The UPSC conducts the combined civil services exam, to recruit officers into Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Revenue Service (IRS), Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS), etc. The services are divided into All India services and Central services. The Central services are further divided into Group 'A' services and Group 'B' services.
All India service officers i.e., IAS and IPS officers are given state cadres after the selection. The cadre controlling authority of IAS is Ministry of Personnel and Public Grievances, Government of India. The IPS cadre is controlled by Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Overall, the IAS plays a major role in administering the country and runs the governance of the country from the small administrative unit called district to the Centre.