The Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS) is one of the Group A Central Service of the Government of India (GoI). An IRAS officer is responsible for the Accounts and Financial Management of the Indian Railways.
The recruitment to the body is done through the Civil Services Examination (CSE), which is conducted by Union Public Service Commission every year.
Eligibility Criteria to be an IRAS Officer
- Nationality: The nationality of a candidate should be as follows:
- Indian Citizen
- The subject of Nepal (SoN)
- The subject of Bhutan (SoB)
- A Tibetan refugee who came for the settlement in India.
- Migrant from any of the following countries who came for permanent settlement in India: Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, East African countries of Kenya, etc.
- Educational Qualification of an Ideal candidate: The candidate must hold a Bachelor’s Degree/Any graduation degree from any of the recognized universities, by the UGC or its equivalent.
- Candidates who have appeared before or is to look for the qualifying examination and are waiting for results are also eligible to attend the Preliminary Examination.
- The number of attempts: The number of attempts:
- General candidates (GC): 6 attempts.
- SC&ST: No restriction.
- Other Backward Classes: 9 attempts
Note- For the official notification- Visit this link.
Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS) – Roles
- Maintaining accounts of the Indian Railways (IR).
- Giving financial advice in the matters related to railways.
- Scrutinizing all investment and expenditure proposals of the various departments in railways.
- Preparation of the budget.
- Carrying out annual financial/monetary review.
- Engaging in fundraising and funds collecting management for Railway.
- Maintaining accounts and bookkeeping for railways of India.
- Conducting inventory control and generating reports.
- Settling claims and recovering dues according to the time.
- Accounting Management.
- Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS) officers are also sent on deputation to various PSUs to hold finance portfolios.
Indian Railway Accounts Service – Training of Probationary Officers
- IRAS officers, overall training goes on for approximately for two years.
- The training begins at LBSNAA, Mussoorie and then it continues at National Academy of Indian Railways (NAoIR). Further instruction is conducted in at NADT at Nagpur and NIFM.
- IRAS probationers also go through the 12-week training at IIMs.
Note- For more details – visit UPSC CSE Exam.
Career Prospects
After training, the Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS) team officers can expect their career to start and grow professionally in the below-mentioned areas:
- At Zonal Levels – Chief Account Officers (CAO) and Financial Advisors (FA).
- At Division Level – Divisional Finance Manager (DFM)
- Under Divisional Railway Manager (UDRM) and General Manager (GM) – Inducted as Account Officers and Executives.
- The highest allocated position for IRAS Cadre is the Financial Commissioner.
Organization
The Financial Commissioner (FC) for Railways represents the Ministry of Finance on the Railway Board and also functions ex-officio as Secretary to GoI in the Ministry of Railways in commercial areas. In this capacity, he is a lodge with full powers to sanction Railway expenditure subject to the general control of the Finance Minister.
He has direct contact with the Finance Minister whom he keeps informed of developments in the Ministry of Railways. Organizational structure, further, varies as per the working at Railway board, Zonal level and divisional level.
Grades & Pay Scales
This Group “A” civil service of UPSC and it is one the most crucial factor in the smooth functioning of Indian Railways. Below table gives details on grade and pays scale of IRAS Cadre–
Grade | Designation in Ministries | Designation on Railways | Pay Scale |
Junior Time Scale | – | Assistant Financial Advisor/ Assistant Divisional Financial Manager/ Assistant Workshop Accounts Officer/ Assistant Financial Advisor (Traffic)/ Assistant Electronic Data Processing Manager | Rs.15,600-39100 + Grade Pay Rs.5400 |
| Senior Time Scale | Deputy Director in GOI | Senior Assistant Financial Advisor/ Divisional Financial Manager/ Workshop Accounts Officer/ Senior Assistant Financial Advisor/ Electronic Data Processing Manager/ Senior System Analyst/ Deputy Director (Railway Board) | Rs.15,600-39,100 + Grade Pay Rs.6600 |
Junior Administrative Grade | Deputy Secretary in GOI | Deputy Financial Advisor & Chief Accounts Officer/ Senior Electronic Data Processing Manager/ Joint Director (Railway Board) | Rs.15,600-39,100 + Grade Pay Rs.7600 |
| Selection Grade | Director in GOI | Deputy Financial Advisor & Chief Accounts Officer/ Director (Railway Board) | Rs.37,400-67,000 + Grade Pay Rs.8700 |
|
Senior Administrative Grade | Joint Secretary to GOI/ Secretary in State Government | Financial Advisor & Chief Accounts Officer/ Executive Director(Railway Board) | Rs.37,400-67,000 + Grade Pay Rs.10,000 |
|
Higher Administrative Grade | Additional Secretary in GOI/ Principal Secretary in State Government | Principal Financial Advisor & Chief Accounts Officer/ Advisor (Railway Board) | Rs.37,400-67,000 + Grade Pay Rs.12,000 |
|
Higher Administrative Grade + | Special Secretary to GOI/ Chief Secretary | General Manager/ Director General/ Additional Member (Railway Board) | Rs.75,500-80,000 |
| Apex | Secretary | Financial Commissioner | 80,000 (fixed) |
Summary/Overview
The Indian Railway Accounts Service is one of the Group A Central Service of the Government of India (GoI). The Officers of this IRAS are responsible for the Accounts and Finance Management of the Indian Railways.
The recruitment to the body is done through the Civil Services Examination (CSE), which is conducted by Union Public Service Commission every year.
Areas covered in this article
- Eligibility Criteria
- Roles and Responsibilities
- Training
- Career prospects
- Salary Overview