The present modern civil service of India is mostly followed on the pattern of the Imperial Civil Service of the British India. It was formed after Independence of India in 1947 from the British India. It was Sardar Patel's vision that the Civil Service should strengthen cohesion and national unity. He wanted a strong and vibrant federal administrative system in which the All India Service would play an important role. True to his conviction, the Civil Service has provided the framework for the administration of the country. The values of integrity, impartiality and merit remain the guiding principles of Indian Civil Services. Since Independence, there have been about fifty Commissions and Committees at the Union Government level to look into what can be broadly characterized as administrative reforms. 2th Administration Reform Commission the first, eighth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth reports have come up with crucial suggestions in the realm of civil service reforms. Civil Services are an essential part of government organization. Lately, the Indian civil services have come under severe criticism. Most people refer to the civil service only negatively. Yet, despite its manifest deficiencies or exposed vices, no government organization can work in its absence. Therefore a need has been felt to reform Indian Civil Service in order to do away with its deficiencies and make it an instrument of delivering public goods and services in an efficient and accountable manner. It is important to recognize that the reform mandate will throw up greater challenges.
Challenges, Civil Service, Legacy, Reforms
