The suggestion is to make service allocations and cadre allocations of officers qualifying for the Civil Services Examination after the completion of their Foundation Course at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie. This is something as yet in the consultation stage, and not a decision. But it emanates from the PMO, and is thus a serious proposal.
What is the current system of service allocation, and how does this proposal seek to change it? The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), an independent body under the Government of India, holds a Civil Services Examination (CSE) every year to select officers to a large number of top civil services, including the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) the Indian Police Service (IPS) and the Indian Revenue Services (IRS).
The three-stage examination is drawn-out and highly competitive; last year an estimated 4.5 lakh aspirants reportedly took the exam. Based on their position in the combined merit list of the CSE, and their choice, the candidates are offered appointments to various services. Cadre allocation for those appointed to the All-India Services (IAS and IPS) is also based on the CSE merit list along with the cadre allocation criterion currently in force (though the actual criteria change every few years).
Thereafter, all the officers appointed to all the group A services undergo a common three-month Foundation Course at the LBSNAA before moving on to their respective services training academies to undergo their professional training. LBSNAA also serves as the professional training academy for the IAS after the Foundation Course.
The proposal is that the services of candidates who have cleared the CSE not be allocated on the basis of CSE marks determined by the UPSC alone, but based on the marks obtained by the officers in the CSE plus the marks given by the LBSNAA for their performance in the Foundation Course.
So is Rahul right in tweeting that this is a PMO plan to appoint officers of the RSS' choice in the civil services? Or that students’ future is at risk? No, and no. The tweet is not quite accurate in its assertion. As we see from the scheme of things, RSS or any other political organisation doesn’t come in at all in the selection process.
UPSC selects officers for the civil services, and UPSC still has an enviable track record of fairness in this, its flagship examination. UPSC is a specialised selector of personnel for government with a constitutional role, and in that role, it has over the years built up solid mechanisms and safeguards to insulate the process against arbitrariness and favouritism. It’s one of the few institutions standing tall today, in the face of sustained efforts by successive governments of different shades to influence various other institutional structures to their persuasions.