Provincial Police Service


Provincial Police Service, often abbreviated to as PPS, is the Group A state civil service for policing of Uttar Pradesh Police. It is also the feeder service for Indian Police Service in the state.
PPS officers hold various posts at the circle, district, range, zonal and state levels to maintain order, enforce the law and to prevent and detect crime. The Department of Home and Confidential of the Government of Uttar Pradesh is the cadre controlling authority of the service. Along with the Provincial Civil Service and the Provincial Forest Service, the PPS is one of the three feeder services to its respective All India Services.

Responsibilities of a PPS officer

The typical functions performed by a PPS officer are:
Post the completion of his or her training, a PPS officer, in the rank of deputy superintendent of police, generally serves at the police circle level as circle officer. Generally, a police circle consists of three to five police stations. After that, they get promoted to the rank of Additional Superintendent of Police. Districts with a senior superintendent of police as the police chief generally have four Addl. SPs under the SSP, each responsible for city, rural areas, crime and traffic designated as 'SP ', 'SP ', 'SP ' and 'SP '. In metropolitan cities in UP, jurisdictional SPs like SP City or SP Rural Areas are further divided into various designations such as 'SP ', 'SP ', 'SP ', 'SP ', SP, SP, 'SP ' etc. Whereas, districts with a superintendent of police as the police chief usually have one and rarely two SPs under them which generally have a lower grade pay than the SP who is the head of the district.
Recently, Lucknow City & Gautam Budh Nagar became police commissionerates. PPS officers at DSP rank are posted as ACP and at SP rank are posted as DCP.
At the zonal level, a PPS officer is posted as the staff officer of the concerned additional director general of police heading the zone which is of Addl. SP rank. Before 2017, they were posted as staff officer to IG police zone but now ADG ranked officers are posted in zones. PPS officers of the rank of SP are also posted as sector officers in the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department. PPS officers are also attached to DGP Headquarters as Addl. SP and Dy. SP. They are also posted in State Police Recruitment and Promotion Boards, Anti Terrorist Squad, Special Task Force, Special Investigation Team, State Vigilance Establishment, Economic Offences Wing HQ etc.
PPS officers also serve as second-in-command and deputy commandants and assistant commandants in the Uttar Pradesh Provincial Armed Constabulary, Uttar Pradesh's state armed police force. On deputation, a PPS officer can be sent to one of the various constitutional bodies, agencies and state public sector enterprises, such as the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited, electricity distribution boards, Uttar Pradesh Human Rights Commission, Uttar Pradesh Disaster Response Force etc. in capacity of SP and Dy. SP. Some PPS officers have also go to work for central government agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate and the National Investigation Agency.
After completion of two decades of service, PPS officers directly recruited by Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission get promoted to the Indian Police Service, after confirmation by the Ministry of Home Affairs of Government of India and the Union Public Service Commission. One-third of the total IPS strength in Uttar Pradesh is reserved for PPS officers.

Salary structure

Most of the directly recruited PPS officers get promoted to the IPS after getting grade pay of level 13 or 13A. Those who don't get promotion to IPS get classified as 'superseded' and get the grade pay of level 14.
InsigniaGrade/level on pay matrixBase salary Position in the Uttar Pradesh PoliceRankYears of service
Senior administrative grade ₹144200–218200Additional Superintendent of Police Superintendent of Police28th year
Super time scale ₹131100–216600Additional Superintendent of Police Superintendent of Police26th year
Selection grade ₹118500–214100Additional Superintendent of Police Superintendent of Police24th year
Junior administrative grade ₹78800–191500Additional Superintendent of PoliceSuperintendent of Police16th year
Senior time scale ₹67700–160000Deputy Superintendent of Police Deputy Superintendent of Police9th year
Junior time scale ₹56100–132000Deputy Superintendent of Police Deputy Superintendent of PoliceInitial year

Major concerns and reforms

Promotion to IPS

According to the Indian Police Service Regulations, 1955, PPS officers are eligible for promotion to IPS after completion of eight years of service. But in reality, officers are generally promoted to the IPS after two and half decades in service. Unlike their counterparts in PCS who get promoted to IAS almost five years early.

Political influence

Directly recruited IPS officers often complain that promotee PPS officers are given preference in field postings due to their close proximity to politicians which they form in two decades of their service. Since the state government was often ruled by regional parties, many politicians allegedly fix 'their men' on important inspector general and deputy inspector general rank positions. Currently 32 out of 75 district SSPs and SPs are promotee IPS officers, including the SSP of Kanpur Nagar, which has the largest district police force in the state. In addition six deputy inspectors general heading range headquarters are promotee IPS officers.