Indian Telecommunication Service
 National Emblem | |||||||||||
| Service Overview | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbreviation | I.T.S. | ||||||||||
| Formed | 1965 | ||||||||||
| Country |  India | ||||||||||
| Training centre | National Telecom Academy and Advance Level Telecommunication Training Centre(ALTTC) | ||||||||||
| Controlling Authority | Department of Telecommunications under Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (India) | ||||||||||
| Cadre Size | 2500 Posts | ||||||||||
| Cadre Controlling Authority | |||||||||||
| Member Services Current: S.C.Mishra | |||||||||||
The Indian Telecommunications Service, widely known as ITS, and earlier known as 'Telegraph Engineering Service Class I'(TES Class I)is an organised civil service of Government of India.[1] The appointment to this service is done through Combined Engineering Services exam held every year by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) of India. ITS is a Group 'A' Central Civil Service(Gazetted) post of the Union of India. The service was created to meet the technical and managerial functions of the government in areas related to telecommunications.The Department of Telecommunications (DOT) had been run for years by this permanent cadre of technical civil servants called the Indian Telecom Service (ITS).
The officers of ITS are working in senior management and administrative positions in the Department of Telecommunications (DOT),Telecom Enforcement Resource and Monitoring (TERM Cells), Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL), Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL), Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), Unique Identification Authority of India (UID), Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) etc. At present, ITS officers are also working in many other central and state government assignments on deputation.
Recruitment and induction
A competitive examination called combined engineering services examination is conducted by the UPSC for recruitment to the ITS. Recruitment to Group A and Group B Services/Posts are made under the following categories of Engineering:
- I. Civil Engineering
- II. Mechanical Engineering
- III. Electrical Engineering
- IV. Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering
Appointments to ITS are made in category IV, i.e., Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering.
Training
After recruitment through Combined Engineering Services Examination, the officers undergo a two years course at Advanced level telecommunication training centre (ALTTC),[2] Ghaziabad and Bharatratna Bhimrao Ambedkar institute of telecom training (BRBRAITT),Jabalpur[3] for management and telecommunications engineering. The officers are also deputed for on job field training in various areas.The ITS officers were trained at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) until 1980...
Department of Telecommunication has set up a new training centre named as "National Telecommunicatios Institute for Policy Research, Innovation and Training" at Ghaziabad for its officers belonging to technical cadre i.e. ITS and TES.At present, this institute functions under the supervision of Telecommunication Engineering Center,New Delhi.[4]
Appointments and responsibilities
As in the other Central Services, the officers are liable to be transferred and posted in anywhere in India. The officers of ITS work in the DOT, TRAI, TDSAT, BSNL, MTNL,Ministry of Home Affairs,UID,Ministry of Power,Department of Pharmaceuticals, Department of Defence, National Highway Authority of India, RITES, IRCON,TCIL,UPSC,SSC and various other Ministries and Statutory bodies of India.
The following officers of ITS are currently working in high positions:
- S.C Mishra, Member Services, Department of Telecommunication, Ministry of Communication and IT[5]
- Anil Kaushal, Member Technology, Department of Telecommunication, Ministry of Communication and IT[5]
- R. K. Arnold, Member, TRAI[6]
- Rajeev Agrawal, Secretary, TRAI[7]
- R. K. Upadhyay, Chairman and Managing Director, BSNL[8]
- A. K. Garg, Chairman and Managing Director, MTNL[9]
- R. K. Agrawal, Director, BSNL[8]
- R. Wadhawa, Director, BSNL
- A. N. Rai, Director, BSNL
- K. Singh, Director, MTNL
- S. P. Pachauri, Director, MTNL
- Vimal Wakhloo, Chairman and Managing Director, TCIL
- V. K. Sharma, Director, TCIL
- M K Shedha, Chief General Manager, Centre for Excellence in Telecom Technology and Management (CETTM)
- A.K Mittal, Senior DDG, Telecommunication Engineering Center, Department of Telecommunication.
Present(2013) cadre strength in different time scales is given below:
| Grade | Position in the Central Government | Strength |
|---|---|---|
| Apex Scale | Member (equivalent to Secretary) | 2 |
| Higher Administrative Grade+ (HAG+) | Advisor (equivalent to Additional Secretary) | 1 |
| Higher Administrative Grade (HAG) | Senior Deputy Director General (Sr. DDG)/Chief General Manager | 34 |
| Senior Administrative Grade (SAG) | Deputy Director General (DDG)/General Manager(equivalent to Joint Secretary) | 615 |
| Junior Administrative Grade (JAG) | Director/Deputy General Manager (equivalent to Deputy Secretary) | 914 |
| Senior time Scale (STS) | Assistant Director General (ADG) (equivalent to Under Secretary) | 151 |
| Junior time Scale (JTS) | Assistant Divisional Engineer (ADET) | 156 |
Cadre controlling authority
Member (Services), Telecom Commission of India is cadre controlling authority of ITS, Group A. Member(Services)is ex officio Secretary to Government of India. S. C. Misra is currently working as Member(Services), Department of Telecom, Government of India[10]
Indian Telecom Service Association
The officers of ITS are represented by the Indian Telecom Service Association in different forums. Shakeel Ahmed and Harsh Vardhan Singh are currently president and secretary, respectively.[11]
Honours
Many members of ITS are awarded by many national and international organisations for their significant contributions.Few of them are enlisted below,
1.Shri G.B. Meemasi was the first ITS to receive Padma Shri for his work in Electronic Switching in DOT. He was the founder Director of CDOT and father of RAX.[12] Shri SM Agarwal(Secretary DOT) and Shri P.S. Saran(Member Services) were other subsequent recipients, from ITS.
2. Dr.T.H.Chowdary was awarded the L.V.Ramaiah award in 1989 for distinguished service to society thro’ telecoms.He was conferred a Doctorate (Honoris Causa) by the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad in 1999 for distinguished service to engineering, education & IT services.
Retirements
Present strength of ITS is 1884 as on 04/03/2013. Many ITS officers will be retiring from government service shortly on attaining current superannuation age of 60 years. Year wise retirement position is given below,
| Year | Number of officers retiring |
|---|---|
| 2012 | 44 |
| 2013 | 50 |
| 2014 | 51 |
| 2015 | 56 |
See also
- ITS Officers' Association Official Website
- ITS Officers' Portal
- ITSA Site
- UPSC Official Website
- National Telecom Academy Website
References
- ↑ Notification dated 29 May 1992 published in part II, section 3, sub-section (1) of the gazette of India, Government of India
- ↑ "ALTTC". Alttc.bsnl.co.in. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
- ↑ BRBRAITT
- ↑ TEC
- ↑ 5.0 5.1
- ↑ http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/arnold-selected-as-trai-member-mehrotra-moves-cat/128951/on
- ↑
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "BSNL board of directors".
- ↑ "MTNL board of directors".
- ↑ http://www.dot.gov.in/miscellaneous/member%20(S).pdf
- ↑ "ITSA portal".
- ↑ Saxena, S.D. Chapter 4. Page 77. Connecting India. Konark Publishers Pvt Ltd,Delhi.2009
Further reading
- Connecting India: Indian Telecom Story, by S.D. Saxena. Published by Konark Publishers Pvt Ltd, New Delhi,2009 ISBN 978-81-220-0768-8.
- Indian bureaucracy at the crossroads, by Syamal Kumar Ray. Published by Sterling, 1979.
- Daily Indian Telecom Digest :http://www.newstelecom.info
External links
- MB Athreya,January–February 1996,Chairman of the Telecom Restructuring Committee, Government of India (1990–91).'India's telecommunications policy:A paradigm shift' Telecommunications Policy Volume 20, Issue 1, Pages 11–22
- 'DOT sets deadline for ITS officers' India Telecom,Vol.11,No.1,January 2005, page 3
- Gairola, Manoj (12 November 2009). "PM calls for BSNL’s performance review as revenues fall". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
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