A glance over the annual reports of the Public Service Commissions Union as well as the State Commissions will show the variety and volume of their work. Conducting of competitive examinations for recruiting personnel to the various services is one of the most arduous tasks undertaken by these Commissions. In one of its recent reports, the Union Public Service Commission has given the following details with regard to some of its functions:-
For the thirteen examinations conducted by the Commission, there was a total of 6, 07,094 applications. The number of candidates appeared was 3, 60,661. Of these, 5,590 candidates were interviewed by the Commission. The number of candidates recommended for appointment was 3,865.
Apart from recruitment by examination, the Commission makes recruitment by Interview. The number of applications for the 2140 posts advertised was 75,126. Of these, action with regard to 1805 posts was completed during 1993-94 after interviewing 5,643 applicants and recommending 1,054 candidates for appointment.
Regarding Recruitment Rules the Commission processed 1,308 cases. There were 21,295 cases to be considered for promotion. Of these, 3,508 were recommended. 10,956 cases were referred to the Commission for transfers or deputations. Of these, 312 were recommended. 5168 officers were recommended for confirmation. The Commission also disposed of 410 disciplinary cases.
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The Commission also handles a good number of cases, such as those involving regularization of appointments, claims for the award of pension, claims for reimbursement of legal expenses incurred by Government servants in defending legal proceedings instituted against them in respect of acts done in the execution of their duties.
The Commission in its Reports has acknowledged that apart from a few isolated instances, the Ministries and Departments generally observed the provisions of the Constitution. It means that on the whole the recommendations of the Commission are accepted and acted upon by the Government.
In fact, most of the reports show that there was not even one case where the Union Government has not accepted the recommendations of the Commission. No greater test is required to prove the effectiveness of the Commission as an independent body under the Constitution even though its recommendations are only of an advisory nature.