In an unprecedented move, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) issued a circular on Friday which suggests that the rank of Civil Sevices Examination (CSE), on the basis of which All India Services (AIS) are allocated to CSE aspirants should not be the only criteria of selection for prestigious services like Indian Administrative Services (IAS), Indian Police Services (IPS), Indian Foreign Services (IFS), and Indian Revenue Services (IRS) etc.
The circular states that a candidate’s performance during the Foundation Course (FC) at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration Mussorie (LBSNAA), which is held after aspirants clear CSE should also be taken into consideration for service allocation. The FC performance is based on classes and training conducted by LBSNAA officials.
The move is a clear attempt to attack the autonomy of Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) which conducts the examination. If the order is implemented, any person who can influence LBSNNA officials can be shown as performing better than others. Any administrator working in LBSNAA will have an upper hand in cadre selection (i.e. in which state an official will work) and service allocation. This means the AIS will no longer be based on merit only. The order is proposed to be implemented from 2019 onwards.
Secondly, it is significant to note that the FC includes Hindi. The move, therefore, is patently against any non-Hindi speaker and is certain to open a deep north-south cleavage.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, several IAS officers told NC24*7 that the move will inject the process with rampant corruption. Some officials vehemently criticised the move, calling the order “totally unfair which gives a freehand to LBSNAA officials”.
In an order signed by Joint Secretary Vijoy Kumar Singh, the suggestion of the PMO that service will be allocated on the basis of marks and FC performance is cited.
At present, after candidates qualify Preliminary examination, they write mains, if they clear mains, they appear in the interview. The marks of mains examination and the interview is combined on the basis of which their service is allocated. On the basis of the rank and on the basis of their preferences, service is allocated. For example, if a general category candidate gives IAS as the first preference and gets Rank 1, he/she will get IAS. However, if the candidate with the same preference, gets rank 500, then he/she will most likely not get IAS. The present system is purely based on merit. It just takes marks into consideration.
The Foundation Course starts after the services are allocated. The first FC (called FC 1) usually starts from August and continues till December. This is attended by IAS, IPS, IFS, IRS and Indian Forest Services Officer (IFoS) officers (a separate exam is conducted for IFoS recruitment). The FC classes are held in Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration Mussorie (LBSNAA), Mussoorie. The officers are made to attend various classes on public administration, physical training, etc during the FC training phase. They also submit assignments based on their classes and training and appear for tests during FC. The overall assessment of the performance during this training phase is done by LBSNAA officials only.
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