CABINET APPROVES 8% HIKE IN DEARNESS ALLOWANCE FOR CG EMPLOYEESCentral Secretariat Service (CSS)
History
The Central Secretariat Service (CSS) is one of the earliest organized services in the country. The origin of the service can be traced back to the year 1919, when the Imperial Secretariat Service came into being as one of the off-shoots of the Lewllyn-Smith Committee which had been set up on the eve of the introduction of the Montague Chelmsford Reforms. The Committee envisaged the Secretariat Organization in the nature of a pyramid, the apex of which was “the Secretary” and the base of the body of “Assistant Secretaries”.
In March 1946, a Committee set up under the Chairmanship of Sir Richard Tottenham, diagnosed the then situation prevalent in the Secretariat as one characterized by “too few officers of the right kind and too many clerks of the wrong kind”. The Committee suggested that “to improve quality and reduce quantity, each Under Secretary’s branch should contain two sections and each section should consist of one Superintendent and three Assistants. Each Superintendent should have a smaller charge, but would be expected to do much more original work. He would not just supervise the work of number of Assistants.
The Central Secretariat Service (Reorganization and Reinforcement) Scheme, submitted by Sir R.A. Gopalaswamy Iyengar, which can be regarded as the precursor of the service as it stands today, was evolved in 1949. The Scheme gave concrete shape to the service which was designed to consist of following grades which is produced in the accompanying table.
