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History
In 1923, the Indian Government established a Public Service Commission to review the salary structure of the Indian Civil Service and explore the possibility of transferring some duties to provincial services. The commission consisted of five Englishmen and four Indians, led by Viscount Lee of Fareham.
One of the commission’s objectives was to address the Indianization of the Indian Civil Service and Police. They set a target for the Indian Civil Service to have 50% Indian membership within 15 years, and the Indian Police within 25 years.
Provincial governments were given considerable discretion in recruiting and managing their own services. Consequently, the governments of Madras and Punjab proposed the establishment of their own public service commissions.
Madras Presidency became the first province in India to establish its own service commission in 1929 through an Act of the Madras Legislature. This commission covered more than half of the present-day state of Kerala.
Travancore also had a Public Service Commissioner responsible for selecting candidates for direct recruitment to government posts. In 1936, G.D. Nokes became the first Public Service Commissioner. The office operated until the integration of Travancore and Cochin States.
Cochin had its own Staff Selection Board in 1936 for initial recruitment to lower posts. In 1947, a three-member Cochin Public Service Commission was established by the State Legislature.
The merger of Travancore and Cochin States on July 1, 1949 led to the formation of the Travancore-Cochin State, which established a Public Service Commission with three members through an Ordinance. Its functions were similar to those outlined in the Government of India Act, 1935. After the Constitution of India came into effect on January 26, 1950, the Travancore-Cochin Public Service Commission continued its operations under the constitutional provisions.
On November 1, 1956, the State of Kerala was formed following the reorganization of states. It included the former Travancore-Cochin State (except the present Kanyakumari District and Shencottah Taluk, now part of Tamil Nadu) and parts of the former Madras State. The public service commissions of Malabar District and South Canara were separated from the Madras PSC.
Following the state formation, the Travancore-Cochin Public Service Commission was transformed into the Kerala Public Service Commission. V.K. Velayudhan became its first Chairman. The number of commission members increased over the years, reaching its current strength of 18 in 2005.
Duties and functions
The duties and functions of the Kerala Public Service Commission are outlined in Article 320 of the Constitution of India and the Kerala Public Service Commission Rules of Procedure, effective from August 16, 1976. These include:
1. Conducting competitive examinations for recruitment to services and posts under the state government. This is the regular mode of recruitment where candidates undergo an examination followed by an interview.
2. Direct selection for recruitment to services and posts under the Kerala Government. This type of recruitment is employed to fill immediate or irregular job vacancies. It typically involves direct interviews, although a written test may be conducted prior to the interview in some cases.
3. Providing advice on the suitability of officers for appointment through promotion or transfer on deputation.
4. Advising the government on all matters related to recruitment methods for various services and posts.
5. Handling disciplinary cases pertaining to different civil services.
6. Addressing miscellaneous matters such as the granting of extraordinary pensions and reimbursement of legal expenses.
The Kerala Public Service Commission also advises the government on the appointment of qualified professionals for various positions. The commission creates a rank list based on the performance of candidates in written, practical, and physical examinations, recommending the most eligible candidates for appointment.
Present commission
- Chairman: Dr. M R Baiju
- Members :
- R Parvathi Devi
- Dr.K.P.Sajilal
- Sri.T.R.Anilkumar
- Sri.Mohamed Musthafa Kadambot
- Sri.Roshen Roy Mathew
- Dr.Sreekumar.S
- Sri.S.Vijayakumaran Nair
- Sri.S.A.Saif
- Sri.Abdul Samad.V.T.K
- Dr.C.K.Shajib
- Dr.Stany Thomas
- Dr.Mini Sacharias
- Sri.Boni Kuriakose
- Smt.Remya.V.R
- Adv.C.Jayachandran
- Sri.Prakasan.K
- Dr.Jipson.V.Paul
- SECRETARY: Saju George
(note 🚨: Informations at the time of writing this article. maybe this change now or later)
Kerala PSC Exam Pattern 2023 Highlights
Check the highlights of the Kerala PSC exam pattern 2023 below in the table:
| Characteristics | Typical Prelims Exam Info | Typical Mains Exam Info |
|---|---|---|
| Mode of Exam | Online/Offline (OMR) | Descriptive |
| Paper Count | 2 | 3 |
| Paper Weights | General Studies Paper I and General Paper II | General Studies Paper I, General Paper II, and General Paper III |
| Paper Marks | 100 marks for each paper | 100 marks for each paper |
| Maximum Marks | 200 | 300 |
| Timing per paper | 90 Minutes for each paper | 2 hours for each paper |
| Maximum time allowed | 3 Hours | 6 Hours |
| Questions Nature | MCQs | Descriptive written |
| Medium of Exam | English, Malayalam, and Other Regional Language based on the notified post. | English, Malayalam, and Other Regional Language based on the notified post. |
| Options count in MCQs | 4 | – |
| Kerala PSC Marking Schema | Correct Answer adds 1 Marks each The wrong Answer deducts 1.3 Mark | – |
| Negative Marking | Yes | No |
Kerala PSC Prelims Exam Pattern 2023
Indicative sections with its respective marks in Kerala PSC Prelims exam are as follows:
| Papers | Sections | Maximum allocated Marks |
|---|---|---|
| General Studies Paper I | History, World History, Kerala Cultural Heritage, Geography, Reasoning, Simple Arithmetic, Mental Ability, Public Administration, Social Justice, Indian Constitution, Governance, Political System, and International Relations | 100 |
| General Studies Paper-II | Part I: General Studies
Part II: Language Proficiency Tamil/Kannada/Malayalam Part III: English Language Proficiency |
100 |
Kerala PSC Mains Exam Pattern 2023
Indicative sections and marks in Kerala PSC Mains exam are as follows:
| Papers | Sections | Maximum allocated Marks |
|---|---|---|
| General Studies Paper I | Indian and Kerala History, World History, and Kerala Cultural Heritage | 100 |
| General Studies Paper II | Paper-II | 100 |
| General Studies Paper III | Geography, Economics and Planning, and Current Issues in both Geography and Economics and Planning | 100 |
Kerala PSC 2023 Prelims Exam Syllabus
Some of the Indicative sections and important topics in the papers are discussed below.
| Paper | Sections | Important Topics |
|---|---|---|
| General Studies Paper I | Indian and Kerala History | Ancient India: Art, literature and Art Architecture Culture, Popular Dynasties and their activities and movements |
| Modern Period: Modern Indian History, India before and after Independence with reorganisation and consolidation, All religious and social reform movements in 19th and 20th century, and | ||
| Kerala History: Kerala Social and Politics movements before Independence, Kerala State Establishment, Governments, Political parties with their movements, and Landmark policies and legislation | ||
| World History | Industrial revolution, Redraw of National boundaries, Globalisation, World wars, Colonisation and decolonisation, and Capitalism, Communism, and Socialism –with reference to their effects and forms in the society | |
| Public Administration, Social Justice, Indian Constitution, Governance, Political System, and International Relations | Indian Constitution and its salient features, Constitutional Authorities, Responsibilities and Functions of the Union and the Parliament, States and State Legislatures, Judiciary in India, Principles of Administrative Law, etc. | |
| Geography | Earth Motion, Seasons, Solar system, Atmosphere, Climate factors and elements, Concept of time, Geophysical phenomena, and Hydrological Disasters, Continental and Marine Resources, etc. | |
| Reasoning, Mental Ability & Simple Arithmetic | Coding-Decoding, Logical Reasoning and Analytical Ability, Venn Diagram, Problems based on Calendar, Clock, and Age, Number series, Problems related to Shapes and their subsections and Relations, etc. | |
| General Studies Paper II | General Studies (Part I) | Economy: Indian economy after the independence eve And after the reform movements |
| Agriculture: Pricing of agriculture inputs and outputs, Green Revolution, Irrigation, Issues in Public Distribution System and Food Security, etc. | ||
| Infrastructure: Water Supply and Sanitation, Meaning and significance of infrastructure, and Infrastructure in Indian Economy, etc. | ||
| Industry: Industrial Policy, Small-Scale sector, SEZ and industrialization, e-Commerce, Growth and pattern of industrialization, Productivity in the industrial sector, etc. | ||
| Finance: Indian Tax System, Centre-State financial relation, GST: Concept and Implications, Government Budgeting, Indian Public Finance, etc. | ||
| Population: Growth Trends and Patterns, Unemployment trends and its effects, etc. | ||
| Kerala: Economy and Developmental Model, etc. | ||
| Language Proficiency for all Languages (Part II and III) | Synonyms, Antonyms, Tenses, Active Voice, Passive Voice, Adverbs, Adjectives, Punctuation, Prepositions, Pronouns, Error Correction, etc. |
(note 🚨: Informations at the time of writing this article. maybe this change now or later)
Kerala PSC Mains Exam Syllabus 2023
Most sections in the mains exam and prelims exam are somewhat similar but some topics get added. Indicative sections and important topics for the Kerala PSC Mains exam are:
| Paper | Sections | Important Topics |
|---|---|---|
| General Studies Paper I | Indian and Kerala History | Ancient India: Art, literature and Architecture, culture, Popular Dynasties and their activities and movements |
| Modern Period: Modern Indian History, India before and after Independence with reorganisation and consolidation, All religious and social reform movements in 19th and 20th century, and | ||
| Kerala History: Kerala Social and Politics movements before Independence, Kerala State Establishment, Governments, Political parties with their movements, and Landmark policies and legislation | ||
| World History | Industrial revolution, Redraw of National boundaries, Globalisation, World wars, Colonisation and decolonisation, and Capitalism, Communism, and Socialism –with reference to their effects and forms in the society | |
| Kerala Cultural Heritage | Art Forms, sculpture, literature, architecture, society salient features, Tribal Culture, Folk Culture, Pilgrimage, Theatre, and Evolution and History of Malayalam language and its literature, etc. | |
| General Studies Paper II | Public Administration, Social Justice, Indian Constitution, Governance, Political System, and International Relations | Indian Constitution and its salient features, Constitutional Authorities, Responsibilities and Functions of the Union and the Parliament, States and State Legislatures, Judiciary in India, Principles of Administrative Law, etc. |
| Science and Technology | Technology, Energy, Technology in Space & Defence, Environmental Science, and ICT, etc. | |
| Current Issues | It includes the current issues of all topics/sections in this paper | |
| General Studies Paper III | Geography | Earth Motion, Seasons, Solar system, Atmosphere, Climate factors and elements, Concept of time, Geophysical phenomena, and Hydrological Disasters, Continental and Marine Resources, etc. |
| Economics and Planning | Economy: Indian economy after the independence eve And after the reform movements | |
| Agriculture | Pricing of agriculture inputs and outputs, Green Revolution, Irrigation, Issues in Public Distribution System and Food Security, etc. | |
| Infrastructure | Water Supply and Sanitation, Meaning and significance of infrastructure, and Infrastructure in Indian Economy, etc. | |
| Industry | Industrial Policy, Small-Scale sector, SEZ and industrialization, e-Commerce, Growth and pattern of industrialization, Productivity in the industrial sector, etc. | |
| Finance | Indian Tax System, Centre-State financial relation, GST: Concept and Implications, Government Budgeting, Indian Public Finance, etc. | |
| Indian Foreign Trade | Composition, Trend, direction, and Structure | |
| Population | Growth Trends and Patterns, Unemployment trends and its effects, etc. | |
| Kerala Economy | Overview: Population, Agriculture, Infrastructure, and service sectors, etc. | |
| Kerala Developmental Model | Power Devolution, Planning, Tourism, Disaster Management, etc. | |
| Current Issues in both Geography and Economics and Planning | It includes the current issues of all topics/sections in this paper |
Kerala PSC Exam Books
Some of the Books that the candidates find helpful for both the prelims and mains exam are discussed below.
| Books | Author/Publisher |
|---|---|
| Indian Polity | M Laxmikanth |
| India’s Struggle for Independence | Bipin Chandra |
| A brief history of modern India | Rajiv Ahir and Spectrum Publications |
| Indian Economy | Ramesh Singh |
| Certificate Physical Geography | GC Leong |
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