The Indian Economic Service (IES) is an organized Group ‘A’ Central Service.

The IES was constituted in 1961 with the objective of institutionalising a core professional capacity within the Government to undertake economic analysis and render advice for designing and formulating development policies, strengthening delivery systems, and monitoring and evaluating the public programmes. With the initiation of large-scale economic reforms in 1991 and the proliferation of the regulatory role of the government, such analysis and advice within the domain of the service has increased manifold.

A distinguishing feature of the service is that its Cadre posts are spread across different Ministries/ Departments of the Central Government, numbering around 55.

The service is, therefore, an inter-Ministerial and inter-Departmental service. The posts are primarily located in Ministries/ Departments dealing with economic and social sectors. Even within organizations that account for a large proportion of its Cadre posts, like the Planning Commission, IES officers posted therein serve in a diverse range of subject areas, such as finance, social sector, rural development, education, health, agriculture, industry, trade, transport, and information technology. IES officers are, thus, exposed to development issues in diverse sectors and contribute to policy-making in the Central Government over the entire span of their service career. With the economic reforms having transformed the nature and domain of economic policy-making in the country, the IES, as a service, provides a pool of in-house economic expertise that is well placed to meet the growing demand for analytical economic inputs for policy-making in the government.

Indian Economic Services (IES) is an all India competitive examination conducted by UPSC to be placed in the Planning Commission, Planning Board, Ministry of Economic Affairs, and National Sample Survey and other allied offices and departments that need specialists on economics and statistics. A candidate for the Indian Economic Service must have obtained a Post-graduate degree in Economics/Applied Economics/Business Economics/ Econometrics from a University incorporated by an Act of the Central or State Legislature in India. The service conditions (pay scales, perks etc) offered by IES are similar to other Central Civil Services. The places of posting are usually in the State capitals or New Delhi.