Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS) - Eligibility Criteria, Responsibilities And Salary

The Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS) is ‘Group A’ services functioning under the Department of Expenditure in the Union Ministry of Finance. ICAS was created in 1976 to provide auditing and accounting services to the Government of India. It is headed by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), functions through Indian Civil Accounts Organization. In civil ministries of the Union Government, this organization performs government-wide accounting, provides payment services, financial reporting functions, supports the tax collection system, budget estimates preparation and carries out Internal Audit.

Indian Civil Accounts Service Eligibility Criteria

The eligibility criteria for Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS) is the same as for other civil services Exam:

Nationality: Candidate must be either:

a citizen of India,
a subject of Nepal,
a subject of Bhutan, or
Must be an origin migrated PoI from- Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, Malawi, Zaire and Vietnam, etc. intended to settle permanently in India.

The candidates those who belong to categories (2nd), (3rd), (4th) and (5th) should provide a certificate of eligibility issued by the GoI. Such candidates/individuals may take the exam before getting the certificate of eligibility. Still, only after the Government of India has published the document, he/she would get the offer of appointment.

2. Educational Qualification:

Minimum qualification for Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS) exam: The candidate must hold a Bachelor’s degree from Government recognised Universities or possess an equivalent qualification.
Candidates in their final year and yet to appear for a final exam or those waiting for the results are also eligible to appear for UPSC preliminary Examination. All such candidates must produce proof of having passed the said examination along with the application for the mains exam.
Candidates with professional and technical qualifications in the required stream recognized by the GoI or equivalent are also eligible to apply.
Aspirants who have passed the final year of MBBS or any Medical Examination, but are yet to complete their internship can also appear for the examination. Although, they must submit the certificate of course completion (including internship) from the concerned authority of the University/Institution along with the Main Examination application.

3. Age Limit:

The candidate should be a minimum of 21 years old as on August 1 2021 (for UPSC CSE 2021) and maximum 32 years as on August 1 2020.

Age Limit is essential in the Eligibility criteria. Therefore, candidates those who are applying for UPSC Exam should properly check the details before filling the online application form.

The UPSC CSE 2021 (ICAS Exam) will be held in three stages:

Preliminary Exam
Main Exam
Personality Test

Once the candidates clear the civil services exam, they get allotment to the service as per his/her rank and has to undergo specific training. ICAS has a three-stage training programme-

ICAS officers must undergo initial training at the National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM), Faridabad for six months. This also includes a foreign country exposure tour. NIFM offers the candidates a post-graduate (PG) diploma in public financial management.
The second stage of the training phase is conducted at the Institute of Government Accounts and Finance (INGAF)
The third stage of training is On the Job Training (OJT) in one of the 87 Pay & Accounts offices spread throughout the country, and candidates were also sent abroad for the training.

Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS) Roles and Responsibilities

To strengthen governance/administration is the primary task of an Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS) officer through brilliance in financial management.

Development of systems, processes and forms related to accounts of the states and Union of India.
Optimization and Framing of rules, manuals and procedures for accounting and payments according to Government Accounting Rules, 1990.
Reconciliation and Monitoring cash balances of the Government of India(GoI) with the Reserve Bank of India(RBI).
Preparing monthly and annual accounts statements along with the periodic audits of revenue, borrowings and deficits.
Management accounting systems coordination in Civil Ministries along with implementing and developing human resource augmentation programmes for the allied organizations.

Indian Civil Accounts Organization (ICAO) performs important tasks of consolidating the reporting and accounting functions for the entire non-tax and tax receipts of the Government. With a network of 28,000 branches of 29 scheduled commercial banks, the organization manages around 90 % of the country’s budget of the receipts and payment functions.

Grades, Pay Scales of Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS) Officers

Grade/Post	Basic Pay Level
Assistant Controller of Accounts	Rs.56100
Assistant Controller General of Accounts/ Deputy Controller of Accounts	Rs.67700 – Rs.78800
Deputy Controller General of Accounts/ Controller of Accounts	Rs.118500- Rs.144200
Joint Controller General of Accounts/ Chief Controller of Accounts	Rs.182200
Principal Chief Controller of Accounts	Rs.205400
Additional Controller General of Accounts	Rs.225000
Controller General of Accounts	Rs.250000

Note- for more details, please visit the official UPSC website- https://www.upsc.gov.in/.

Summary/Overview

Areas covered in this article

Overview of the profile/role
Eligibility criteria
Roles & Responsibilities
Grade system & Pay Scale
Destination and No. of posts included in various grades

P.S. You can check the official UPSC ICAS Exam notification with the help of below-mentioned link- https://www.upsc.gov.in/exams-related-info/exam-notification.