CIVIL SERVICES DAY
THE CONTEXT: National Civil Services Day is observed on April 21 every year. On National Civil Services day, the officers of central and state governments are awarded by the Prime Minister of India for their extraordinary services in the field of public administration.
HISTORY OF NATIONAL CIVIL SERVICES DAY
- On April 21, 1947, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, the Home Member of Parliament, inaugurated the All-India Services. Then, the previous Indian Civil Services under British India were changed to All India Services subject to complete Indian control.
- He gave a powerful speech at the All-India Administrative Service Training School at Metcalfe House, Delhi. In his speech he referred to civil servants as the ‘steel frame of India’.
WHO IS THE FATHER OF CIVIL SERVICES IN INDIA?
- The present civil services of India are mainly based on the pattern of the former Indian Civil Service of British India. Warren Hastings laid the foundation of civil service and Charles Cornwallis reformed, modernised, and rationalised it. Hence, Charles Cornwallis is known as ‘the father of civil service in India’.
WHICH IS THE HIGHEST POST IN CIVIL SERVICES?
- The highest-ranking civil servant is the Cabinet Secretary.
FIRST CELEBRATION OF CIVIL SERVICES DAY IN INDIA
- The first celebration of Civil Services Day was held on April 21, 2006, at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. On this day, the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence has been conferred to Public Administration to various officers to celebrate their work.
NATIONAL CIVIL SERVICES DAY AWARD
- On National Civil Services day, the ‘Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration’ is awarded. Many districts across the country participate in this award program.
- The award function is organized by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public grievances and the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.
IMPORTANCE OF CIVIL SERVICES
- The civil service system is the backbone of the administrative machinery of the country. It is the permanent executive branch of the Republic of India.
- The policies and schemes are made by the government. The civil servants are the administrators.
- The civil servants are responsible for implementing all the government policies and schemes successfully up to the root level.
- It consists of (IAS) Indian Administrative Services, (IPS) Indian Police Services, (IFS) Indian Foreign Services, along with central Group A and Group B Services.
| IMPORTANT QUOTES ON NATIONAL CIVIL SERVICES DAY 2022
· The civil servant is primarily the master of the short-term solution. – Indira Gandhi · “Above all, I would advise you to maintain to the utmost the impartiality and incorruptibility of administration. A civil servant cannot afford to and must not, take part in politics. Nor must he involve himself in communal wrangles.”– Sardar Patel · The Prime Minister and the chief ministers are one team. The Cabinet Ministers and the State Ministers are other teams. The civil servants at the centre and the states are yet another team. This is the only way we can successfully develop India. – Narendra Modi · After a time, civil servants tend to become no longer servants and no longer civil. – Winston Churchill · With bad laws and good civil servants, it’s still possible to govern. But with bad civil servants, even the best laws can’t help. – Otto von Bismarck · One of the keys to ensuring accountability is to have civil servants who witness fraud, waste and abuse to blow the whistle. – Byron Dorgan |
Spread the Word
