Asim Arun
Because their functions differed substantially, he pointed out that the Indian Civil Service, Imperial Police and various technical services had separate examinations and selection processes.
For instance, he said officers in Audit and Accounts Services are entrusted with public finance and auditing responsibilities and should ideally possess a strong grounding in accounting, commerce and economics. Over the years, however, the system shifted towards a common examination through which candidates are selected for a wide range of services. The former IPS officer argued that such an arrangement assumes a single examination can assess all competencies required across services, despite the fact that the responsibilities of a district police chief, diplomat, auditor and administrator differ considerably. Likewise, officers joining the Indian Foreign Service represent India abroad and deal with geopolitics, diplomacy, international law and global economics, areas that deserve greater weight in the selection process. For example, diplomat-led panels could assess IFS candidates, while senior police officers, criminologists and security experts could evaluate IPS aspirants. Audit and Accounts candidates could be interviewed by experts in finance and public accounting.
Lucknow: As the Union Public Service Commission marks its centenary, former IPS officer and UP social welfare minister Asim Arun has pitched for a major overhaul of India’s civil services recruitment system, arguing that the existing ‘One exam, 30 services’ model is no longer adequate for the increasingly specialised demands of modern governance. His observations come amid a broader debate on examination reforms within the UPSC itself. During the centenary celebrations, UPSC chairman Ajay Kumar emphasised the need to move beyond testing memory and coached responses, stressing greater focus on reasoning, judgment and decision-making in uncertain situations. PM Narendra Modi , too, called for recruitment processes that assess not only what candidates know but also why they wish to enter public service and how they can address future governance challenges.
Similarly, Arun argued that policing demands expertise in criminal law, criminology, forensics, internal security and investigation. He also questioned whether the current examination pattern adequately evaluates qualities such as field leadership, crisis response, decision-making and understanding of ground realities, which are crucial for administrative and policing roles.