Union Public Service Commission’s (UPSC) Indian Administrative Service (IAS) exam is considered to be one of the toughest exams in India, thus it is called as ‘Mother of all exams. There are very obvious reasons for considering it so some of them can be the preparation level it requires is very tough, so much so that some of the aspirants are seen to be preparing this exam soon after their matriculation, some prepare after their 12^th Exam and many starts preparing during their graduation by using the library facilities provided by the concerned universities. Successful candidates become bureaucrats in this country who are literally the ‘Civil Servants’ and are called the ‘Steel Pillars’ of this country. Thus it is not surprising to see so many applications for this exam, wherein success ratio is very low to an extent of less than 1 percent of the lakhs of applicants who make this exam very competitive. This race is merely for some seats roughly around 15,000 who are selected for next round and finally around 1000 applicants are selected in the service of Indian administration.

Rigorous preparation is the hallmark of this exam, one must plan his/her strategy read necessary books, take proper guidance, take mock tests to be an IAS, IPS (Indian Police Service), IFS (Indian Foreign Service), IRS (Indian Revenue Service) etc. There are many motivating factors for dreaming to clear this exam and has attracted a large number of graduate to prepare for this exam, making it a highly competitive exam in this country. Nonetheless, it is not everyone’s cup of tea to even constantly prepare for the exam with dedication and with patience; very few have these qualities in them.

That apart, running a district requires more than this, it requires more than just some degrees, the intelligence and hard work applied in clearing the exam. It is not just passing this test conducted by UPSC. There are many more qualities required to work as an officer and to handle the responsibility given to that particular officer, top ten qualities required by an IAS officer are as follows:

1. He must have Leadership qualities: An AS officer has to deal with an entire district, thus he has to lead everyone in that particular district by showcasing exceptional leadership qualities in whatsoever decision they are taking or whichever role they are playing. They set an example, an IAS officer becomes a source of inspiration and an idol to followers who admire and follow him in all circumstances.

2. He must possess Administrative qualities: The very name of this post suggests that he is an administrator and is indeed one of the key responsibilities entrusted to him. He has a task of looking after the administration of his district from bigger offices to smaller which matter to his district. A general consensus is built by him to arrive at the decisions he makes by being a fine administrator.

3. He must have Decision Making qualities: He being the administrator of the district as has been mentioned earlier, he is trapped in many dilemmas, some tricky situations, which demand his thought after proper evaluation of the circumstances and the stakeholders involved he has to make the best decision possible and bring everything under control.

4. He must possess Knowledge: It goes without saying that when an officer has to make very important decisions he has to have a great amount of knowledge with him. Decisions cannot be arrived at without proper knowledge of all the aspects an IAS officer is dealing with. The right set of knowledge is need of this post not just implement various policies and programs of the government but also to come up with innovative ways to implement them, escalating the issues faced at ground level while implementing programmes and to make suggestions to higher authorities.

5. He must Work Hard with Commitment: Working hard for the preparation of this exam is altogether different than working hard on the field after clearing this exam. What awaits after clearing this exam is the task of administering an area which demands funds for development, requires proper plans, the right set of knowledge, and enforce laws and this all requires a high level of commitment and an extreme level of hard work.

6. He must be Honest: Honesty is the best policy, it is reiterated all times. It becomes very easy to write essays on this topic to clear this exam if compared with the actual implementation of these principles in one’s life goes very difficult so also any of the government servants finds it difficult to follow it in his real life. There have been many attempts made to eradicate this problem which has been hampering the government sector. Being the powerful authority in the area of administration, it’s an officer’s responsibility to be honest and solve the problems of corruption, a high level of integrity and honesty are the basic requirements of this post.

7. He must have Good Communication Skills: Lack of communication skills may land anyone in trouble, and in case, of this post if it created confusions then it can create bigger problems. Thus an IAS officer gets to deal with dignitaries, high-level officials, officers below his rank and effective communication with them become utmost important. Understanding orders of higher authorities and giving orders to his juniors demands good communication skills.

8. He must Think Out of Box (Reflective Thinking): Reflective thinking is not ordinary thinking; it is where a person thinks something out of the box and comes up with a solution to the problem. The dilemmas and tricky situations faced by an IAS officer ask for reflective thinking for solving the problem by taking care of all stakeholders involved.

9. He must have Exemplary Work Ethics: A leader teaches his followers, he even teaches and inspires by his ethical code of conduct. Smaller or bigger all his habits and actions are looked upon as ideal, if an IAS officer misuses anything by virtue of the power granted to him, it is most likely that his juniors follow his footsteps. Not just for juniors but the very post requires him to have exemplary work ethics.

10. He must have High Level of Patriotism: A high level of Patriotism is the essential requirement of this service. Right from the time of the very thought of preparing for this exam to serving as an IAS officer it requires patriotism in an IAS officer. Without patriotism an IAS officer cannot do justice to his post, all his actions are guided by patriotism, if there’s lack of patriotism then there is a lack of interest in serving people, in solving the problems, or in the will to do something for this nation.

Therefore, irrespective of what his personal beliefs or notions are if he lacks in any of these qualities he shouldn’t have opted to choose this field of service. Keeping these ideas in mind is one thing and implementing them in real life on the field is another and becomes very difficult. It requires guts to adhere to these qualities and implement them while working. Only those aspirants having these qualities need to proceed to prepare for this exam otherwise, there are other options available in this country.

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