State Civil Services
Topic: Civil Services: Role, Accountability and Reforms · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 4 "Executive"
Meaning
State Civil Services are the services that a state government recruits for its own administration. Officers are chosen through the State Public Service Commission (SPSC), the state's own recruiting body. They work only in the state that recruited them. They cannot be posted to another state or to the Centre in the way All India Service officers can. They do much of a state's day-to-day work, from revenue offices to block and district administration.
Example
Suppose a person clears their state's civil services exam through the SPSC. They will spend their whole career working in that state's offices. An IAS officer allotted to the same state is different, because that officer can be sent on deputation to the Centre.
Don't confuse with
- All India Services (IAS, IPS, IFoS): these officers are recruited by the UPSC for the Union and the states together. They are allotted to a state cadre and can be sent on deputation to the Centre.
- Central Civil Services (e.g. Indian Foreign Service, IRS): these officers work in central offices anywhere in the country, and IFS officers also serve in missions abroad. They do not belong to any one state.
Related concepts
- Central Civil Services
- Recruitment and conditions of service of public servants
- Department of Personnel and Training
- Kothari Committee (1976)
- Baswan Committee (2016)
- Staff Selection Commission
- National Recruitment Agency