National Civil Services Day is observed on April 21 every year.
National Civil Services Day is observed on April 21 every year to commemorate the day when, in 1947, independent India's first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel addressed the newly selected administrative service officers at Metcalfe House, Delhi. He had referred to civil servants as the 'steel frame of India'.
"Along with discipline, you must cultivate an esprit de corps without which a Service as such has little meaning. You should regard it as a proud privilege to belong to the Service, covenants of which you will sign, and to uphold throughout your service, its dignity, integrity and incorruptibility," Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had said in his address to the administrative officers.
"Above all, I would advise you to maintain to the utmost the impartiality and incorruptibility of administration. A civil servant cannot afford to and must not, take part in politics. Nor must he involve himself in communal wrangles," he had also said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has wished all Civil Servants on the occasion of Civil Services Day.
Best wishes to all Civil Servants on the occasion of Civil Services Day. In different terrains and across different sectors, they are working tirelessly to help our citizens and enhance national progress. May they keep serving the nation with the same zeal.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 21, 2021
The first National Civil Service Day was observed in the year 2006.
On this day, the Prime Minister's Awards for Excellence in Public Administration are presented to acknowledge, recognize and reward the extraordinary and innovative work done by Districts/ Organizations of the Central and State Governments.
The official portal of the PM's awards was launched in July 2020.
Civil Services include Indian Administrative Services (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and other central group A and group B posts.
From 1922 onwards the Indian Civil Service exam is being held in India. It was first held in Allahabad and then in Delhi with the setting up of the Federal Public Service Commission. With the formation of the Constitution of India on January 26, 1950, the Federal Public Service Commission came to be known as the Union Public Service Commission.
The Civil Services exam is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) in three stages-a preliminary exam, a main exam and personality test.
