Anyone with a degree and within the age group of 21 and 32 can apply for direct recruitment. Kerala has launched its own bureaucratic cadre in the new year.
The Kerala Administrative Service will be the top-notch career destination in the government sector in the state and will serve as a feeder category for the Indian Administrative Service.
The Kerala Administrative Service will have a strength matching 10 per cent of the second level gazetted vacancies and equivalent vacancies in the common category across the 29 government departments. The second level gazetted posts are on a par with that of a deputy collector.
Structure
The Kerala Administrative Service will have four categories of officers in the junior time-scale, senior time-scale, selection grade and super time-scale groups. They will have a ratio of 6:5:4:3.
The junior time-scale category is the entry-level post. It comprises posts including the revenue divisional officer, under secretaries in the administrative and finance secretariats (including higher grades and deputation posts), the commercial tax assistant commissioner and the deputy director.
The senior time-scale category comprised posts of additional district magistrate, deputy collector (higher grade), deputy secretary in the administrative and financial secretariats (including higher grade and deputation posts), commercial tax deputy commissioner, joint director and additional director. An officer should have completed eight years in an entry-level post to be considered to the senior time-scale category, according to draft rules.
The selection grade scale includes the posts of revenue assistant secretary, joint secretaries in the administrative and financial secretariats (including higher grade and deputation posts), additional secretary and additional director. An officer has to serve six years in the senior time-scale category to enter the selection grade scale.
The super time-scale group is for those who have spent eight years in the group immediately lower to it. The group includes the posts of special secretaries in the administrative and financial secretariats.
Recruitment
The Kerala Administrative Service relies on a three-pronged recruitment process to fill the posts.
Anyone with a degree and within the age group of 21 and 32 can apply for direct recruitment.
Candidates in the OBC category has an age exemption of thee years and candidates in the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes category has an exemption of five years. Probation would run up to two years.
The Kerala Administrative Service can also appoint from the existing government services.
Government officers who have completed two years in service can apply to get into the Kerala Administrative Service. The eligible candidate should be within the 21-40 age group.
Candidates should have a degree certificate as the basic educational qualification. The process is not for officers in the first level gazetted officers’ category and above.
Officers in the first level gazetted officers’ category and above can apply to the Kerala Administrative Service through the transfer process provided they have not crossed 50.
A stepping stone to the IAS
The draft special rules promises to retain the seniority of the officers eligible to be considered for conferring the Indian Administrative Service.
In reality, the state does not have enough officers to be considered to the available posts. The Kerala Administrative Service is expected to address the shortage.
The Kerala Administrative Service notification and examination is not likely to be delayed any further. Examinations are likely to be conducted within three months of the notification.
The Kerala Administrative Service is expected to depart from the usual public service commission tests and go for something along the line of the Union Public Service Commission.
The candidates will be screened through a preliminary objective test, descriptive written test and interview. Exams with degree as the basic qualification may give more importance to Malayalam.
