The history of the Constitution of India reveals that the concept of conducting competitive examination for appointment to certain posts came into consideration way back in the year 1853 and a committee for giving shape to that was constituted under the chairmanship of Lord Macaulay in the year 1854. Later on, the Federal Public Service Commission and the State Public Service Commissions were constituted under the Government of India Act, 1935.

The Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) came into existence from 1st April, 1949 after its separation from the Commission for the States of Orissa and Madhya Pradesh, in accordance with sub-section (1) of section 261 of the Government of India Act, 1935, as adapted. Its constitutional status was pronounced with the promulgation of Constitution of India on 26th January, 1950. Hence, it is a constitutional body under Article 315 of the Constitution of India responsible for conducting recruitment examinations for the selection of eligible candidates for various positions such as civil servants, administrative officers, judicial officers and other state government jobs and making recommendations for appointments to those posts in the Bihar state government.

BPSC conducts examinations such as the Bihar Combined Competitive Examination (BPSC CCE) for recruitment to positions like the Bihar Administrative Service (BAS), Bihar Police Service (BPS), Bihar Finance Service (BFS), and other administrative positions. The commission also conducts examinations for other specialized positions like Bihar Judicial Services, Bihar Engineering Services, and Bihar Accounts Services, among others.

BPSC ensures transparency and fairness in the selection process by conducting written exams and interviews based on the prescribed syllabus and criteria. The commission plays a crucial role in the recruitment of qualified individuals for key government positions in Bihar.

 

The Bihar Public Service Commission initially began its functioning for the State of Bihar with its headquarters at Ranchi. The State Government decided to shift the headquarters of the Commission from Ranchi to Patna and it was finally shifted to Patna on 1st March, 1951.

 

The first Chairman of the Bihar Public Service Commission was Shri Rajandhari Sinha. Shri Radha Krishna Choudhary was the first Secretary to the Commission.

The list of Chairmen of the Commission since 1949 is as follows:

SL Name From To
1. Sri Rajandhari Sinha 01/04/1949 31/03/1953
2. Dr. Amarnath Jha 01/04/1953 01/09/1955
3. Sri Bhagwat Prasad 02/09/1955 02/09/1956
4. Sri K.S.V. Raman 03/09/1956 31/05/1962
5. Sri B. N. Rohtagi 13/06/1962 15/01/1968
6. Sri Jagat Nandan Sahay 22/02/1968 30/06/1972
7. Dr. H. N. Yadav 01/07/1972 01/02/1973
8. Dr. Ramawatar Shukla 02/02/1973 01/02/1979
9. Dr. Kumar Vimal 09/02/1979 08/02/1985
10. Sri A. K. M. Hasan 15/05/1985 31/08/1989
11. Sri S. S. Dhanoa 30/09/1989 14/10/1989
12. Sri Kritbhu Dev 15/10/1989 22/12/1989
13. Sri K. K. Srivastava 01/01/1990 07/01/1991
14. Dr. (Prof.) Ram Ashray Yadav 23/01/1991 22/01/1997
15. Dr. (Prof.) Laxmi Rai 25/01/1997 24/01/2003
16. Dr. (Prof.) Razia Tabassum 27/03/2003 (Acting) 29/07/2004
17. Dr. (Prof.) Ram Singhasan Singh 30/07/2004 30/06/2006
18. Sri N. K. Agrawal 01/03/2006 (Acting) 26/10/2006
27/10/2006 14/01/2008
19. Sri A. K. Choudhary 15/01/2008 02/08/2009
20. Sri R. J. M. Pillai 03/08/2009 15/11/2011
21. Sri K. C. Saha 16/11/2011 26/03/2015
22. Sri Alok Kumar Sinha 27/03/2015 16/04/2018
23. Sri Shishir Sinha 29/04/2018 19/07/2020
24. Sri Shobhendra Kumar Choudhary 23/07/2020 (Acting) 31/08/2020
25. Sri R. K. Mahajan 01/09/2020 04/08/2022
26. Sri Atul Prasad 05/08/2022 till date

 

The Bihar Public Service Commission (Conditions of Service) Regulations, 1960 was framed by the State of Bihar in exercise of the powers conferred by Article 318 of the Constitution of India and in supersession of the Regulation published with the Appointment Department’s notification no. A-2654 dated 31st March 1953. Under Rule 3 of the Regulations, 1960 the Commission was constituted with a chairman and 10 (ten) other members. The strength of members was reduced to 6 (six) after bifurcation of the State of Bihar and the State of Jharkhand vide notification no. 7/PSC-1013/95 (Part-3) Per 8262 dated 9th October 2002 of the Personnel & Administrative Reforms Department, Bihar.

 

The Mandate of Bihar Public Service Commission:

Article 320 and 321 of the Constitution of India prescribes the mandate of the State Public Service Commissions, which is –

  1. Recruitment by conduct of Competitive Examinations/ through interviews to the services of the State Government.
  2. Advising the State Government on the suitability of officers on appointment on promotion as well as transfer from one service to the other.
  3. Advising the State Government on the matters related with recruitment to various services and posts, framing and amendment of recruitment Rules.
  4. Advising the State Government in all disciplinary cases relating to different civil services.
  5. Advising the State Government in the matter of grant of extraordinary pension, reimbursement of legal expenses, etc.
  6. Advising the State Government on any matter referred to the Commission by the Governor of Bihar.

 

Recruitment:

Recruitment is made by two methods –

  1. Direct Recruitment – Direct recruitment is made mainly by way of conducting competitive examination in which the selection is done on the basis of either of the following procedures:
    1. Main (Written) Examination and Interview of the successful candidates of the Preliminary Test prescribed under rules.
    2. Written Examination and Interview.
    3. Interview.
  2. Promotion – Promotion is granted to civil servants through the Departmental Promotion Committee (under the chairmanship of the Commission) constituted for the same and in accordance with the rules framed by the State Government.

 

Annual Report:

Article 323 of the Constitution of India prescribes for the submission of annual report of the work done by the State Public Service Commission to the Governor of the State. The Bihar Public Service Commission accordingly submits annual report of the work done by the Commission to the Governor of Bihar.