The civil service is the executive agency or the action arm of the state. This book discusses the inception, development, and the role of the higher civil services—the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and its allied services. Highlighting the nature and the variety of challenges that a developing democracy offers civil servants, the book outlines: # the strategic positions members of the civil service occupy in all sectors of the government; # how they execute laws and implement policies and decisions of the government; # how their decisions influence the lives of all sections of society; and # the importance of a civil service system that strengthens the government’s partnership with private organizations.