THE INDIAN POLICE SERVICE

The Indian Police Service, simply known as Indian Police or IPS, is one of the three All India Services of the Government of India; other two being Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Forest Service (IFS).

In 1948, a year after India gained independence from Britain, the Imperial Police (IP) was replaced by the Indian Police Service (IPS).

Examination and training

To serve in the Indian Police Service one has to pass the Civil Services Examination or elevated from the state cadre, which is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission, every year. This examination is a common examination conducted for selection to the other one of the other All India Services, viz. the Indian Administrative Service, as well as various other Group A and Group B services under the Central Government. (The recruitment examination for the third All India Service- the Indian Forest Service- is conducted separately by the UPSC.) This examination consists of three stages.

At stage one, there is an objective type examination called the Preliminary examination. This is a qualifying examination and only the candidates who clears this can appear for the next stage called the Main examination. In the Main examination each candidate has to select two optional subjects, apart from which all candidates have to take a General Studies, Essay and compulsory language exam. The Main examination is a very intensive subjective type examination for which marks are awarded.

A shortlist is prepared on the basis of the Main examination and these candidates can compete in the third and final stage of exam called the Viva voce or the Interview. The marks of the Main examination and the Interview are combined to prepare a final merit list of selected candidates. The officers of the Indian Police Service (IPS) are trained mainly at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy in the city of Hyderabad.