Trace the evolution of the Public Service Commission from the Government of India Act, 1919 to the Union Public Service Commission. How did each stage reflect the politics of its time?

India's merit-based recruitment body went through three stages. It began as an imperial agency in 1926, became a federal body in 1937 and turned into a constitutional authority in 1950. Each stage reflected how far power had moved from London to Indians.

GoI Act 1919 (Sec 96C) → PSC, 1 Oct 1926 → Federal PSC, 1937 (GoI Act 1935) → UPSC, 26 Jan 1950

Fig.: From statutory provision to constitutional body

Stage 1: Public Service Commission, 1919–1926

• Section 96C of the Government of India Act, 1919 provided for a commission. It was set up only on 1 October 1926, after the Lee Commission (1924) pressed for it [2].
• Politics: The Montagu–Chelmsford reforms brought in partial self-rule, and Indians were demanding a larger share of service posts. Britain answered with a body it still controlled. The first Chairman, Sir Ross Barker, came from the UK Home Civil Service [2].
• Indian moderates such as Sir T. Vijayaraghavachariar were appointed members [5]. This showed cautious Indianisation through cooperative elites.

Stage 2: Federal PSC, Government of India Act, 1935

• The 1926 body became the Federal Public Service Commission in 1937 [1].
• The Act also required a commission for each Province, and seven were set up in 1937 [2].
• Politics: The Act introduced provincial autonomy and planned a federation. Elected ministries took office in the provinces, so recruitment was also split between the Centre and the provinces.

Stage 3: Union PSC, 1950

• The body became the UPSC when the Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950 [1].
• Article 315 provides for Union, State and Joint State commissions [3]. Article 320 requires that the commission be consulted on methods of recruitment and other service matters [4].
• Politics: A sovereign democratic republic needed a neutral, merit-based bureaucracy. Giving the commission constitutional status shielded appointments from patronage. It also kept the federal pattern of 1935, now under Indian control.

Over three decades, the commission moved from imperial control, through federal sharing, to constitutional autonomy, just as India moved from dyarchy to a republic. In its centenary year, the UPSC can protect that legacy by staying independent and widening access to its examinations. This upholds the constitutional promise of equality of opportunity in public employment.