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{{Short description|Indian legislation}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2018}}
{{use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{Infobox legislation
|short_title = All-India Services Act, 1951
|long_title = An Act to regulate the recruitment, and the conditions of service of persons appointed, to the All-India Services common to the Union and the States.
|territorial_extent = Whole of [[India]]
|legislature = [[Parliament of India]]
|enacted_by = [[Parliament of India]]
|status = amended
|citation = [https://web.archive.org/web/20180216205607/http://lawmin.nic.in/ld/P-ACT/1951/A1951-61.pdf No. 61 of 1951]
|image = Emblem of India.svg
|imagesize = 200px
|amended_by =
* ''The All India Services (Amendment) Act, 1958 (Act {{abbr|no.|number}} 25 of 1963)''
* ''The All India Services (Amendment) Act, 1963 (Act no. 25 of 1963)''
* ''The All India Services (Amendment) Act, 1975 (Act no. 19 of 1975)''
* ''The All India Services Regulations (Indemnity) Act, 1975 (Act no. 25 of 1975)''
|date_assented = 29 October 1951 {{small|(by the [[President of India]], [[Rajendra Prasad]])}}
|caption = [[Emblem of India]]
|summary = Creates [[All India Services]], namely, the [[Indian Administrative Service]] (IAS) and the [[Indian Police Service]] (IPS), [[Indian Forest Service]] (IFS) as per the articles 312, 313, and 314 of the [[Constitution of India]].
|date_effective=29 October 1951|date_commenced=29 October 1951}}

The '''All-India Services Act, 1951''' ([[International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration|IAST]]: {{IAST|Akhila Bhāratīya Sevāem Adhiniyama, 1951}}) is an Indian legislation. The act established two [[All India Services]] and provides for the creation of three more.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://lawmin.nic.in/ld/P-ACT/1951/A1951-61.pdf|title=The All India Services Act, 1951 (Act no. 61 of 1951)|date=29 October 1951|website=[[Ministry of Law and Justice (India)|Ministry of Law and Justice]], [[Government of India]]|access-date=16 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180216205607/http://lawmin.nic.in/ld/P-ACT/1951/A1951-61.pdf|archive-date=16 February 2018|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

==History==
During the occupation of India by the [[East India Company]], the civil services were divided into three — covenanted, uncovenanted and special civil services. The covenanted civil service, or the Honourable East India Company's Civil Service (HEICCS), as it was called, largely consisted of British civil servants occupying the senior posts in the government.<ref name=":162">{{Cite book|title=Indian Polity: A view of system of administration in India (classic reprint)|last=Chesney|first=George Tomkyns|publisher=Forgotten Books|year=2016|isbn=978-1333187644|location=[[London]]|publication-date=8 December 2017|oclc=982769345|author-link=George Tomkyns Chesney|orig-year=1870|df=dmy}}</ref><ref name="CUC Civil Service2" /> The uncovenanted civil service was solely introduced to facilitate the entry of Indians into the lower rung of the administration.<ref name=":162" /><ref name="CUC Civil Service2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelpregion/asia/india/indiaofficerecordsfamilyhistory/occupations/civilservice/civilservice.html|title=Civil Service|date=8 June 2011|publisher=[[The British Library]]|access-date=4 September 2017|archive-date=25 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925105401/http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelpregion/asia/india/indiaofficerecordsfamilyhistory/occupations/civilservice/civilservice.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":52">{{Cite book|title=Public Administration in South Asia: India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan (Public Administration and Public Policy)|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2013|isbn=978-1439869116|editor-last=Sabharwal|editor-first=Meghna|edition=1st|location=[[Abingdon-on-Thames]]|oclc=1004349979|editor-last2=Berman|editor-first2=Evan M.}}</ref> The special service consisted of specialised departments, such as the Indian Forest Service, [[Indian Imperial Police|Indian Police]] and [[Indian Political Department|Indian Political Service]], whose ranks were drawn from either the covenanted civil services or the [[British Indian Army]]. The Indian Police ranked many British Indian Army officers among its members, although after 1893, an annual exam was used to select its officers.<ref name="CUC Civil Service2" /><ref name=":52" /> In 1858, the HEICCS was replaced by the [[Indian Civil Service (British India)|Indian Civil Service]] (ICS),<ref name=":162" /><ref name="CUC Civil Service2" /> which became the highest [[civil service]] in [[British India|British-ruled India]] between 1858 and 1947. The last British appointments to the ICS were made in 1942.<ref name="CUC Civil Service2" /><ref name=":52" />

With the passing of the ''[[Government of India Act, 1919]]'', the Imperial Services — under the oversight of the [[Secretary of State for India]] — were split into two arms, the [[All India Services]] and the [[Central Civil Services of India|Central Services]].<ref name="Public Personnel Administration2">{{cite book|title=Public Personnel Administration : Theory and Practice|last1=Goel|first1=S.L.|last2=Rajneesh|first2=Shalini|publisher=Deep and Deep Publications|others=Foreword by [[Vasundhara Raje]]|year=2002|isbn=978-8176293952|location=[[Delhi]]|oclc=51300460}}</ref> The Imperial Civil Service was one of the ten All India Services.

In 1946, at the Premier's Conference, the then-Central Cabinet decided to form the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), based on the Imperial Civil Service (ICS);<ref name=":052">{{Cite web|url=http://dopt.gov.in/sites/default/files/BaswanReport.pdf|title=To take a comprehensive look at the requirement of IAS officers over a longer time frame|last1=Baswan|first1=B. S.|last2=Barik|first2=R. K.|year=2016|website=Department of Personnel and Training, [[Government of India]]|publisher=[[Indian Institute of Public Administration]]|publication-place=[[New Delhi]]|access-date=23 January 2018|last3=Ali|first3=Akber|last4=Singh|first4=Pankaj Kumar}}</ref><ref name=":172">{{Cite book|title=The Service of the State: The IAS Reconsidered|last=Ghose|first=Bhaskar|publisher=[[Penguin Group]]|year=2011|isbn=978-0670083817|location=[[New Delhi]]|publication-date=9 June 2011|oclc=986241038}}</ref> and the [[Indian Police Service]] (IPS), based on the Imperial Police (IP).<ref name=":052" />{{Blockquote|quote=There is no alternative to this administrative system... If you do not adopt this course, then do not follow the present Constitution. Substitute something else... these people are the instrument. Remove them and I see nothing but a picture of chaos all over the country.|author=[[Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel]] {{small|in the [[Constituent Assembly of India]] discussing the role of [[All India Services]].}}|source=<ref name="Discussion in Constituent Assembly on role of Indian Administrative Service">{{Cite web |url=http://164.100.47.194/Loksabha/Debates/cadebatefiles/C10101949.html |title=Discussion in Constituent Assembly on role of Indian Administrative Service |work= [[Parliament of India]]|access-date=26 January 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/sardar-vallabhbhai-patel-birth-anniversary-india-narendra-modi-bjp-4914433/|title=The great unifier|last=Naidu|first=M Venkaiah|author-link=Venkaiah Naidu|date=October 31, 2017|oclc=70274541|website=[[The Indian Express]]|access-date=January 21, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/sardar-patels-great-contribution-was-the-indian-administrative/articleshow/61356227.cms|title=Sardar Patel's great contribution was the Indian Administrative Service|date=October 31, 2018|website=[[The Economic Times]]|publication-place=[[New Delhi]]|oclc=61311680|access-date=January 21, 2018}}</ref><ref name=":Save the integrity of the civil service">{{Cite web|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/opinion/op-ed/020717/save-the-integrity-of-the-civil-service.html|title=Save the integrity of the civil service|last=Noorani|first=A.G.|date=2 July 2017|website=[[Deccan Chronicle]]|access-date=4 September 2017}}</ref><ref name="One Who Forged India’s Steel Frame">{{Cite web|title=One Who Forged India's Steel Frame|url=http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=15210|publisher=H.N. Bali|access-date=15 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730005641/http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=15210|archive-date=30 July 2017|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>}}When India was [[Partition of India|partitioned]] following the departure of the British in 1947, the [[Imperial Civil Service]] was divided between the new [[dominion]]s of [[Dominion of India|India]] and [[Dominion of Pakistan|Pakistan]]. The Indian remnant of the ICS was named the [[Indian Administrative Service]],<ref name=":182">{{Cite book|title=Government Employment and Pay: A Global and Regional Perspective|last1=Schiavo-Campo|first1=Salvatore|last2=Tommaso|first2=de Giulio|last3=Mukherjee|first3=Amitabha|publisher=[[World Bank]]|year=1999|location=[[Washington D. C.]]|page=23|oclc=913715804}}</ref> while the [[Pakistan]] remnant was named the [[Pakistan Administrative Service]] (PAS). The modern Indian Administrative Service and Indian Police Service were created under the Article 312(2) in [[Part XIV of the Constitution of India|part XIV]] of the [[Constitution of India]],<ref name="Services under the Union and the states2">{{Cite web|url=http://lawmin.nic.in/olwing/coi/coi-english/Const.Pock%202Pg.Rom8Fsss(19).pdf|title=Part XIV of the Constitution of India- Services under the Union and the States - Article 312(2)|website=[[Ministry of Law and Justice (India)|Ministry of Law and Justice]], [[Government of India]]|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111203131448/http://lawmin.nic.in/olwing/coi/coi-english/Const.Pock%202Pg.Rom8Fsss(19).pdf|archive-date=3 December 2011|url-status=dead|access-date=16 August 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://dopt.gov.in/sites/default/files/Revised_AIS_Rule_Vol_I_Rule_01.pdf|title=Relevant portions of the constitution relating to the All India Services|website=Department of Personnel and Training, [[Government of India]]|access-date=3 March 2018}}</ref> and the ''All India Services Act, 1951''.<ref name=":062">{{Cite web|url=http://lawmin.nic.in/ld/P-ACT/1951/A1951-61.pdf|title=The All India Services Act, 1951 (Act no. 61 of 1951)|date=29 October 1951|website=[[Ministry of Law and Justice (India)|Ministry of Law and Justice]], [[Government of India]]|access-date=16 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180216205607/http://lawmin.nic.in/ld/P-ACT/1951/A1951-61.pdf|archive-date=16 February 2018|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

== Provisions ==
The Act creates two All India Services as per Article 312(2) in [[Part XIV of the Constitution of India|part XIV]] of the [[Constitution of India]], namely, the [[Indian Administrative Service]] (IAS) and the [[Indian Police Service]] (IPS).<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Services under the Union and the states">{{Cite web|url=http://lawmin.nic.in/olwing/coi/coi-english/Const.Pock%202Pg.Rom8Fsss(19).pdf|title=Part XIV of the Constitution of India- Services under the Union and the States - Article 312(2)|website=[[Ministry of Law and Justice (India)|Ministry of Law and Justice]], [[Government of India]]|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111203131448/http://lawmin.nic.in/olwing/coi/coi-english/Const.Pock%202Pg.Rom8Fsss(19).pdf|archive-date=3 December 2011|url-status=dead|access-date=16 August 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

The act — subject to a two-thirds majority ([[supermajority]]) in the [[Rajya Sabha]] — also provides for the creation of three more [[All India Services]], namely, the [[Indian Engineering Service]], the [[Indian Forest Service]], and [[Combined Medical Services Examination|Indian Medical and Health Service]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The All-India Services Act, 1951 - Act No. 61 of 1951 |url=https://legislative.gov.in/sites/default/files/A1951-61_0.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181223003232/https://legislative.gov.in/sites/default/files/A1951-61_0.pdf |archive-date=23 December 2018 |date=29 October 1951 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The All-India Services (Amendment) Bill, 1962 |url=http://164.100.47.4/billstexts/lsbilltexts/asintroduced/103_1962_LS_Eng.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203153018/http://164.100.47.4/billstexts/lsbilltexts/asintroduced/103_1962_LS_Eng.pdf |archive-date=3 December 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Chapter VIII All India Services |url=http://interstatecouncil.nic.in/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/CHAPTERVIII.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230214181348/http://interstatecouncil.nic.in/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/CHAPTERVIII.pdf |archive-date=14 February 2023 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> Of these, only the [[Indian Forest Service]] was created under the ''All India Services Act, 1951'' in 1966.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ifs.nic.in|title=Introduction|website=[[Indian Forest Service]], [[Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change]], [[Government of India]]|access-date=1 April 2018}}</ref>

==Amendments==
The ''All India Services Act, 1951'' has been amended four times.
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
|+Amendments to the ''All India Services Act, 1951''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://164.100.47.194/Loksabha/Legislation/billspassed.aspx|title=Legislation|website=[[Lok Sabha]]|publisher=[[Parliament of India]]|access-date=16 February 2018}}</ref>
!No.
!Short title
!Citation
!Status
|-
|1
|''The All India Services (Amendment) Act, 1958''
|Act {{abbr|no.|number}} 25 of 1963
|In force
|-
|2
|''The All India Services (Amendment) Act, 1963''
|Act no. 25 of 1963
|In force
|-
|3
|''The All India Services (Amendment) Act, 1975''
|Act no. 19 of 1975
|[[Repeal]]ed<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://indiacode.nic.in/repealedActs.jsp|title=Repealed Acts|website=India Code|publisher=Legislative Department, [[Government of India]]|access-date=31 March 2018}}</ref>
|-
|4.
|''The All India Services Regulations (Indemnity) Act, 1975''
|Act no. 25 of 1975
|Repealed<ref name=":1" />
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
===Books===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite book|title=Public Administration in India|last=Tummala|first=Krishna Kumar|publisher=Allied Publishers|year=1996|isbn=978-8170235903|location=[[Mumbai]]|oclc=313439426}}
* {{Cite book|title=Indian Polity: A view of system of administration in India (classic reprint)|last=Chesney|first=George Tomkyns|publisher=Forgotten Books|year=2016|isbn=978-1333187644|location=[[London]]|publication-date=8 December 2017|oclc=982769345|author-link=George Tomkyns Chesney|orig-year=1870|df=dmy}}
* {{Cite book|title=Public Administration in South Asia: India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan (Public Administration and Public Policy)|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2013|isbn=978-1439869116|editor-last=Sabharwal|editor-first=Meghna|edition=1st|location=[[Abingdon-on-Thames]]|oclc=1004349979|editor-last2=Berman|editor-first2=Evan M.}}
* {{cite book|title=Public Personnel Administration : Theory and Practice|last1=Goel|first1=S.L.|last2=Rajneesh|first2=Shalini|publisher=Deep and Deep Publications|others=Foreword by [[Vasundhara Raje]]|year=2002|isbn=978-8176293952|location=[[Delhi]]|oclc=51300460}}
* {{Cite book|title=The Service of the State: The IAS Reconsidered|last=Ghose|first=Bhaskar|publisher=[[Penguin Group]]|year=2011|isbn=978-0670083817|location=[[New Delhi]]|publication-date=9 June 2011|oclc=986241038}}
{{Refend}}

===Paper===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite web|url=http://dopt.gov.in/sites/default/files/BaswanReport.pdf|title=To take a comprehensive look at the requirement of IAS officers over a longer time frame|last1=Baswan|first1=B. S.|last2=Barik|first2=R. K.|year=2016|website=Department of Personnel and Training, [[Government of India]]|publisher=[[Indian Institute of Public Administration]]|publication-place=[[New Delhi]]|access-date=23 January 2018|last3=Ali|first3=Akber|last4=Singh|first4=Pankaj Kumar}}
{{Refend}}

[[Category:All India Services]]
[[Category:1951 in India]]
[[Category:Nehru administration]]
[[Category:Acts of the Parliament of India 1951]]

All-India Services Act 1951 - Revision history

Masterstrock at 05:49, 4 May 2026