The All India Services

The all India services constitute a unique feature of the Indian federal set-up. For some two decades, the IAS and the IPS functioned as envisaged in the Constitution. Then the decline started, first slowly and later at an accelerated pace. The nadir was reached in Gujarat three years ago. Now these services are in a shambles everywhere. Though the services no longer serve fully the purpose for which they were established, this paper argues that they should be retained and rejuvenated. It concludes with some suggestions for revamping the services.