Indian Police Service (IPS) – Exam, Age limit, Duties, Responsibilities & Training

In 1948, the British Era Indian(Imperial) Police were replaced The Indian Police Service (IPS) in its modern form came into being. Indian Police Service officers are trained at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy in Hyderabad.

Duties

The Indian Police Service (IPS) comes under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in India.

IPS Officer Duties are as follows

1. Handling Border responsibilities and duties
   • Border policing
   • Counter-terrorism

2. VIP security
3. Railway policing
4. Maintenance of public peace and order
   • Crime prevention
   • The investigation, collection of intelligence and detection

5. Anti-smuggling and drug trafficking|
6. Tackle Economic Offence
   • Corruption in public life
7. Disaster management
   • Biodiversity and enforcement of environmental laws etc.
8. Higher-level posts in the Indian Intelligence Agencies(IIA)
   • CBI
   • IB
   • R&AW
   • CID

9. Implementation of socio-economic legislation
10. Commanding and Leading the Indian Federal Law Enforcement Agencies
    • Civil (IFLEAC) and Armed Police Forces (APF) in all the union territories and states
    • CAPF – Central Armed Police Forces
      • CPO – Central Police Organization’s
      • CPF – Central Paramilitary Forces
        • BSF
        • NSG
        • CISF
        • ITBP
        • CRPF
11. Interact and coordinate closely with
    • All India Services (AIS)
    • The Indian Army in general
12. Serve as HoDs in policymaking.
    • The Ministries and Departments of Central Government (CGCG) and State Governments (SGSG)
    • Public sector undertakings (PSUs).

Roles and responsibilities

The Indian Police Service (IPS) comes under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

Roles and responsibilities of IPS officers are as follows:

1. Handling Border responsibilities and duties
   • Border policing
   • Counter-terrorism
2.  VIP security
3. Railway policing
4. Maintenance of public peace and order
   • Crime prevention
   • The investigation, collection of intelligence and detection
5. Anti-smuggling and drug trafficking
6. Tackle Economic Offence
   • Corruption in public life
7. Disaster management
   • Biodiversity and enforcement of environmental laws etc.
8. Higher-level posts in the Indian Intelligence Agencies(IIA)
   •  CBI
   •  IB
   •  R&AW
   • CID
9. Implementation of socio-economic legislation
10. Commanding and Leading the Indian Federal Law Enforcement Agencies
    • Civil and Armed Police Forces in all the union territories and states
    • CAPF – Central Armed Police Forces
      • CPO – Central Police Organization’s
      • CPF – Central Paramilitary Forces
        •  BSF
        •  NSG
        •  CISF
        •  ITBP
        • CRPF
11. Interact and coordinate closely with
    • All India Services
    • The Indian Army and Armed Forces in general
12. Serve as HoDs in policymaking
    • The Ministries and Departments of Central and State Governments
    • Public sector undertakings (PSUs).

Cadre Allocation

The allocation of cadre is done based on their rank, availability of vacancy and their preferences. The Indian Police Service(IPS) cadres are grouped into five zones:

Zone	Number of Cadres	IPS Cadres
I	7	AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and UTs) Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Uttarakhand Punjab Rajasthan Haryana
II	4	Uttar Pradesh Bihar Jharkhand Odisha
III	4	Gujarat Maharashtra Madhya Pradesh Chhattisgarh
IV	6	West Bengal Sikkim Assam-Meghalaya Manipur Tripura Nagaland
V	5	Telangana Andhra Pradesh Karnataka Tamil Nadu Kerala

IPS Training

For the IPS officers, the training or probationary period is of almost two years. The first part of the Course is of three months’ duration and is common to all the new UPSC CSE recruits. Training is done with the IAS at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Missouri. From Missouri, they all go for Bharat Darshan with other services in the groups.

In India, most All India Services Officers of the premier civil services of the country are selected through competitive Civil Services Exam (CSE) administered by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). All trainees are equal as they attend the four-month Foundation Course at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA).

Training Schedule

• Foundation Course at LBSNAA, Mussoorie – 3 months
• Phase 1 training at NPA, Hyderabad – 1 year
• District Practical Training in respective cadre – 6 months
• Phase 2 training at NPA, Hyderabad – 1 month

The Phase 1 training lasting for 11 months, also known as the Basic Course, is the primary training where a successful civil service candidate is transformed into a dynamic IPS officer ready to take up a spectrum of challenges offered by policing in India ranging from sophisticated metropolitan policing to counter-insurgency policing in the dense jungles of the hinterland.

Apart from the district training for Indian Police Service officers, there are different indoor and outdoor subjects.

Compulsory Outdoor Subjects

• Physical Fitness – This includes daily PT, athletics, sports, Gymnasium, cross country races up to 20 km.
• Weapons Training – Assembling/Disassembling, Handling and Firing of following weapons
  • Revolver
  • 9 mm Pistol
  • 9mm Glock
  • 9 mm MP5 sub-machinegun
  • 9mm carbine
  • .303′ rifle
  • SLR – 7.62 mm
  • INSAS – 5.56 mm
  • AK 47 – 7.62 mm
  • 7.62 mm Bren Light Machine Gun
  • 51 mm mortar
  • Hand – Grenades
• Firing of Sniper Rifles, Corner Shot, MP9Drill – Drills and Parade
• Field Craft and Tactics and Map-reading – This includes theoretical, demo and drills of ambush setting, counter-ambush maneuvers, use of terrain for tactical movement, setting up Counter-insurgency camps, Route marches up to 40 km with full battle-load, Map-reading, movement with and without the aid of GPS, handling explosives, etc.
• Assault Training
• Rock Climbing
• Unarmed combat – grueling sessions
• First Aid
• Basic Swimming
• Equitation (Horse Riding) – often terrifying, some probationers also suffer spinal fractures due to falls from horses.

Compulsory Indoor Subjects

• The detailed study of the Criminal Procedure Code, the Indian Penal Code, Indian Evidence Act and numerous other special laws like NDPS, PoCA, etc.
• Theoretical and Hands-on training for conducting investigations
• Theoretical and Hands-on training for Forensic Science
• Study of Forensic Medicine
• Crime Prevention and Criminology
• Maintenance of Public Peace and Order (Study, demo, drills)
• Internal Security
• Police Leadership and Management
• Ethics and Human Rights
• Information and Communication Technology

Outdoor subjects	Marks Allotted
Drill (comprising of Ceremonial Drill and Sword Drill)	100
Drill (comprising of Ceremonial Drill and Sword Drill)	80
Equitation	40
Field Craft Tactics and Map Reading	200
First Aid and Ambulance Drill	20
Physical Fitness	80
Swimming	25
Unarmed Combat	30
Yoga	25

Indoor subjects	Marks Allotted
Police in Modern India	75
Indian Evidence Act, 1872	100
Indian Penal Code, 1860	100
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973	100
Special Laws	50
Crime Prevention & Criminology	75
Investigation-I	75
Investigation -II	75
Forensic Medicine	50
Forensic Science (Theory & Practical)	75
Maintenance of Public Peace and Order	75
Internal Security	75
Police Leadership and Management	100
Ethics and Human Rights	75
Information & Communication Technology

For more detailed information, please visits the official site –  https://www.upsc.gov.in/.

Optional Subjects

• Police Telecommunications and Control Room Operations
• Motor Mechanism and Driving
• Hindi in Devanagari Script
• Regional Languages depending on the candidate’s cadre

Apart from all the above, candidates are also given a detailed demo and hands-on training on etiquette, adventure sports, conduct rules, etc. 

You have to report down outside IPS mess for fall-in (i.e. reporting into your respective groups or squads as we call it) at 5:25. So you get up accordingly. IPS Officers have to shave every day. That’s the one thing checked daily- Girls have to tie their hair into a bun and wear a mesh on the bread.

Daily different outdoor activities are held in the morning, like running/pt. On one day, horse riding on another, drill/parade on another, etc. You get free around 7:30 am- You get fresh and have (a substantial) breakfast then.

Indoor classes start from 9-1:30 pm on various subjects like CrPC, IPC, Evidence Act, Ethics, Management, etc.

• Lunch break from 1:30-3.
• Then outdoors again from 3-4:40.
• Then 15 min break to change.
• Then games till 5:30.

Note: In summers, the post-lunch schedule is delayed by an hour because of heat. Once you are allotted your cadres, you have to attend language classes during the lunch break.

Other Tasks and Responsibilities

• On Saturdays, you have half a day with no outdoors. You have to do Swacch Bharat work on Saturday morning.
• There are formal dinners with senior faculty at times which extend up to 10-11 pm.
• There are attachments to various places like Mussoorie for ITBP, Indore for BSF, etc.
• Also, there are attachments for learning elections etc. where you visit the place where votes are going on.
• Also, you have to have a minimum attendance of 90% indoors and 95% outdoors to write exams. So, you cover up any missed classes on Saturday/Sunday.
• Two weeks Bharat Darshan is also there where you visit some states.
• There’s a specific time beyond which you cannot remain outside the academy.
• IPS Officers don’t get to take leave quickly except in exceptional circumstances.
• Sunday is a holiday – but it is also taken up at times as some personality might not be able to give time otherwise.

Summary/Overview

The Indian Police Service (IPS) is one of the three major All India Services established under the Constitution of India. The elite Indian Police Service officers are high ranked personnel who offer leadership to Police forces both at the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and in the State police machinery.