( Unit of Eva Stalin Group of Institutions)
Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) has the unique distinction of being the successor of the first provincial PSC in the form of the Madras Service Commission set up under the British colonial rule. Madras Service Commission came into being under an Act of the Madras legislature in 1929 in order to recruit qualified persons to the provincial and subordinate services. In 1936, the name was modified as "The Madras Public Service Commission".
The government recruitment body came to be known as Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission from 1970. The provisions relating to the Public Service Commissions are contained in Articles 315 to 323 of the Constitution of India, Chapter II of Part XIV.
It was left mostly to the discretion of provincial governments to recruit and exercise control over their services as deemed necessary. As a result of the discretionary powers left to British provinces, the government of Madras and Punjab proposed to set up their own Public Service Commissions. The Madras Service Commission thus came into being under an Act of the Madras Legislature in 1929.
Madras Presidency had the unique honour of being the first among Indian states to establish their own Service Commission. The Madras Service Commission started with three members including the chairman. After re-organisation of states in 1957, a number of state-level commissions were constituted. The Madras Service Commission became Madras Public Service Commission with headquarters in Madras in 1957. During 1970, when the name of the state was changed into Tamil Nadu, the Madras Public Service Commission also accordingly got renamed as the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC).
Articles 316 to 319 deal with the structure of State Public Service Commissions. TNPSC is headed by the chairman and comprises 14 other members, all appointed by the Governor in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. As of 20 Oct 2014, the TNPSC consists of a chairman and 5 members. The departments of TNPSC are headed by a joint secretary, deputy secretaries and under secretaries consisting of sections headed by section officers and other subordinate staff. In a G.O. dated 9 August 2011, the TN government took into consideration the definition given in the Sub-section (C) of Section (2) of Chapter (1) relating to 'Public Servant' under Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. Following which they have decided to bring the chairman and members of the TNPSC under the purview of the State Vigilance Commission and Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption.
The TNPSC has to discharge the duties and functions has specified in the Article 320 of the Constitution of India. The Commission is required to advise the state government on all matters relating to framing of recruitment rules, principles in making appointments, promotions and transfers from one service to another service and in respect of disciplinary matters affecting officials. Most importantly, TNPSC has the responsibility of conducting the examinations for the selection of candidates under direct recruitment to the state, subordinate and ministerial services.
TNPSC holds departmental exams for government officials and also conducts the examination on behalf of the Union government, Ministry of Defence for the admission to the school run by the Rashtriya Indian Military College in Dehra Dun. The secretary to TNPSC holds responsibility of ensuring implementation of its various decisions, besides handling day-to-day administration, departmental promotion committees and oral tests for recruitment, among others. The Controller of Exams is responsible for notifying and conducting recruitment and departmental examinations.
Jobs under TNPSC Combined Civil Services Examination (CCSE-I) - Group I: Recruitment to various posts under state services are done in three stages of examination - Preliminary, Mains and Interview. This exam is considered equivalent to UPSC Civil services as these posts are the highest recruitment of the state government.
TNPSC holds departmental exams for government officials and also conducts the examination on behalf of the Union government, Ministry of Defence for the admission to the school run by the Rashtriya Indian Military College in Dehra Dun. The secretary to TNPSC holds responsibility of ensuring implementation of its various decisions, besides handling day-to-day administration, departmental promotion committees and oral tests for recruitment, among others. The Controller of Exams is responsible for notifying and conducting recruitment and departmental examinations.