• UPSC chairman Manoj Soni has resigned citing personal reasons. 

• Soni, 59, took over as a member of the Commission on June 28, 2017. He took oath as the UPSC chairman on May 16, 2023 and his term was to end on May 15, 2029.

• Prior to his appointment in the UPSC, Soni had served three terms as vice-chancellor.

• These include two consecutive terms from August 1, 2009 to July 31, 2015 as vice-chancellor of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University (BAOU), Gujarat, and one term as vice-chancellor of The Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU) of Baroda from April 2005 to April 2008.

• A scholar of political science with specialisation in international relations, Soni taught international relations at Sardar Patel University (SPU), Vallabh Vidyanagar between 1991 and 2016, except for the period when he served as Vice-Chancellor of the two universities.

• Soni has earned a number of recognitions and awards and has a significant number of publications to his credit. 

Union Public Service Commission:

• UPSC is the central recruiting agency in India. 

• It is an independent constitutional body whose powers and functions have been elaborately defined in Articles 315 to 323 of the Constitution.

• It is concerned with recruitment to the All India Services and Central Services — Group A and Group B — and advises the government, when consulted, on promotion and disciplinary matters.

Composition and appointment

• UPSC consists of a chairman and other members appointed by the President of India. 

• The Constitution has not specified the strength of the Commission and left it to the discretion of the President.

• Usually the Commission consists of nine to eleven members, including the chairman.

• Also, no qualification has been prescribed for the Commission’s membership, except that one half of the members of the Commission should be such persons who have held office for at least 10 years either under the government of India or under state government. 

• The Constitution also authorises the President to determine the conditions of service of the Chairman and members. 

• The chairman and members hold office for a term of six years or until they attain the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.

Independence of UPSC

• UPSC acts as a watchdog of merit while recruiting for various government positions. 

To ensure its independent functioning following provisions have been provided in the Constitution:

i) The Chairman or a member of UPSC can be removed from office by the President only in a manner and on grounds mentioned in the Constitution. 

Some of the circumstances under which they can be removed are:

• If he is adjudged insolvent or bankrupt.

• If he occupies any other office of profit.

• If he is unfit to continue in office by reason of infirmity of mind or body.

• Also, the chairman and members of UPSC can be removed by the President on the grounds of misbehaviour. However, the President has to refer the matter to the Supreme Court for an enquiry and the advice tended by the Supreme Court is binding on the President. Thus, members of UPSC enjoy security of tenure.

ii) The conditions of service of the chairman or a member, though determined by the President, cannot be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment.

iii) The entire expense including the salaries, allowances and pensions of the chairman and members of the UPSC is charged on the Consolidated Fund of India. Thus, they are not subjected to vote by the Parliament.

iv) The chairman of UPSC after ceasing to hold his office is not eligible for further employment in government of India or state.

v) A member of UPSC (on ceasing to hold office) is eligible for appointment as the chairman of UPSC or State Public Service Commission (SPSC), but not for any other employment in the government of India or a state.

vi) The chairman or member of UPSC is not eligible for reappointment to that office.

Functions and responsibilities

• Recruitment to services and posts under the Union and all India services through conduct of competitive examination.

• Advising on the suitability of officers for appointment on promotion as well as transfer-on deputation.

• It assists states (if requested by two or more states to do so) in framing and operating schemes of joint recruitment for any service for which candidate possessing special qualifications are required.

• Apart from these functions, jurisdiction of UPSC can also be extended by the Parliament. 

• Presents an annual report to the President regarding its performance, which is placed by the President before both the Houses of Parliament. Along with such a report, the government also presents a memorandum explaining reasons for non-acceptance of advice of the Commission.

• Also, any such non-acceptance must be approved by the appointments committee of the Union Cabinet, as individual ministry and department has no power to reject the advice of the UPSC.

Limitations

• UPSC is only a central recruiting agency and it is not concerned with the classification of services, pay and service conditions, cadre management, training, reservation etc. 

• The President can also exclude certain posts, services and matters from the purview of UPSC. Even in respect of All India Services and central services, the President can lay down regulations to list matters in which it shall not be necessary for UPSC to be consulted. However, such regulations shall be laid before each House of Parliament for at least 14 days and the Parliament can amend or repeal them.

• The role of UPSC is not only limited, but also recommendations made by it are only of advisory nature and hence not binding on the government. It is upon the Union government to accept or reject that advice. The only safeguard is the answerability of government to the Parliament for departing from recommendations of the Commission.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)