PSCs Should Give Highest Priority to Aspect of Candidates Honesty, Integrity: Murmu
The President said that young people seeking employment as civil servants should have the inclination to work for the marginalised and the vulnerable
Hyderabad: President Droupadi Murmu said on Friday that public service recruitment must be guided by equality in outcomes, and not just equality in opportunity.
Addressing a two-day national conference of chairpersons of public service commissions (PSCs) in Hyderabad, the President said the UPSC and the State PSCs play a decisive role in shaping governance and must give the highest priority to honesty and integrity while recruiting civil servants.
“Our Constitution makers dedicated an entire part of the Constitution to services and public service commissions. This highlights the significance they attached to the roles and functions of these institutions,” she said.
The President said PSCs need to anticipate emerging challenges in technology and focus on strengthening transparency and developing globally comparable teams of civil servants.
“The PSCs need to anticipate the emerging challenges on the frontier of technology, strengthening transparency and credibility as well as developing globally comparable teams of civil servants,” she said.
Murmu said the constitutional ideals of social, economic and political justice, and equality of status and opportunity, were central to the functioning of the commissions.
The President said PSCs should actively work towards equity. “The Public Service Commissions should not only be guided by the ideal of equality of opportunity but should also try to achieve the goal of equality of outcomes,” she said, describing the commissions as “change-agents which promote equality and equity”.
Stressing that integrity was non-negotiable, the President said: “Public service commissions should give the highest priority to the aspect of honesty and integrity of the candidates they recruit. Lack of skills can be addressed through learning, but lack of integrity may cause grave challenges which are difficult to overcome.”
President Murmu also called for greater gender sensitivity in public service. “Our civil servants should be particularly sensitive to the needs and aspirations of women. Gender sensitisation should be given high priority,” she said.
Linking recruitment quality to national goals, the President said India required effective governance at all levels to achieve its targets. “India is striving to become the third-largest economy and working towards achieving Viksit Bharat by 2047. At this time, the country needs the best public servants,” she said, expressing confidence that the commissions would build a future-ready civil service.
Speaking earlier, Governor Jishnu Dev Varma stressed transparency and time-bound recruitment. He said appointments should be made strictly on merit and according to a fixed calendar, adding that public trust depended on timely notifications, examinations and results. Panchayat raj minister Danasari Anasuya and TPSC chairman Burra Venkatesham were present.
UPSC chairman Ajay Kumar said a compendium of 100 landmark court judgments was being prepared in collaboration with Nalsar University of Law, Hyderabad, with the involvement of State PSCs. He also said the UPSC was planning to establish a centre of excellence to strengthen legally robust recruitment systems and build capacity across State commissions.
The conference, attended by chairpersons of 24 State PSCs, is aimed at discussing reforms, addressing recruitment challenges and improving transparency and accountability. Discussions will continue on inter-state cooperation and policy approaches to strengthen recruitment processes.
