100 years of UPSC : the guardian of meritocracy
POLITY – UPSC
1 OCTOBER 2025
- The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) marks a century of its establishment on October 1.
- Envisioned by the nation’s founders as a guardian of meritocracy, the UPSC has played a pivotal role in the recruitment, the promotion and the disciplining of officials of the Central Civil Services.
- The idea of an independent commission to recruit higher civil servants took root well before Independence.
- The Government of India Act, 1919, first provided for such a body, and in October 1926, the Public Service Commission was set up, following the recommendations of the Lee Commission (1924) which observed, “Wherever democratic institutions exists, experience has shown that to secure an efficient civil service it is essential to protect it as far as possible from political or personal influences and give it that position of stability and security which is vital to its successful working as the impartial and efficient instrument by which Governments, of whatever political complexion may give effect to their policies.”
- Headed by Sir Ross Barker, it began with limited powers, as an experiment under colonial rule.
- The Government of India Act, 1935 elevated it to the Federal Public Service Commission, giving Indians a greater role in administration.
- With the adoption of the Constitution in 1950, it assumed its present status as the UPSC.
- From conducting a handful of examinations in its early years, the UPSC has grown into a premier institution overseeing recruitment for diverse services ranging from the civil services to engineering, forest, medical, and statistical cadres.
- Integrity, meanwhile, has meant protecting the institution from political or external pressures, maintaining confidentiality, and ensuring that those who succeed are genuinely among the most competent.
- Fairness has also meant providing equal opportunity to candidates from every background, urban or rural, privileged or underprivileged, fluent in English or not.
- The UPSC takes immense pride in conducting the world’s biggest and most sophisticated competitive examination, the civil service examination, with remarkable precision and consistency year after year.
- The UPSC’s Professional Resource And Talent Integration Bridge for Hiring Aspirants (PRATIBHA) Setu initiative, is facilitating employment opportunities for those who reach the interview stage but are unable to make it in the final list.
