UPSC hits 100, turns a new leaf

Much was written and spoken of the RSS, the ruling BJP's parent organisation, marking its 100th anniversary on October 2.

But there was one more institution that hit a century this October, though quietly so and in line with its years old tradition of wearing power and influence lightly.

Established on October 1, 1926 as the Public Service Commission in accordance with the provisions of the Government of India Act 1919, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) entered its 100th year this month.

A nursery of merit-based Central Civil Services recruitment, the Commission has stood the test of time with several retired bureaucrats privately contrasting its iron reputation with that of the Election Commission of India, a constitutional body currently facing tremendous public scrutiny.

What makes citizens in general and civil services aspirants in particular believe in the UPSC's ability to select top national bureaucracy fairly, famed rigours of the civil services examinations notwithstanding?

Past chairpersons cite its vigorously guarded independent examination conducting mechanism as the answer.

Former union health secretary Preeti Sudan, who went on to chair the Commission, attributes the UPSC's success as a trusted organisation to its foolproof examination system with the UPSC chief and members fully insulated from planning and nuances to ensure fairness.

“We are privy to nothing about the examination setting or execution. From the drafting of exam papers and the selection of evaluators to the establishment of interview boards, and assignment of candidates to these boards - nothing is known. The entire examination system is randomised with the right hand in the UPSC not aware of what the left hand is doing," Sudan says.

It's this fiercely independent and time-tested exam process that has stood the Commission in good stead all this while even though nearly 13 lakh candidates take the civil services exams every year and only 180 make the cut.

The rest move on with life, with barely any aspersions cast on the integrity of the recruitment process.

As for the Commission's 100th year landmark, it too would have arrived and passed silently but for two landmark reforms the UPSC leaders announced drawing eyeballs.

First - Commission chairman Ajay Kumar unveiled what is being called a "Dreams to Reality" initiative. This novel, first of its kind, reform entails inviting retired and serving bureaucrats to share anecdotes and experiences of their UPSC interviews where careers are made or unmade.

What happens in the Commission’s legendary interview boards will no longer remain in the confines of Dholpur House, the iconic royal building that houses the UPSC in Central Delhi, right next to the India Gate.

The invitation seeks to collect personal tales of grit and resilience, of fear and loss to build a living archive of memories and inspire generations of civil services aspirants.

Secondly, the UPSC has also decided to no longer squander fine bureaucratic talent it so painstakingly selects over a strict merit-based recruitment process.

From now on, the Commission will formally facilitate key employment opportunities for candidates who reach the interview stage but fail to make the final cut.

The Professional Resource and Talent Integration Bridge for Hiring Aspirants (PRATIBHA) Setu of the UPSC will link civil services interviewees with a host of employers who are scouting for top skills across key sectors as India aims to become a developed nation by 2047.

The sheer numbers of aspirants UPSC gets remains mind boggling. While roughly 13 lakh take the civil services exams every year, 180 finally enter various services. Commission data suggest 8,000 make it to the written examination stage and 2,500 to the UPSC interview stage.

This last segment - a formidable talent pool - will now be assured jobs through UPSC's PRATIBHA Setu move.

That said, the Commission, long conditioned for a back-seat role to preserve its independence, will this year hold several public events to look back at a path well-travelled and chart the course for the future.

The whole year will see the Commission - national recruiter of what Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel called the steel frame of India - in a celebratory mode as it enters another defining era – a long way from the time when Sir Ross Baker headed its original avatar, the Public Service Commission which had limited powers.

It was the Government of India’s 1935 Act which elevated the Public Service Commission to the status of Federal Public Service Commission with Indians getting a greater say in the body. The adoption of the Constitution in 1950 granted the UPSC its present day status.