The Central Civil Services (CCS) encompass the various

Civil Services of India In India, the Civil Service is the collection of civil servants of the government who constitute the permanent executive branch of the country. This includes servants in the All India Services, the Central Civil Services, and various State Ci ...

that are exclusively under the jurisdiction of the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

. This is in contrast to the

All India Services The All India Services (AIS) comprises three Civil Services of India common to the centre and state governments, which includes the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), the Indian Police Service (IPS), and the Indian Forest Service (IFS). ...

, which are common to both the central and state governments, or the state civil services, which fall under the purview of individual states. The services with the most personnel in the entire

and also the Central Civil Services are with the

Central Secretariat Service Central Secretariat Service (; abbreviated as CSS) is the Public administration, administrative Civil Services of India, civil service under Group A and Group B of the Central Civil Services of India, Central Civil Services of the executive bra ...

and

Indian Revenue Service The Indian Revenue Service (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ), often abbreviated as IRS, is a civil service that is primarily responsible for tax collection, collecting and administering Direct tax, direct and indir ...

(IT and C&CE). The Cadre Controlling Authority for each established Service is controlled by the respective

Union government ministries of India The Government of India exercises its executive authority through a number of government ministries or departments of state. A ministry is composed of employed officials, known as civil servants, and is politically accountable through a ministe ...

. The higher-level positions in Central Civil Services are classified into Group A and Group B, both of which are gazetted.

History

British India

With the passing of the

Government of India Act 1919 The Government of India Act 1919 ( 9 & 10 Geo. 5. c. 101) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was passed to expand participation of Indians in the government of India. The act embodied the reforms recommended in the report ...

, the Imperial Services headed by the

Secretary of State for India His (or Her) Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for India, known for short as the India secretary or the Indian secretary, was the British Cabinet minister and the political head of the India Office responsible for the governance of ...

, were split into two –

and Central Services. The All India and Central Services (Group A) were designated as Central Superior Services as early as 1924. From 1924 to 1934, Administration in India consisted of 10 All India Services (including

Indian Education Service The Indian Education Service or Indian Educational Service (IES) formed part of the British Raj between 1896 and 1924, when overseas recruitment ceased. It was an administrative organisation running educational establishments in British India, larg ...

Indian Medical Service The Indian Medical Service (IMS) was a military medical service in British India, which also had some civilian functions. It served during the two World Wars, and remained in existence until the independence of India in 1947. Many of its officer ...

) and 5 central departments, all under the control of Secretary of State for India, and 3 central departments under joint Provincial and Imperial Control. The Central Services was headed by the

Viceroy and Governor-General of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the emperor o ...

Modern India

The Group A officers are appointed by the

President of India The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...

and appointments to Group B are made by the authorities specified by a general or special order of the President.

Nature, rules and deputations

Rules and regulations

The Central Civil Services (CCS) is run as per Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rule and all service members work under restrictions and rules of Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules. The Indian Railway Services work under Railway Services (Conduct) Rules of 1966. The Central Civil Services also follows CCS (Commutation of Pension) Rules and has its own Recognition of Service Associations Rules 1993 and Leave Travel Concession Rules 1988. The University Grants Commission (UGC), in a circular released in October 2018, directed central universities to adopt the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules 1964 for professors of the university.

Deputations

The members of Central Civil Services are eligible for deputation to state governments either on personal grounds or official approval from both

Staffing Scheme of Government of India.

Performance review and dismissal

The employees performance review is conducted under the Fundamental Rule (FR) 56 (J) and 56 (I), and also under Rule 48 (1) (b) of the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972, that gives "absolute right" to the appropriate authority to retire a government servant, "if it is necessary to do so in public interest". A government servant can be retired "in public interest" under Central Civil Services (Classification, Control & Appeal) Rules, 1965, as a penalty for possession of assets disproportionate to known source of income or for accepting gratification as a reward for doing or forbearing to do an official act.

Recruitment

The recruitment of the CCS (Group A) is made through

Civil Services Examination The Civil Services Examination (CSE) is a standardized test in India conducted by the Union Public Service Commission for recruitment to higher Civil Services of India, civil services in the Government of India, such as the All India Service ...

Engineering Services Examination The Engineering Services Examination (ESE) is a standardized test conducted annually by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) recruit officers to various engineering Services under the Government of India. Held in four categories—Civil, ...

, Combined Geo-Scientist and Geologist Examination, I.E.S./I.S.S. Examination, Combined Medical Services Examination, Central Armed Police Forces of

Union Public Service Commission The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is a constitutional body tasked with recruiting officers for All India Services and the Central Civil Services (Group A and B) through various standardized examinations. In 2023, 1.3 million applica ...

(UPSC). All promotions or empanelment in the CCS are either by Civil Services Board or by

Union Government The Government of India (ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of 36 states and union territor ...

. All appointments to Central Civil Services (Group A) are made by the

Organised Service

The attributes of an Organised Group ‘A’ Service (OGAS) are as follows * The highest cadre post is not below the Senior Administrative Grade (Level 14) * The service has all standard grades such as Junior Time Scale (Level 10), Senior Time Scale (Level 11), Junior Administrative Grade (Level 12), Non-Functional Selection Grade (Level 13) and Senior Administrative Grade (Level 14) * At least 50% of vacancies in Junior Time Scale (Level 10) are filled through Direct Recruitment * All vacancies above Junior Time Scale (Level 10) and up to Senior Administrative Grade (Level 14) are filled by promotion from the next lower Grade In 2019, based on the Bibek Debroy committee report of 2015, the

Cabinet of India The Union Council of Ministers is the principal executive organ of the Government of India, which serves to aid and advise the President of India in execution of their functions.Article 74 of the ''Constitution of India'' It is chaired by th ...

approved the plan to merge eight railway services. In 2022, the government released a gazette notification about the merger of existing eight services, which fall under the Central Civil Services, into a new Indian Railways Management Service (IRMS). The eight services includes

Indian Railway Accounts Service The Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS; ''Bharatiya Rail Lekha Seva'') is one of the Group A Central Civil Service of the Government of India. The civil servants under this Service are responsible for the Accounts and Finance Management of th ...

Indian Railway Personnel Service The Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS) is a Prestigious Group 'A' Central Civil Service cadre of the Government of India. The central civil servants of this service are responsible for managing the Human Resources of the Indian Railways and ...

Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers The Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers (IRSEE) is a prestigious group A central engineering services of the Indian railways. The officers of this service are responsible for managing the Electrical Engineering organisation of the Ind ...

, Indian Railway Service of Engineers,

Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers The Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineering (IRSME) is one of the group 'A' Government of India, central engineering services of the Indian railways. The officers of this service are responsible for managing the Mechanical Engineering ...

Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers The Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers (IRSSE) is a central engineering services group A cadre of the Indian railways. The officers of this service are responsible for managing the Signal and Telecommunications Engineering Organization of ...

Indian Railway Stores Service The Indian Railway Stores Service (IRSS) is one of the Group A central engineering services of the Government of India. The officers of this service are procurement and logistics specialists and involvement in supply contract management over Indi ...

, and

Indian Railway Traffic Service The Indian Railway Traffic Service, abbreviated as IRTS is a Prestigious Group 'A' Central Civil Service Cadre of the Government of India. IRTS in its present form was reconstituted in 1967. The IRTS Cadre functions under the Administrative Con ...

. The merged Indian Railways Management Service is again demerged into various specific services as of 2024.

Central Government Services (Group B)

For Group B

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

posts only, the Combined Graduate Level Examination (CGLE) is conducted by the

Staff Selection Commission Staff Selection Commission (SSC) is an organisation under the Government of India to recruit staff for various posts in the various ministries and departments of the government of India and in subordinate offices and agencies. This commission ...

(SSC).Complete Civil Service Schedule of the Central Civil Services Group B of India
" ''Central Civil Service Group B - Government of India'', 20 April 2020. ''All appointments to Group B are made by the authorities specified by a general or special order of the President.''

Reforms and Challenges

Reforms

On December 2019, as per decision approved by

Union Cabinet of India The Union Council of Ministers is the principal executive organ of the Government of India, which serves to aid and advise the President of India in execution of their functions.Article 74 of the ''Constitution of India'' It is chaired by th ...

, a new

Indian Railway Management Service Indian Railways is a state-owned enterprise that is organised as a departmental undertaking of the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India and operates India's national railway system. , it manages the fourth largest national railway ...

(IRMS) was created by merging eight existing Group A Indian Railway services in the Central Civil Services. A new Indian Skill Development Service was created as technical cadre within the

Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (), established on 9 November 2014 and gazetted on 8 December 2014, is a ministry of the Government of India. After the formation of Narendra Modi's first government on 26 May 2014, the Min ...

Corruption and challenges

In 2016, the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

for the first time, dismissed 72 and prematurely retired another 33

officers for non-performance and on disciplinary grounds. In 2019, Government of India dismissed 12 (IRS IT) and 15 (IRS Customs and Central Excise) officers for corruption and bribery charges. In 2019, Department of Personnel and Training in

Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions is a ministry of the Government of India in personnel matters specially issues concerning recruitment, training, career development, staff welfare as well as the post-retirement dispens ...

listed 284

officers for performance audit by review panel headed by

Cabinet Secretary of India The Cabinet Secretary (ISO:''मंत्रिमंडळ सचिव'') is the top-most executive official and senior-most civil servant of the Government of India. The Cabinet Secretary is the ''ex-officio'' head of the Civil Services Boa ...

Supreme court cases, verdicts and directions

In May 2025,

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judiciary of India, judicial authority and the supreme court, highest court of the Republic of India. It is the final Appellate court, court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases in India. It also ...

upheld the organised service status of the

Central Armed Police Forces The Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) consist of seven armed police organizations under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India, tasked with maintaining internal security, law and order, counterinsurgency, and protecting borde ...

. The judgement clarified that “for all intent and purposes, CAPFs belong to OGAS rganised Group-A Services"

Notes

References

External links

CCS (CONDUCT) RULES, 1964CCS Rules-1964

Central Secretariat Manual of Office Procedure
14th Edition by Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions

News

Prime Minister instructs DoPT for speedy empanelment of officers from all central services
by The Times of India

by CNBC {{Civil service Central Civil Services (India)