Company Rule Period (1773–1858)
- Regulating Act of 1773: Prohibited the servants of the East India Company from engaging in any private trade or accepting presents or bribes from the “natives”.
- Charter Act of 1833: Attempted to introduce a system of open competition for the selection of civil servants and stated that Indians should not be debarred from holding any place, office, or employment under the Company. However, this provision was negated after opposition from the Court of Directors.
- Charter Act of 1853:
- Introduced an open competition system for the selection and recruitment of civil servants.
- Threw open the covenanted civil service (the higher civil services created by a law of the Company, as distinguished from the lower uncovenanted civil service) to Indians.
- Led to the appointment of the Macaulay Committee (the Committee on the Indian Civil Service) in 1854.
Crown Rule Period (1858–1947)
- Government of India Act of 1858:
- Vested complete authority and control over Indian administration in the newly created office of the Secretary of State for India, assisted by a 15-member Council of India.
- Primarily focused on improving the administrative machinery in England through which the Indian government was supervised and controlled, without substantially altering the system of government prevailing within India.
- Indian Councils Act of 1861: Gave official recognition to the “portfolio” system introduced by Lord Canning in 1859, under which a member of the Viceroy’s council was placed in charge of one or more government departments and authorized to issue final orders on behalf of the council.
- Indian Councils Act of 1909: Associated Indians with the executive councils of the Viceroy and Governors for the first time, leading to Satyendra Prasad Sinha becoming the first Indian appointed as the law member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council.
- Government of India Act of 1919:
- Provided for the establishment of a public service commission.
- Set up the Central Public Service Commission in 1926 for recruiting civil servants, following the recommendations of the Lee Commission on Superior Civil Services in India (1923–24).
- Government of India Act of 1935:
- Provided for the establishment of a Federal Public Service Commission, Provincial Public Service Commissions, and Joint Public Service Commissions for two or more provinces.
- Served as the direct historical and structural source for the Public Service Commission provisions and administrative details incorporated into the Constitution of India.
- Indian Independence Act of 1947: Discontinued future appointments to the civil services and the reservation of posts by the Secretary of State for India, while guaranteeing that members of the civil services appointed before August 15, 1947, would continue to receive all existing entitled benefits.
Post-Independence Constitutional Transition and Heritage
- Reorganisation of the Services (1947–1966):
- In 1947, the Indian Civil Service (ICS) was replaced by the Indian Administrative Service (IAS).
- The Indian Police (IP) was replaced by the Indian Police Service (IPS).
- Both the IAS and IPS were recognized by the Constitution as All-India Services.
- In 1963, the Indian Forest Service (IFS) was created, formally coming into existence in 1966 as the third All-India Service.
- Cabinet Secretariat and Head of Civil Services: The office of the Cabinet Secretary was created in 1950, with N.R. Pillai serving as the first Cabinet Secretary. The Cabinet Secretary became the senior-most civil servant in India and the ex-officio Chairman of the Civil Services Board.
- Prime Minister’s Secretariat/Office: Originating in 1947 as the Prime Minister’s Secretariat (PMS), it housed selected officers of the civil services assisting the Prime Minister, and was later renamed the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in 1977 under the Morarji Desai ministry.
