PANJIM: It's good if you have a burning desire to help people, and to work for the people. But you don't necessarily have to be Mother Teresa to join the IAS, a top bureaucrat of Goan origin suggested while talking to aspirants interested in this career.
Anthony 'Tino' De Sa, the former Chief Secretary of Madhya Pradesh, is one of only two Goans to have held that post in this large state (after RCVP 'Ron' Noronha, ICS). De Sa has recently retired in Goa. The IAS should hold your interest, not because of its perks, he argued. The reason for wanting to join it should be that development excites you, the bureaucrat-author who has served in prestigious foreign posts, studied in the US, and is a man of many roles, said. De Sa's online talk marked the launch of the Collaborative Learning Cafe, an initiative of the Friends of the Jesuits of the Goa Province. It aims to promote career talks, life-long learning and hobby courses in Goa, which will currently be run online due to the ongoing pandemic. De Sa, the inaugural keynote speaker, gave a talk peppered with his colourful experiences -- reflecting both challenges and optimism. He was a topper at the Jesuit-run St Xavier’s College, Bombay (now Mumbai). The history of the IAS goes back to 1757, when the East India Company won the Battle of Plassey and, with it, the right to collect land revenue ('diwani'), he noted. The ICS (predecessor to the IAS) at one stage would conduct its entrance exams only in Britain. "The fulcrum of the IAS officer was the district," De Sa said. Law and order, land management and administration, and infrastructure development (roads, waterways, railway lines) were the key responsibilities of the ICS officer. But, after Independence, this role had changed, he said. He pointed to strict rules over the political neutrality of the IAS and other civil services. He noted that every IAS, IPS, and forest service officer belongs to some or another State cadre. The Central Government has no IAS cadre of its own. "Your first posting is generally as an SDO (sub-divisional officer). Then you become an Additional Collector. You may be working in Tribal Welfare, you could be a Project Officer-Tribal Welfare. Or a Commissioner of a Municipal Corporation in a city. You can be the CEO of a zilla panchayat. Then you become Collector, After that, you can become Commissioner in various areas...,"; he informed. Once allotted to a State cadre, you need to study the state language. In India, there are 4000 IAS officers. IAS officers monitor what's happening in the field, they do not rule, but they give advice (which may not be taken). In a democracy, it's not the bureaucracy but the government that rules. What are the challenges of an IAS officer? In a talk laced with humour, De Sa addressed the issue of how non-specialist IAS officers could play a useful role despite being part of a "generalist service”. Besides, he pointed to their overall role of co-ordinating. He outlined his own experiences with a huge pilgrimage. De Sa said getting transferred within the IAS could be a "professional hazard". The IAS officer is not the servant of the minister or of the government, he is a creation and servant of the Constitution, he argued. De Sa argued that the reputation of an IAS officer "precedes". "If IAS officers do their job properly, they also earn respect from politicians," he felt. In the bureaucracy, one has the opportunity to express one's creativity too. The exam for the IAS is not difficult, but the process is, he said. The numbers are a "bit intimidating"; as about 10 lakh apply each year, six lakh take the exam, and only a few hundred get selected. He gave a lot of details of the IAS admission process -- preliminary and final exams, lateral entry, subjects offered, how to prepare, number of attempts available, when to start preparing for the exams, can one prepare without guidance or coaching, and a lot more. Asked what strengths an IAS officer needed, he replied: "Integrity, honesty, a commitment to hard work, a commitment to people and humility... will take you far." The talk can be heard online here http://bit.ly/IAS-talk Currently, another series of talks on an introduction to Konknni by Fr (Dr) Pratap Naik SJ is underway. See https://www.collaborativelearningcafe.org/ ###