UPSC 100 Years: Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has completed 100 years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is addressing a program organized on this occasion. On October 1, 1926, the first Public Service Commission for India under British rule, later known as UPSC, was established. In these 100 years, India has crossed many important milestones in its journey from independence to development. The role of UPSC has also been important in this. In many ways, it is the officers coming out of UPSC who dreamed and realized India’s development journey.

Come, in this episode, learn about the story of UPSC from its inception till now and the changes it has undergone. Know who were the first Indian administrative officers.

ICS exam was conducted in London

The first Public Service Commission for India was established on 1 October 1926. Earlier, administrative officers were selected through the Indian Service Commission (ICS) examination in London, which was started in 1955, which was an open competitive examination. Earlier East India Company used to appoint administrative officers. The ICS exam was conducted only in English, although it included subjects such as Greek and Latin. Under such circumstances, it was very difficult for Indians educated outside the British system to pass the ICS.

Satyennath Tagore was the first Indian ICS, after which the age limit was lowered

The ICS exam was conducted only in English and included subjects like Greek and Latin, so it was difficult for Indian candidates to clear it, but facing all challenges, Satyennath Tagore cleared the ICS exam in 1963 and became the first Indian to clear the ICS exam. He went to England from Calcutta to take the exam. Satyendranath Tagore was the elder brother of Rabindranath Tagore. After this, in 1977, the age limit for joining ICS was lowered, under which the age limit was fixed from 23 to 19 years. Due to this Indians got very less time to prepare.

ICS examination was conducted for the first time in India in 1922.

A major change in the ICS examination came in the year 1922. The ICS examination was held for the first time in India this year, under which the examination center was established for the first time in Allahabad, which was shifted to Delhi in 1928. Meanwhile, the first Public Service Commission for India was established on 1 October 1926.

UPSC was formed after independence, replacing ICS with IAS-IFS

After India got independence, ICS was replaced by IAS. In this context, the IAS examination was conducted for the first time after independence in December 1947. So in the year 1948, the first batch of Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officers were recruited through a combined examination. After the promulgation of the Constitution, the Federal Public Service Commission was established as the Union Public Service Commission.

1979 UPSC admission in 3 phase examination

UPSC has undergone many changes in its journey of 100 years. In which the changes made in 1976 are considered important. In 1976, the DS Kothari Committee proposed a 3-phase examination in UPSC, which was implemented in 1979. Selection in UPSC in this category started through 3 phase exams i.e. Prelims, Mains and Interview. When Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) technology was introduced in UPSC examination in 1989.

UPSC Online Recruitment Application (ORA) system was launched in the year 2000. By 2010, applications for many UPSC exams had gone completely online. Similarly, in 2013, the same year, a computer-based recruitment exam was conducted for the first time. So from this year itself, the scope of the UPSC Mains exam was limited and four General Studies papers including Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude and one optional subject were introduced.