The Indian Civil Service, or ICS, originated as the elite civil service of the Indian Government under British colonial rule in India. Even today it continues in the contemporary Civil Services of India. However these are now organized in a different manner.
During colonial rule, there were two exclusive groups of civil servants. One group formed the higher employees who entered into covenants with the Company. They were known as covenanted” servants. The other group which did not sign such agreements came to be known as “uncovenanted”. The latter mostly filled the lower positions.
This distinction between the covenanted and the uncovenanted virtually came to an end with the constitution of the Imperial Civil Service of India based on the recommendations of the Public Service Commission, 1886-87. The Imperial Civil Service then became the Civil Service of India. However, the term Indian Civil Service (ICS) persisted.
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The basic pattern of the cadre system in the evil service was thus established following the recommendations of the Aitcheson Commission. There were two cadres, Provincial Civil Service and Subordinate Civil Service. By 1934, the administrative system in India came to consist of seven All India Services and five Central Departments, all under the control of the Secretary of State, and three Central Departments under joint Provincial and Imperial control.
The All India and Class I central services were designated as Central Superior Services as early as 1924 in the Lee Commission’s report. After Partition, the Indian section retained the name, Indian Civil Service. In 1905, Gurusaday Dutt became the first Indian to come first in one of the two parts of the ICS examination, in 1905.
The ICS was eventually replaced by the IAS or Indian Administrative Service. The pre- independence structure of all-India services, provincial or state services and central or Union government services was retained. The Constitution provides for more Civil Services branches to be set up. The Rajya Sabha has the power to resolve the issue of establishing new all-India services or central services by a two- thirds majority.
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The Indian Forest Service and the Indian Foreign Service were set up under this constitutional provision. The construction of the Civil Services follows a certain pattern. The All India Services, Central Services and State Services constitute the Civil Services. Administering a vast and diverse country like India involves efficient management of its natural, economic and human resources. This defines the responsibility of the civil services. The country is managed through a number of Central Government agencies in accordance with the policy directions given by the ministries.
Many coaching centers have mushroomed to provide civil service coaching, especially in Delhi, Hyderabad and Trivandrum. Examinations for the state services are conducted by the individual states of India. Despite the popularity of careers in management and IT among the country’s youth, the Civil Services have retained the prestige they enjoyed during the days of the British Raj.
For idealistic young men and women who dream of serving the nation and her people, the IAS is the ultimate career choice. Thankfully, we still have many such youngsters in India who are not persuaded by the lure of lucre or foreign shores to turn their back on nation-building. Such dedication is all the more commendable when one realizes how political interference and bureaucratic apathy have dimmed the prestige of such a noble calling.