Civil Services : SRIRAMs IAS

The foundation of Civil Service in India was laid by Warren Hastings. Charles Cornwallis a British Army officer and colonial administrator reformed, modernised and rationalised the civil services in India and therefore he is known as the 'Father of Civil Service in India'.

The basis for the current Civil Services in India are based on the outline of the Indian Civil Service under the British India.

The Government of India Act 1919, split the Imperial Services headed by the Secretary of State for India, into two – All India Services and Central Services.

The current civil service was moulded after the partition of India in 1947. It was Sardar Patel's vision that the Civil Service should fortify solidity and national unity. The values of integrity, impartiality and merit remain the guiding principles of Indian civil services.

The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions located in New Delhi is responsible for training, reforms and pension for the civil service system in India. It is also known as "unofficially the Ministry of Civil Services" in India.

The civil service system is the backbone of the administrative machinery of the India. A civil servent in discharge of functions is to be guided by maintaining absolute integrity, allegiance to the constitution and the law of the nation, patriotism, national pride, devotion to duty, honesty, impartiality and transparency. The obligation of the civil services is to route the administration of India. The country is managed through a number of Central Government agencies in accordance with the policy directions given by the ministries.

The members of the civil services functions as:

Administrators in the central government and state government
Emissaries in the foreign missions or embassies
Tax collectors and revenue commissioners
Civil service commissioned police officers
Permanent representative(s) and employees in the United Nations and its agencies
Chairman, Managing Director, full-time functional Director/Member of the Board of Management of various Public-Sector Undertakings/ Enterprises, Corporations, Banks and financial institutions

Civil servants are employed to various agencies of India and can also be appointed as advisors or special duty officers or private secretaries to ministers of the Union and the State Government.

The Civil Service Day is celebrated on 21 April every year. On this occasion, all officers of Central and State Governments are honoured for excellence in public administration by the Prime Minister of India. The 'Prime Minister Award for Excellence in Public Administration' is presented in three categories. The award includes a medal, scroll and a cash amount of Rs 100,000. In case of a group, the total award money is Rs.500,000 subject to a maximum of Rs.100,000 per person. For an organisation the cash amount is limited to Rs.500,000.