Public Service Commission

The public service commission is controlled by the government of the country or can be controlled by the state government also. In India, public service commissions are created for every state. The main vision of public service commission’s is to equip government offices with proper human resources. It also can provide advice to the president of the country as well as the governor of the states regarding recruitment rules.  

History of Public Service Commissions

Public Service Commission can be divided into three types in India such as Union Public Service Commissions, State Public Service Commissions, and the Joint Public Service Commissions. The president of India has the power to appoint the chairman and the members of the Union Public Service Commissions. The Union Public Commissions of this county is a central agency. The State Public Service Commissions were established under the provision of Indian constitution. The Public Service Commission started its journey on 1st October 1926. The first chairman of the Public Service Commission was Sir Ross Barker.  According to the Lee Commission, among all the members of the public service commissions, 40 percent should be British, 40 percent should be Indian and 20 percent can be promoted from provincial services. The first chairman of the Public Service Commission in independent India was H.B Gundappa Gowda in 1951. The government of India appointed a total of 13 chairmen and 67 members in the Public Service Commissions. Bengal Public Service Commission was established in 1937. The first chairman of the public service commission of this state was Smt. Piyali Sengupta. 

There is no rule for the structure of the union public service commission in the Indian constitution. The president of India has the power to make the structure of the union public service commission. The president of India usually appoints around 9 to 11 members including the chairman for the union public service commission. The members of the union public service commission have been appointed for 5 years. The members of the state public service commission have been appointed for 6 years. The members of the UPSC and the SPSC can be removed only by the president of India and the Supreme Court of India. Members cannot be employed after being removed. Regulations of public service commission’s that should be changed have to be laid before the Parliament of India or the State legislature.   

Functions of the Public Service Commissions

Union Public Service Commission is a central agency that has the responsibility to recruit the group A and group B candidates through the civil service examinations. According to Article 320 of the constitution of India, the functions of the public service commission can be described in two parts administrative and advisory.

The administrative functions can be expressed as the functions related to the recruitment in civil services posts as well as the posts under the state government through several kinds of examinations and interviews. The public service commission has also the power to provide advice to the president of India as well as the governor of the states. The advice can be related to the recruitment processes and also the methods of promotions and transfers of the government employees.

The public service commission also has the responsibility to arrange the recruitment and promotions processes without scams. An employee can claim on the government services policies through the public service commissions. The Public Service Commission of India can provide advice to the president of India to increase the contractual period from one year to three years.

According to Article 203(3) of the Indian constitution, the president of India has the authority to change the rules of the Public Service Commission without the discussion with the chairman and other members of the Public Service Commission.  According to Article 322 of the Indian constitution, the expenses of public service commission and the salaries of the members should be provided by the central and state government. The union public service commission and the state public service commission have the responsibility to provide all the reports to the president of India and the governors of each state respectively. The president and the governors have to lay the reports in the House of Parliament and State Legislature respectively with the explanation of reasons behind not accepting the advice of public service commissions.        

Conclusion

In India the Public Service Commission has a great impact on the several kinds of projects that have to be done by the central government as well as the state government. Employees of several government sectors can be appointed through the examination and interviews taken by the public service commission. Public service commissions should be careful about the fairness of the recruitment processes. This agency also has the responsibility to lay fresh reports to the president of India and governors of the states.