Constituted in the year 1961 to have an organized Group ‘A’ Service consisting of a specialized cadre of officers, trained in economic analysis, policy formulation and its implementation.

The IES officers are supposed to execute:

• Economic advice
• Economic administration
• Implementation of development programmes
• Economic reforms
• Regulation
• Price fixation
• Monitoring and evaluation

The IES is managed by its Cadre Controlling Authority in the Department of Economic Affairs. The Cadre Controlling Authority is advised by the high-level Indian Economic Service Board, headed by the Cabinet Secretary.

Educational Qualification: Post Graduate Degree from a recognised university in Economics/Applied Economics/Business Economics/Econometrics.           

Age Limit: 21-30 years on 1st January of the year of Examination

Examination Pattern: The examination is conducted in two phases- written examination and viva voce. The written examination carries total marks of 1000 and the viva voce is of 200 marks.

Part I: Comprises of the written examination. The subjects included in the written examination are as follows:

• General English
• General Studies
• General Economics-I
• General Economics-II
• General Economics-III
• Indian Economics

All these papers are of duration of 3 hours each. All of them, except English, carry a total of 200 marks. English carries a total of 100 marks. All the questions in all of the papers mentioned above are essay type i.e. conventional types. The questions are all set in English and are to be answered in English only.

Part II:

Viva Voce : The written exam is followed by an interview. Successful candidates in the written exam are interviewed by efficient interviewers. They try to assess the candidate’s skill not only in academics but also in his social sphere. They try to find out whether the candidate is suitable for the post or not. The successful candidates are then appointed for training and are then given the suitable post in suitable department.