst. Commissioner in IRS – 56,100
SP/DM/Deputy Commissioner in IRS – 67700
SSP/DM (DS in GOS)/Joint Commissioner in IRS – 78800
For SSP/DM (Director in Government of India)/Additional Commissioner in IRS – 118500
For DIG (No parallel Scale in IAS or IRS) – 131100
For IG/Commissioner (IAS/IRS)/JS in GOI – 144200
For ADG/Additional Secretary in GOI/Principal Secretary in State/ Principal Commissioner in IRS – 182200
For Additional Chief Secretary /DG/Chief Commissioner in IRS – 205400
For Chief Secretary/DG/Secretary of GOI/ Principal Chief Commissioner in IRS – 225000
For Cabinet Secretary to Government of India – 250000
Other Benefits for IAS Officers
Apart from the decent salary, there are tons of other facilities provided to IAS officers. So that they can serve the nation with full dedication
The officers are quite deservedly entitled to a series of benefits or perks including:
- HRA
- DA (As per available information, it is revised half-yearly, mainly being governed by the inflation index)
- Water Bills
- Official Accommodation- Bungalows with gardeners and security guards at very low rates. They get similar facilities (bungalows) while travelling for official purposes as well
- Electricity Bills
- Office Vehicles
- Phone Bills
- Government cars with red lights?
- Study leave of 2-4 years in a foreign university, expenses of which are borne by the Government of India
- Pensions
Of course, the IAS/IPS/IRS post needs rewards for all the hard work they do for the country.
The government should pay them well to have a decent living, but the perks and allowances should never be the attraction for aiming for Civil Services.
As the name suggests, it is a service for the nation.