The Kerala Administrative Service (KAS) is the administrative cadre of the

Government of Kerala Government of Kerala is the subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision ...

started in the year 2018. The

Kerala Public Service Commission The Kerala Public Service Commission (KPSC) is a body created by the Constitution of India to select applicants for civil service jobs in the Indian state of Kerala according to the merits of the applicants and the rules of reservation. The Hea ...

conducts exams to recruit candidates for the service. Selection is through a three-stage examination followed by a training of 18 months.

History

The Administrative Reforms Commissions since the formation of Kerala state has been suggesting formation of Kerala Administrative Service. KAS was one of the most important promises made in the LDF manifesto for

2016 Kerala Legislative Assembly election The 2016 Kerala Legislative Assembly election was held on 16 May 2016 to elect 140 MLAs to the 14th Kerala Legislative Assembly. Voter turnout was 77.53%, up from 75.12% in the previous election. The result was declared on 19 May 2016. The Left ...

. It is being implemented by the next LDF government. KAS came in to force from 1 January 2018. It is considered one of the major achievements of the

first Vijayan ministry First Pinarayi Vijayan ministry is the Council of Ministers headed by Pinarayi Vijayan that was formed after the Left Democratic Front (Kerala), Left Democratic Front (LDF) won the 2016 Kerala Legislative Assembly elections. The Council assumed ...

Aim

The declared objective of the Kerala Administrative Service is to create a new generation of officers to utilize the potential of modern technology to make governance more efficient. The government aims to improve the efficiency of middle-level management in the government service by identifying and recruiting talented candidates through a strict three-stage examination followed by a training of 18 months. The first year of 18 months of training is pre-service training and the subsequent six months of training must be done after entering service but before completing probation. Through KAS, the government is looking for a way to avoid hindering the realization of the objectives of government projects due to the significant shortage of professionals in the second tier of the government system. The rank of first appointee in KAS is equivalent to the rank of Under Secretary in the State Secretariat. Initially, the second gazetted posts in 29 government departments were reserved for KAS. Officers in KAS, which is considered as the feeder category for

IAS IAS may refer to: Science * Institute for Advanced Study, in Princeton, New Jersey, United States * Image Analysis & Stereology, the official journal of the International Society for Stereology & Image Analysis. * Iowa Archeological Society, Uni ...

, can enter the IAS cadre subject to satisfying conditions of promotion under the Indian Administrative Service (Appointment by Promotion) Regulations,1955, after completing 8 years of service.

Selection

Kerala Administrative Service examination is considered the highest level examination conducting by

. Selection is done through any of the 3 streams described below: *Stream-1: Direct recruitment *Stream-2: Direct recruitment from approved Probationers or Full members who have successfully completed probation in various departments of the Government of Kerala. *Stream-3: Direct recruitment from Government Employees holding the first Gazetted post or above in the Government Departments mentioned in Schedule 1 of Kerala Administrative Service Special Rules published in 2018 or holding the equivalent post in the general categories mentioned in Schedule 1.

Age Limit and Conditions

*Stream-1: Direct Recruitment = 21 - 32yrs. *Stream-2: 21 - 40yrs old. *Stream-3: below 50yrs old. *Candidate must have a bachelor's degree in any stream from a recognized university. *Candidate must be an Indian citizen

Appointments

Kerala Administrative Service shall consists of the following categories of officers: *KAS Officer (Junior Time Scale) Trainee *KAS Officer (Senior Time Scale) *KAS Officer (Selection Grade Scale) *KAS Officer (Super Time Scale)

Criticisms and controversies

Indian Administrative Service The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. Considered the premier civil service of India, the IAS is one of the three arms of the All India Services along with the Indian ...

(IAS) officials protested against the base salary of Rs 81,800 for Kerala Administrative Service officers. The Kerala IAS Officers' Association and the Kerala unit of the

IPS IPS, ips, or iPS may refer to: Science and technology Biology and medicine * ''Ips'' (genus), a genus of bark beetle * Induced pluripotent stem cell or iPS cells * Intermittent photic stimulation, a neuroimaging technique * Intraparietal sulcus ...

and IFS Associations submitted a letter to the Chief Minister requesting that the Cabinet decision be reconsidered. In the letter, they pointed out that the higher salaries of KAS officers would create problems in the district administration. There have also been protests against the government's move to apply reservation in appointments through transfer in the Kerala Administrative Service. In 2020, the Division Bench of Kerala High court dismissed a series of petitions filed by the Samastha Nair Samaj and a few officials questioning the Government's move to apply reservation in appointments through transfer.

References

{{Reflist State civil services of India 2018 establishments in Kerala Government agencies established in 2018