Merit-based recruitment to public services is one of the cornerstones of the modern state. The modern state in India emerged during the colonial times and as part of its various apparatuses came into existence, a body of recruiters to carry out the process of merit-based recruitment. Known as Public Service Commission, this body evolved over a century as captured briefly in the following timeline:
1833: The Government of India Act 1833, passed by the parliament of UK was a charter through which the East India Company’ rule over India got extended as an Administrative body. It created the first Governor General for India. The challenge before the British government was to rule India through ‘’Central Control’’ structure.
Lord Macaulay addressed the House of Commons in England in 1833, on Indian Civil Service Recruitment and advocated for the recruitment of the British youth of 18-23 years, in the civil services. He proposed the merit-based examination System to select University scholars into Civil Service.
1855: British government established Civil Service Commission in 1855 based on the recommendation of Northcote-Trevelyan Report – 1854 to recruit English educated able men to work in various government departments in the UK.
It was an autonomous, semi-judicial body, under the department of Treasury. Sir Edward Ryan, a lawyer and Judge in England was appointed Chairman along with two other members. Order-in-Council under the authority of Queen also appointed the Commissioner of Examination and other commissioners and this order became the key document for the constitution of the commission with a responsibility to conduct tests for the selection of young talents into services of the government of UK.
Indian Civil Services: Macaulay Committee recommendation in 1854, gave India its first Civil Service, ICS. It was Macaulay who had argued to end the patronage-based ruling system of East India Company in India and to implement a permanent merit-based system of civil service for Indian Administration Services.
1917: Islington Commission. Due to increased pressure from Indian to include more Indians into the Public Services, British Government set a Royal Commission on Civil Services under Lord Islington. Commission recommended for 1. 25% posts of the Superior civil service to be filled from among Indians partly by recruitment and partly by promotion. 2. Examination for the recruitment of civil services to be conducted in India.
1918: Montagu-Chelmsford Report. It proposed for, 1. India should be the venue for conducting examination for 33 per cent of the superior posts and that this percentage should increase by 1.5 percent annually. 2. No racial discrimination in the matter of appointment. 3. There must be a system of appointment in India for all those public services for which there was a recruitment in England, open to Europeans and, Indians alike.
1919: Government of India Act 1919 enacted by the British government. The Act insisted on the constitution of Public Service Commission in India as proposed in the Montagu-Chelmsford report.
In 1920 some of the provinces have constituted the Public Service Commissions (PSCs) such as Ahmedabad and Delhi on their own. Though Punjab had conducted recruitment for civil services in 1915, it couldn’t constitute provincial PSC later, due to the shortage of funds.
1924: A royal committee was constituted under the chairmanship of Viscount Lee to inquire into the conditions of setting up PSC in India. Lee Commission submitted its report in 1924, for the formation of Single Public Service Commission for India according to the provision made in India Act 1919. The report recommended the provincial selection into civil services to provincial govt.
1926: Public Service Commission was finally established. Its chairman was a member of Civil Service Commission of UK and under his leadership, Indian members were appointed. It was entrusted with the function of conducting examination for the recruiting of only Indians into superior services. From 1926 to 1937 it functioned as a subordinate consultation body in government India.
1935: Government of India Act 1935 provided for more autonomy to Indian Government and also to increase the number of Indians being employed through PSC. The procedure for the constitution of members of the commission also was laid out in this Act. The number of official members was suggested to be one-half of its total strength. The provision was made for the constitution of Federal Public Service Commissions, in Indian Provinces under the Governor General of the Province with powers to take the certain category of posts out of the purview of federal PSCs. In an atmosphere of mistrust and rivalry, public service commissions functioned from 1937 to 1947.
1950: Constitution of India provided for the constitution of Union Public Service Commission and State Public Service Commissions under Articles 315 to 323 in Part XIV.
The State Public Service Commission Reforms Project 
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