Indian Civil Service - A Steel Frame of Indian Administration

The Civil Services of India (or for that matter of any nation), is the backbone of the administrative system of the country simply because it comprises of government officials who are employed in civil occupations that are neither political nor judicial.

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The responsibility of the civil servants is to run and manage the administration of India effectively and efficiently. The administration of a vast and diverse country like India requires efficient management of its natural, economic and human resources. In the system of parliamentary democracy of India, the ultimate responsibility for running the administration rests with the elected representatives of the people but this handful of representatives i.e. the ministers cannot be expected to deal and handle the manifold problems of modern administration. Thus the ministers lay down the policy and it is for the civil servants to implement and carry out this policy effectively. This is why Indian Civil Service is also known as the 'Administrative Organ of the Government'.

Indian Civil Services Origin and History

Indian Civil Service, called the Imperial Civil Service during the British Raj, was first brought into existence in India by Lord Cornwallis (the Governor-General of India, 1786-93) and the first organised the civil services during his tenure. In 1800, Fort William College was set up by Lord Wellesley for the training of new recruits and later in 1806, East India College was set up at Hailey Bury in England for imparting two years training to the recruits. Further, an open competition for recruitment was introduced with the Charter Act of 1853.