The Hindu Business Line : <I>Personality test for All-India services </I>

Up until the early-1960s, the marks obtained by candidates for All-India services such as the IAS and IFS in the personality test (as distinguished from a mere interview) played a decisive role in the selection process. In those days, the competitive examination for the IAS and the IFS consisted of question papers on three compulsory subjects (English Essay, General English and General Knowledge), three graduate-level and two advanced (or post-graduate-level) subjects, each carrying 200 marks each, making up a total of 1,600 marks.

Eligibility criteria

The marks assigned for the personality test were 400, or one-fourth of the total in written subjects. Unless a candidate secured a minimum of 140 marks in the personality test, he was not considered eligible for inclusion in the list of successful candidates, regardless of the total marks scored by him.

For instance, if a candidate standing first in India in the written total, got 139 in the personality test, even if his combined total was the highest, his name would not figure in the list of selected candidates.

There were protests raised against this in Parliament from time to time, but so long as R. N. Bannerji, ICS, was the Chairman of the UPSC, he stood his ground, with the support of Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajaji, Morarji Desai and H. V. Kamath (the last two had resigned from the State Civil Service and ICS respectively to join the freedom movement).

Lower standards

It was not long before the tendency to lower standards in every field of activity, leave alone recruitment, took its toll. The personality test was downgraded with only 300 marks and lost its veto power.

Even if a candidate secured zero in the test (some actually did), it was added to the written total, and his position on the basis of the combined total determined his inclusion or otherwise (depending on the number of vacancies) in the list of selected candidates.

Even under the original stringent mode, a few of those who got in turned out to be erratic, unbalanced and a disgrace.

From what I hear from both politicians and old timers among senior civil servants, the subsequent drastically relaxed regime has brought in the danger of entry of a greater proportion of unsuitable individuals.

A seasoned and perceptive former Cabinet Minister in both State and Central Governments told me that it was not uncommon to see in the IAS and IFS persons who were poor in articulation, comprehension or even the basic knowledge of language, lacking in conceptualising and analytical abilities, awkward in handling situations, and generally unimpressive as members of higher civil services.

Disability problems

Some, according to him, even had problems of physical disabilities, such as stammering, stunted growth or being "knock-kneed" (his word).

In his view, these deficiencies were bound to reflect badly on their performance and leadership capabilities, and therefore, the candidates, as an essential part of the selection process, should be critically assessed for their personality traits, communication, analytical ability, bearing, social graces, winning presence and emotional balance, and they should be selected only if they come up to a minimum standard in these respects.

These precisely were the criteria which the personality test was meant to satisfy in the days of the ICS and early years of Independence.

Restoring the weight it enjoyed previously is a matter for the serious consideration of the UPSC.

B. S. RAGHAVAN

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