All India Services

All India Services are constitutionally recognised civil services common to both the Union and the states. Unlike Central or State Civil Services, their officers are recruited nationally, allocated to state or joint cadres, and may serve both a state government and the Union Government. This arrangement combines national standards with experience in state administration.

Constitutional basis

Under Article 312, Parliament may create a new All India Service after the Rajya Sabha passes a resolution supported by at least two-thirds of members present and voting, declaring it necessary in the national interest.

• The existing services are the Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service and Indian Forest Service.
• Their recruitment and service conditions are principally governed by the All India Services Act, 1951 and rules framed under it.

Recruitment and field of service

• All India Service officers are recruited through the UPSC, allocated to state or joint cadres, and can serve under state governments as well as on central deputation.
• Central Civil Service officers primarily hold posts connected with the affairs of the Union. They may be posted across India, but they do not belong to constitutionally established state cadres.
• State Civil Service officers are recruited for the affairs of a state, generally through its State Public Service Commission. Eligible officers may be promoted to an All India Service under the prescribed rules.

Control and federal purpose

All India Services embody shared control: officers work under the state government while serving in a state cadre, while the Union regulates recruitment, cadre management and central deputation under the applicable rules. Central and State Civil Services, by contrast, remain administratively attached primarily to their respective Union or state governments.

• The arrangement provides administrative continuity and common standards while retaining officers with sustained knowledge of particular states.
• Central or State Civil Services may permit deputation, but such mobility does not give them the distinctive constitutional status of a service common to the Union and states.