An Overview of the Indian Police Service (IPS) in India
The Indian Police Service (IPS) is one of the country’s three all-India services. This service places top officers in police units. By passing the UPSC civil services test and achieving the appropriate rank, you can become an IPS officer and eventually the highest-ranking police official in the country (Director General of Police/DGP).
This page provides a brief history of India’s Indian Police Service which will also help you to understand Indian Police Hierarchy. Interested applicants may go to the IPS Exam page to find out all they need to know about the eligibility, curriculum, exam pattern, and so on.
Aspirants interested in applying for the Indian Police Services Exam can begin their preparations right away by:
An Overview of the Indian Police Service
The British Indian Councils Act of 1861 established a professional police administration in India. This resulted in the establishment of the Superior Police Services (later renamed Indian Imperial Police). The Inspector General oversaw the provincial police administration in this province. Superintendents of Police oversaw the provinces, which were split into districts. The recruiting was done by nomination. This was accomplished in two ways: commanders from the British Army were selected, or younger sons of the British landed nobility were appointed.
Timeline of the Indian Police Service
In 1893, the nomination procedure for recruiting officers was abolished. To select personnel for the Indian Police, a joint competitive test was launched. This test was place in London. In June 1893, the first such test was held, and the top ten candidates on the merit list were selected as probationers in the Indian Imperial Police.
A Police Commission was founded in 1902-03 under Sir Andrew Frazer and Lord Curzon. The Commission suggested that Indians be appointed at the officer level (this was not permitted earlier). Indians, on the other hand, could only advance to the level of Inspector of Police and were not regarded members of the Indian Imperial Police.
From 1920 forward, Indians were permitted to join the Indian Imperial Police, and a competitive examination was given in both London and India.
Officers in this force were instructed to wear the letters “I.P.S.” on their epaulettes beginning in 1907 to identify them from officers who were not recruited through the Secretary of State’s competitive test.
The term “Indian Police Service” first appeared in a report by the Islington Commission in 1917. The name was changed to Indian Police in 1932. The Imperial Police was formally replaced by the Indian Police Service in 1948, when India became independence (IPS).
