Sixth Pay Commission: MBAs play safe, vie for civil services

Sixth Pay Commission: MBAs play safe, vie for civil services

A24 x7 blue-collar job, with a six-figure pay - and the demons of impossible targets, insecurity and killer stress. Or a cushy government job, with a decent pay, comfortable lifestyle, non-existent accountability, loads of perks and real power? For MBAs, the choice is no longer a blind first. The heat generated by the global meltdown seems to have warmed their hearts for government jobs.

Caught in the worldwide financial turmoil, the glam quotient in corporate jobs has taken a nose-dive . Job security - rather than big bucks - is determining factor. Even IIM-Calcutta grads, the much-envied elite in the MBA community, cannot resist the survival instinct. Their choice: the Indian Civil Services.

Several IIM-C students are preparing as hard for the 2009-2010 civil service examinations, as they are for their MBA finals. IIM and IIT grads do appear in the civil services exam and make it to the topper's list every year. In fact, the Bengal cadre has a number of IIT graduates - S K Gupta, N S Nigam, Talleen Kumar, Binod Kumar , and Prabhat Mishra - to name a few. But this time the number of hopefuls from these elite campuses is far more.

The campus placements - in which the big bucks had dried up this season - perhaps isn't as much of a pull as the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy that trains IAS officers . But won't they miss the sixfigure salaries?

"Money isn't everything," says Kapidhwaja Pratap Singh, 1st year student at IIM-C . He knows that the starting point is only Rs 24,000 a month in the civil services, but says he can "discount that for the more meaningful stuff in life" . With a gold medal in electrical engineering from NIT, Kurukshetra, the IIM-C students' council president is even ready to vouch for his campus mates. "We'll take the IAS exams because government service offers quality work. The reach is wider. And the pay does enhance with seniority."

"I want quality life and a rewarding career. You can have both as a bureaucrat . Besides, I don't want the stress that comes with a corporate package," says Harish, Singh's batchmate . "I always dreamt of being a civil servant. This meltdown has only reinforced my resolve. After the Sixth Pay Commission revision, a civil servant's job is paying, too."

Singh has made a note of the Cabinet secretary's Rs 90,000-minimum basic salary. "Add to that the other allowances and the perks and I can be laughing my way to the bank," he says, solemnly adding: "We've all weighed the pros and cons carefully. This isn't a sudden decision."

However, Jyotirmoy Pal Chowdhury , director of Bose Academy, an IAS coaching centre, feels it is just that - a knee-jerk reaction. "We have been struck by the sudden interest generated from B-schoolgoers for the 2009 ICS prelims. The global meltdown has certainly touched the civil service chord in job aspirants," says the veteran trainer.

IAS coaching centres run by IISWBM and Asutosh College had closed down a few years ago because the demand had waned in the glare of the corporate boom. Now, it's just the opposite.

"If B-school boys are really interested in our service, it's certainly a welcome development," says Sunil Mitra, power secretary and president, IAS Officers' Association. "The country will benefit from their managerial skills."

Subesh Das, principal secretary to chief minister, isn't surprised by the trend. "The government sector is the most challenging. It's the best paying, professionally," said Das, who has done a PhD in industrial and labour relations from Cornell University , US. "The extra professional degree (MBA) would only heighten their expertise as bureaucrats."

West Midnapore district magistrate N S Nigamagrees: "Several of my batchmates from IIT-Kanpur became civil servants. Nobody has any regret. This is one of the best professions available in India. Paywise, this job offers enough for a decent living."

But there have been some in the Bengal cadre who took a lien for Bcourses . Most of them left in due time for the moolah. Mitra's candid explanation : "Some of our younger colleagues have left the service to meet bigger challenges. On the flip side, there's no denying that the political environment does affect decisionmaking in governance. But now that the corporate bubble has burst, the positive sides of bureaucracy will be seriously considered. I am sure the trend is here to stay."

Or is it? A K Patnaik, member, State Administrative Tribunal, takes a different view. "Just because a handful of IIM grads are showing interest in IAS, we must not read too much into it. Our service has lost its primacy and differential advantage. In a meltdown scenario, any government job - and not just civil service - would be considered a better option."

Ditto, says HR consultant Tushar Bose: "I think it's only a temporary phenomenon. Once the economy bounces back, they will again look the corporate way."


Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com