Civil services mains season begins; are IPS, IRS preferred over Foreign Service?

An UPSC aspirant in the world of glamour

IN THIS season of UPSC mains exam which is being conducted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), a number of newspaper articles have captured the mood of Indian youth who are still charmed by career bureaucrats. As a national newspaper quoting a joint secretary level officer working in home ministry, has elaborated, the…
number of applicants for the UPSC has risen even as the character of the services has changed from an authoritative bureaucrat system to a more citizen-friendly approach. Significantly, the Indian youth is no longer wooed to the UPSC bandwagon merely because bureaucracy is associated with symbols of power and influence.
GSG Ayyangar, a 1987 batch Manipur-Tripura cadre IAS, has said in a newspaper article how there has been a shift of preference of services during the last 10 to 15 years. Earlier, many young Indians wanted to be career diplomats mainly because of global exposure that comes along. But now, youths prefer Indian Police Service and Indian Revenue Service over IFS. For the record, Ayyangar is an agricultural scientist with a doctorate degree on entomology or the study of insects, before joining the IAS.
Even after twenty one years of economic liberalization and resurgence of private sector, civil services have not lost its celebrity status. Actress Spoorthi of Bodyguard’ fame, as quoted by a newspaper from the south, said recently that she is now preparing for UPSC alongside her busy schedule of shooting both Kannada and Tamil movies.
Will Spoorthi succeed, and move to Mussorie in a non-filmy avtaar?

Action and Appointments
a) The deputation tenure of Daljit Singh Chawdhary, a 1990 batch UP cadre IPS and private secretary to coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal, has been extended for a period of three months beyond September 4, 2012. The office memorandum towards this was issued on September 27, 2012.
b) Vivekanand, 1996-batch Chhattisgarh cadre IPS, has joined as DIG in the country’s elite force, Special Protection Group (SPG). A product of Delhi University, Vivekanand was SP in Bilaspur district before joining state intelligence bureau.