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Pillars of Progress
Civil Services Day is celebrated every year on April 21 in India. Let us understand its history and significance
The date (April 21) marks the moment in 1947 when the first Home Minister of Independent India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, addressed the probationers of Administrative Services Officers at Metcalf House, Delhi. He famously referred to them as the "steel frame of India"
The Government of India observes Civil Services Day as an occasion for civil servants to renew their commitment to public service and work excellence. It was first celebrated in 2006 at Vigyan Bhawan in Delhi
This day is also when the Prime Minister's Awards for Excellence in Public Administration are presented to districts/ implementing units for the implementation of priority programmes and innovation categories
The concept of the modern merit-based Civil Service in India was introduced in 1854.
Initially, the Indian Civil Service examinations were conducted only in London but from 1922 onwards, it began to be held in India as well
Satyendranath Tagore, brother of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, was the first Indian to qualify for the Indian Civil Service in 1864
The Public Service Commission was set up in India for the first time on October 1, 1926. Sir Ross Barker was the first chairman of the Commission. Later, it came to be known as the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
The All India Services comprise the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), the Indian Police Service (IPS), and the Indian Forest Service (IFS)
The UPSC conducts various examinations in accordance with the rules notified by the Government of India, for a merit-based selection and recommendation of candidates for various civil services
A premier training institution for civil services in India is the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in Mussoorie. It is an attached office of the Department of Personnel & Training, Government of India.
The percentage of women selected in civil services has increased over the years, as per government data. In the Civil Services Exam 2022, the first four toppers and 60 per cent of the top 20 were women
