Lee Commission (1923-24)
Also called: Royal Commission on the Superior Civil Services in India · Topic: Civil Services: Role, Accountability and Reforms · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Lee Commission (1923-24), also called the Royal Commission on the Superior Civil Services in India, studied the top services in British India. It set a target of equal numbers of Indian and British recruits, which sped up Indianisation (filling posts with Indians). It also led to India's first Public Service Commission in 1926. That body was the start of today's system of independent, merit-based recruitment.
Example
The Public Service Commission of 1926 came from the Lee Commission's work. The Government of India Act 1935 then added a Federal Public Service Commission. This line of bodies leads to today's UPSC under Articles 315-320.
Don't confuse with
- Islington Commission (1912-15): this was an earlier commission on the public services. The Lee Commission came later and led to the first PSC.
- Aitchison Commission (1886-87): this divided the services into Imperial, Provincial and Subordinate services.