THE CENTIAL SECRETARIAT
Presiden:.
Constitution, all executive actions are taken in the narme of the Minister
Under the Indian A councilof Ministers, with the Prime
mere constitutional head.
But the President is a
President in the exercise of his furnctions. The real executive
at its head. aids and advises the 2cing
Cabinet or the council of ministers with the Prime Minister
power vests in the perlorm numerous functions, they requie assistance.
the nucleus. As these ininisters cannot Ministries and
adn;inistrative convenience, the Govermmernt oi India is divided into
for
Departments which together constitute the Central Seretariat. The Secetariat is the ofñce
ministers hending various ministries in discharging their responsibilities.
which assists
'Secretariat' literally means the office of the Secretary. The Secretary being the
The word equipped with anofice to assist hin: in the ner
principal advisor to the Minister, needs to be
the time wihen there was the secretnr
formance of his functios. The term finds its origin to
government in India. After independence, the pOwer of goverance came into the hands
ies'
Mlinistry, and ot the Secretary, the real centre of
Gf popuiarly elected Ministers makiny tic
Tne Role and Functions ofthe Central Secretariat
i: h un:i.:
.:
diniszratise
in th
set-up,oi the CentralSecretariat occupies akey position. li as$!50
iullrent its
rsponsibilities. It assists the ministers in tne o**
:1 .Io!icies. policies can be framed only on the basis of relevant Gte «
s
mlutntionn, lhe Secrelatlat makes themm avallable to the Minister, thercby
(ofonmmate pollcies. In briet, the Sectetariat: cnablin, him/her
Ihelps the nmintster intlhe policy making process.
Jcl nftaning rules and teglations.
lhels in fnancial matagementand budgeting.
helps in coordinating withh other branclhes of he yovernment and
withstate adninistration. maintaining contact
helps inevaluating, thewotk donc by CxCcutive agencics.
asists the minister indisclharging his rcsponsibilitics to the Parliament.
Tus, the Sccretariat is thehighest office of the Government.
has lent balance, consistency and
fot thetotal achinery of a ministry.continuity
to the administration, and scrves as a
I has facilitated inter-ministry nuclcu
abillly teo the l'arliament at the ministerial level. As an coordination and account
ble for tihe proper functioning of thc governnient. (ARCinstitutionalized
1967, 30)
system, it is indispensa
The sccretariat is called a think tank, because it
crnmental policics and activitics. It acts as a channelprovides vital inlormation regarding gov
of
and iniportant institutions like the National Institution forcommunication between the states
and Finance Commission. It serves as a nucleus for the Transforming India (NITI Aayog)
overall machinery of a ministry and
facil:t3tes inter-ministry coordination. The superior position of the
nizcd iy the Government hrougih higher pay scales and special Secretariatforhas been recog
the secrctariat. Thus, the Secretariat is an essential institution in allowances the officials of
the public administration of
thecountry, being both inevitable and desirablc.
Organizational Structure of the Secretariat
The Central Secretariat is acombination of various ministries and
departments. The term 'min
istry' came into practice only after independence in 1947. A ministry
minister, which may include one.or more departments, each under theis under the charge of a
charge of a secretary.
Large ministries like defense, home, external affairs and finance have more than
ment. Adepartment is an organizational unit headed by aSecretary. If a ministry hasonc
more
depart
onc department, it may have more secretaries, but only one sernior officer will than
represent the
Ininistry. ASenior Secretary is designated as the Principal Secretary. For the smooth funcioning
of a ninistry: it is divided into the following segments headed by an officer-in-charge.
Department SecretarylAdditional Secretary/Special Secretary
Joint Secretary/Additional Secretary
Wing
. Division Dircctor/Deputy Secretary
Branch Under Secretary
Scction Section Officer
A minisiry consists of one or nore departments which are hcaded by a
Secretary or in
SOme cases by an additional/special Secretary. He is the adninistrative head of the
departmcnt and thc principle advisor to the minister, lle represents his ministry/
before tihe various Committees of tlhe Parliamnent. He receives iveckly ministry/depart1nent
posed by his subordinate stafl. In aministry there may be as many reports of the cases dis.
of departincnts. The senior most ScCrelary secretaries as the number
coordinates he work ol the other secretaries
The secretary briefs the minister about the consequences of a policy. He
try in all national and international comnittees along with the represents his min.
fro to give instructions tor certain cases directly submitted to ninister. The sccretary is
him. Thus, the sccretary po:.
sesses the highest authority in the department.
Where tlhe volue of work of asecrelary is t00 large, Ihe may be assisted by aJoint or
Additional Secrctary who takes charge of a ving. The function of ajoint Secretary is to
ielicve the Sccretary of abulk of work, and where necessary deal directly with the Mimste1.
However, the Secretary is kept informed on alldirect dealings with the minister. Regarding all
business 1alling under his wing, the Joint Secretary occupics the maximurn independencc o1
functioning and responsibility.
below the tank of Joint Sccretary, a number of departmernts in the Governrncnt of india
have the post of a Dircctor, who is placed above the DeputySecretary. The responsibilitjes oi
Director are more or less the same as that of a Depulv Secretarv. This post is acreation or trit
1960s to satisty the ego of some officers.
Awing of a ministry is divided into divisions for theefficicnt and smooth disposal of busi
ness allotted to tlhe ministry. Two branches gcnerally constitute a division which 1s neaue
by'aDeputy Secrelary. ADeputy Secretary assists the Joint Secretary in the discharge of his
functions. He has to use his discretion in taking orders from the Joint Secretaries, hudo
SecTetary of Secretary on important cases, either verbally or by subrmission of the relevant
papers. Overall, theDeputy Secretary occupies an important position in the Central Secretarat.
Abranch consists of two sections and is under the charge of an Under Secretary. ie
actsas a link between the Deputy Secretary and the Section Öfficer under his supervision. Fie
1s 2ccountable to theDeputy Secretary for the smooth functioning of the branch. He exercises
authority not on!y in regard to the speedy disposal of work, but also on the maintenance ot
discipline in sections under his control. Normally, it is the Under Secretary who needs to Inl
tiate action on all inward communications. He needs to submit more important cases to the
Deputy Secretary which the latter is enabled to deal with quickly.
TheaboveofficerS perform their functions keeping in mindthe interests of theGovernunent
of India as a whole. For example theSecretary is the secretary to the Government of Ind12
not to his minister alone. Unfortunately, S. R. Maheshwari observes that there is too much
departmental thinking and the Secretäry, today, ordinarily thinks in terms of his Ministry
Department only, which is bound to hamper overall eficiency and coordination effots.
This thinking does not end at the Secretary's level; it has to an extent percolated downwards
into the department. The Deputy Secretary often thinks only in terms of his division and the
Under Secretary, of his branch. All this is certainly not conducive to the attainment of organi
zationai goals and organizational harmony, an organization being defined in the broadest
terms, as comprehending the Governinent of lndia as a whole(Maheshwari 2001 74) number
The lowest in the administrative structure is the Section Officer helped by a
of assistants, sternographers, upper division clerks, lower, division clerks and peons, Together
they constitute an office. The efficiency of higher level unctionaries is, to a lurge cNient
conditioned by the competence of the office, 1t is the loundatiOn that sustains the enrire
super structure. It serves as the organizational 'memory', being a repository of SDecialized
knowledge and precedents. This 'nemory' tunction IS imporlant in thc context of the tenure
systern which makes the officers lbirds of passage. Normally, an office has a Section Officer.
four assistants and anunber of upper and lower division cletks. The Section Officer presides
over the office. At the lowest leve, thelower division clerk is responsible to pertorn routine
dutics, such as collection of previous paperS, maintenance of files and tegisters, dispatch of
enail, ctc. The upperdivision clerk has a similar type of lunction to perform but, in addition,
he notes on simple cases and assists in their disposal. The section officer ensures that the
notes prepared by lhis subordinates are factually coTrect. He is the first line supervisor in the
Secretariat's hierarchy and is expected to settle ninor caSes using his own discretion.
The Central Secretariat Service (CSS)
There are three sevices in the Central Secretariat, wbich provide support and continuity tO
the govOrNmental system in the Central Governnent SeCretariat.
Cntral Secretariat Service (CSS),
Central Secrelariat StenographersService (CSSS),
3. Central Secretariat Clerical Service (CSCS).
The Department of Personnel and Training of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances
and Pernsions is the cadre controlling authority of all the three CSs. The sanctioncd strengin
ofUhe three services was 23,860 in 2013.The lnstitute of Secretariat Training and Managemnt
Drovides systematic pre-entry training to newentrants in grades IiI and IV of tlh is service. The
CSsS and the CsCS are designed to provide assistance to menbers of the CSS and other top
ieve! officers in the central secretariat.
The CSS is amajor source of recruitment to Central Secretariat posts. It came into exist
ence in 1948 byreplacing the otd lmperial Service. Iresently it consists of five grades, nanely
ASsistant, Section officer, Under Secre tary, Deputy Sccretary and Director. Some of the Joint
held (under the central staffing scheme) by the CSS officer. Tiie
Secretary-level posts are also
CSS has been devised primarily to manage middle level posts in the Central Sccretariat. It is a
pernnanent bureaucratic set-up of the Central GOVernment, ensuring cOninuity iu adiinis
tratio and policies. at (wo
Prior to restructuring of thC CSS in 2003, direct recruitrnent lo the CSS took lace civil
extent of 20 pCr cent thrOugh the
leels. The section officers were recruited, to the induction. to
Services examinations Conducted by the UPSC. The second levcl of direct
the extent of 50 er cent took plac at he Assistant lC:vel through the AII lndia Gracluate
Examination conducted by the Staff Selection CommissiOn, Afler 2O03, Oirect recruiL)ent at
SUÇh, dirccl recruIilDCll nto he CSS is u0w
the level of Section officers was discontinuecd. As Examination of tihe ssC
available oly at the level of Assistants througlh t}ie Graduate Leel
Tro S0 lo 75 perceDl. In addits
uiten quola has been increasd from
inimun qualilicati0n of Hraluation, COmpuler probciCDCy has also been introduc
by th promoion
i teve. The enaining 25 per cenl of vaCancies re filled
DviNion Clerks of theCsCS.
heCSS ovide stall not only for lhe Cenral Scerelariat, but also) for inost of th allaciicd
Md subordinate ollices and all poOsls fromn (he level of Assistant up to Under SCrelaries itte
ictudet in this service. The CSsis a comnon service for all the ministries. This inprovs the
opportunities and prospectsof prOnotion for all the employces of the servicc.
