The Indian Army Service Corps (IASC)

The Indian Army Service Corps (IASC) is a corps and an arm of the Indian Army which handles its logistic support function. It is the oldest and the largest administrative service in the Indian Army. While the history of supply and transport services is as old as the history of organized warfare itself it was in 1760 that the very rudimentary supply and transport organizations of the three presidencies of the East India Company were brought under the council of a single authority.

The origin of the corps go back to 1760 when a Commissariat used to exist in the administrative component of the armies three Presidencies of Bengal, Madras and Bombay. In 1878 the separate Commissariats were amalgamated into a single entity and then in 1901 it was renamed the Supply and Transport Corps. During the First World War the corps became a permanent component of the British Indian Army and was renamed the Indian Army Service Corps in 1923. In 1935 the corps was granted the 'Royal' prefix and became known as Royal Indian Army Service Corps (RIASC).