Legal Status for SSC

• 07 Jan 2019

A Parliamentary Standing Committee (PSC) has recommended statutory status to the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), one of the largest recruitment agencies in the country.

• The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and all State Public Service Commissions either have constitutional or legal status. The SSC is the only such organisation that performs similar functions on a much larger scale, but does not enjoy statutory status.
• Earlier, an expert group constituted by the government in 2014, for reviewing the examination system in the SSC, had also recommended according statutory status to the Commission.

Staff Selection Commission 

• The Government of India constituted the Subordinate Services Commission in 1975 which was subsequently re-designated as Staff Selection Commission in 1977.
• The Staff Selection Commission is an attached office of the Department of Personnel and Training and comprises of Chairman, two Members and a Secretary-cum-Controller of Examinations who are appointed on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed by the Central Government.
• Estimates Committee of the Parliament in its 47^th Report (1967-68) and the First Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) in 1968 recommended the setting up of a Service Selection Commission for conducting examinations for recruitment to lower categories of posts.

• The SSC was created to ease the burden of the UPSC by taking over the recruitment for posts below the Group ‘A’ level.
• The workload and responsibilities of the SSC have increased exponentially over the years, from 9.94 lakh candidates in 2008-09 to over 2 crore in 2016-17.
• Moreover, the SSC has a sanctioned staff strength of 481 officers but is functioning with 75% of its sanctioned strength.
• Statutory status to the SSC would contribute to greater functional autonomy, faster decision-making and efficiency in the overall performance and delivery of results by the SSC in the recruitment process.