ICAS Full Form, Duties, Eligibility Criteria, Training & More

ICAS full form is the Indian Civil Accounts Service; it functions under the Department of Expenditure of the Union Ministry of Finance. ICAS was first created in the year 1976 in order to provide auditing and accounting services to the Indian Government. 

The main objective of the ICAS department is to conduct government-wide accounting, financial reports, tax collection system, payment services, and budget estimated preparation along with internal audits. 

Duties and responsibilities:

  • The Indian Civil Accounts Service has to strengthen governance and administration through financial management skills.
  • To develop the systems and processes related to accounts of the Union and States of India.
  • One of the main objectives and duties of ICAS UPSC is to optimize and frame rules, make manuals, and plan procedures related to accounting and payments which coincides with Government Accounting Rules, 1990.
  • To reconcile and monitor the cash balances of the Indian Government with RBI (Reserve Bank of India).
  • ICAS has to prepare annual and monthly accounts statements; apart from this it also conducts periodic audits of revenue, deficits, and borrowings.
  • Apart from the above responsibilities ICAS also manages accounts of Civil Ministries along with the implementation and development of human resource augmenting programs for allied organizations. 

Eligibility Criteria:

The conditions of eligibility for the Indian Civil Accounts Service are almost the same as those of the other Civil services departments. The candidate must be a citizen of India; he must be a graduate of a recognized university. The minimum age limit of the aspirant should be 22 years and the maximum years must be 30 years. 

Once the aspirant is selected by the UPSC board he is given training according to the post he is allotted. The intensity of the training depends on the rank and grade he gets in the examination. 

Training:

ICAS training is offered at various places across India, the candidates are required to take up the training classes for almost 10 months at the National Institute of Financial Management. This institute is located in Faridabad and is very famous for ICAS training. The other academy where the candidates are trained is located in Nagpur, the National Academy of Direct Taxes. 

Once the training period is completed the candidates are given a graduation diploma in Public Financial Management. After the set of pieces of training and appreciation, the officer is then transferred to the Institute of Government Accounts and Finance. 

The next step involves giving the candidates on-the-job training in several departments. Willing candidates are also given a chance to travel abroad for training from different countries. 

Functions:

ICAS stands for Indian Civil Accounts Service and its primary function is to conduct important tasks like consolidation of accounts and preparing reports for tax and non-tax receipts of the government. This management covers all the branches across India. We will discuss a few functions in detail below:

  • ICAS functions on developing and implementing policies to make sure accuracy in their work. They submit all the receipts to the government starting from the initial deposit and final credit. 
  • The organization is responsible for the accounting and disbursement of pension payments to government employees. These employees also include Civil Ministries such as the Prime Minister and President of India. 
  • The Controller General of Accounts is also responsible for consolidating the annual and monthly accounts of the Union Government.

The Indian civil accounts service salary mostly depends on the experience of the candidate and the post allotted to the officer. Considering the duties and responsibilities of the ICAS officer, the salary and benefits given are worth the job title. 

Posts Offered:

The Officers of ICAS are allowed to report as the Assistant Controller of Accounts across all the ministries related to the Indian Government. After the promotion is done from junior level to senior levels, the officers will be then appointed as the Deputy Controller of Accounts.

As and when the promotion takes place the officers of ICAS will eventually climb the ladder of administration roles such as the Chief Controller of Accounts.

Examination and Preparation:

The examination for the ICAS post is the same as the other Civil Service posts, the examination is conducted by the UPSC. The exam requires thorough preparation and commitment by the candidate. There are plenty of aspirants who appear for the civil service exam every year.

The exam is conducted in three phases such as- preliminary, main, and interview process.

However, in the preliminary examination, the candidate is given some leverage to score marks that will be added to the final total. The Mains exam is considered the toughest one where the skills of the candidate will be examined.

In the Interview, the panel members will interact with the aspirant and decide if he or she is suitable for the post applied. Once the candidate clears all three phases he will be selected and appointed as the ICAS officer.