The Indian Economic Service (abbreviated as IES, I.E.S.) is an inter-ministerial and inter-departmental central civil service under Group A of the

executive branch The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law. Function The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In ...

of the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

. The unique aspect of the service is that the cadre posts are spread across various departments and ministries of central government numbering more than 55. It is a highly specialised and professional service within the Government of India catering to economic analysis and policy advice.

History

The Indian Economic Service was introduced by

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

for formulating and implementing economic policies and programmes in India. The initial steps towards formation of service can be traced to 1952. A Committee under V. T. Krishnamachari submitted a report in September 1953, recommending the formation of a service to be known as the Statistical and Economic Advisory Service. On the contrary, Prasanta Mahalanobis did not favour the idea of a combined Statistical and Economic Advisory Service. The Cabinet in its meeting held on 12 February 1958 decided that two separate services should be formed; a Statistical Service and other an Economic Service. The Indian Economic Service was constituted on 1 November 1961 and the Service Rules were notified on the same date. The actual operationalization of service took place in 1964. Until 2009, the post of Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India was a

Union Public Service Commission The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is a constitutional body tasked with recruiting officers for All India Services and the Central Civil Services (Group A and B) through various standardized examinations. In 2023, 1.3 million applica ...

appointment and until the 1970s almost all CEAs were members of the Indian Economic Service.

Recruitment

The UPSC conducts a separate Economics Service exam. The minimum eligibility criterion is a post graduate degree in Economics and allied subjects.

Various Grades in the IES

Training

The direct recruits undergo a comprehensive probationary training comprising various phases ranging from Foundation Course (along with All India Services and Central Civil Services) to Applied Economics at the

Institute of Economic Growth The Institute of Economic Growth (IEG) is an autonomous, multidisciplinary Centre for advanced research and training. Established in 1958, its faculty of about 23 social scientists (economists, demographers and sociologists) and a large body of su ...

(IEG). The training programme also comprises various attachments with institutions of repute all across the country. The training course also has international attachment with Civil Service College, Singapore.

Notable members

* I. G. Patel – 14th governor of

Reserve Bank of India Reserve Bank of India, abbreviated as RBI, is the central bank of the Republic of India, and regulatory body responsible for regulation of the Indian banking system and Indian rupee, Indian currency. Owned by the Ministry of Finance (India), Min ...

Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (26 September 1932 – 26 December 2024) was an Indian economist, bureaucrat, academician, and statesman, who served as the prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He was the fourth longest-serving prime minister after Jaw ...

- Economic advisor, Ministry of Foreign Trade, India (1971–1972) * Montek Singh Ahluwalia - Economic adviser in the Ministry of Finance (1979) * P. N. Dhar - Economic adviser in Prime Minister's Secretariat (1970) * Samar Ranjan Sen – Former executive director of the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

for India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. * R. M. Honavar – 6th Chief Economic Adviser to Government of India * Dr. Sangeeta Verma - Acting Chair & Member,

Competition Commission of India The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is the chief national competition regulator in India. It is a statutory body within the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and is responsible for enforcing the Competition Act, 2002 to promote competition a ...

, Ex- Principal Adviser (Secretary-rank) * R.K. Chandolia - Private secretary to Andimuthu Raja and accused in

2G spectrum case The 2G spectrum case was a political controversy in which politicians and private officials of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition government India were allegedly involved in selling or allotting 122 2G spectrum licenses on conditi ...

References

''Notes''

External links

Indian Economic Service
{{DEFAULTSORT:Economic Service Central Civil Services (India) Economy of India