Honesty, integrity are non-negotiable in recruitment, President Murmu tells PSCs

Public Service Commissions must go beyond ensuring equality of opportunity and work towards achieving equality of outcomes, President Droupadi Murmu said on Friday, underlining their role as agents of change in promoting equity in governance.

Inaugurating the two-day National Conference for Chairpersons of Public Service Commissions at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad, she stressed that honesty and integrity should be accorded the highest priority in the selection of candidates. “Honesty and integrity are paramount and non-negotiable,” she said.

The conference is being organised by the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TGPSC) as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations. The conference brought together chairpersons of the Union and State Public Service Commissions to deliberate on strengthening recruitment systems and enhancing the role of PSCs in India’s governance framework.

Highlighting the role of civil servants as part of the “permanent executive”, the President said that PSCs impart impartiality, continuity and stability to governance. She stated that aspiring civil servants should have a strong inclination to work for marginalised and vulnerable sections of society. She underlined the need for heightened sensitivity towards women’s needs and aspirations

TGPSC chairman Burra Venkatesham expressed pride and gratitude over the President inaugurating the conference, stating that the presence of the First Citizen would inspire PSCs to perform their duties with renewed commitment and excellence.

Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Varma expressed hope that the deliberations would significantly enhance the efficiency, transparency and credibility of PSCs across the country.

Union Public Service Commission chairperson Ajay Kumar noted that the current year marks the centenary of the UPSC and spoke about the vision to establish a Centre of Excellence aimed at improving the standards and functioning of PSCs through the adoption of best practices and advanced technologies.

On Day 1, detailed deliberations were held on key themes such as technology upgradation and IT interventions, use of blockchain technology in recruitment processes and improvements in interview mechanisms.