The Royal Commission on Public Services in India, also known as the Islington Commission was carried out under the Chairmanship of
Lord Islington
John Poynder Dickson-Poynder, 1st Baron Islington, (31 October 1866 – 6 December 1936), born John Poynder Dickson and known as Sir John Poynder Dickson-Poynder from 1884 to 1910, was a British politician. He was Governor of New Zealand between ...
.
It made the following recommendations in its report submitted in 1917:
1. Recruitment to the superior posts should be made partly in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and partly in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. However, it did not favour holding competitive exams simultaneously in England and India, which was the prime demand of the Indian Nationalists.
2. 25% of the superior posts should be filled by Indians partly by direct recruitment and partly by promotion.
3. The services under the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
should be categorised into Class I and Class II.
4. The principle of maintenance of efficiency should be adopted while fixing the salaries of civil servants.
5. There should be a probationary period of 2 years for direct recruits. For the
ICS, it should be 3 years.
Indian Civil Service
Commissions in Colonial India
1915 in British India
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