UPSC Prelims 2016 · Question 50 of 98
UPSC Prelims 2016 question on Chief Secretary Appointment
Consider the following statements:
1. The Chief Secretary in a State is appointed by the Governor of that State.
2. The Chief Secretary in a State has a fixed tenure.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Show answer
Answer: D. Neither 1 nor 2
Verdict
The answer is neither 1 nor 2. The Chief Secretary is not appointed by the Governor and has no fixed tenure.
Analysis
Statement 1 is INCORRECT. The Chief Secretary is chosen and appointed by the Chief Minister and the State's ministers, and although the Chief Minister may consult the Union Government, that consultation is not obligatory and the Governor does not make the choice. Statement 2 is INCORRECT. There is no fixed tenure for the post, which is precisely why the Administrative Reforms Commission recommended in 1969 that a Chief Secretary should have a minimum tenure of three to four years.
Source
Ramesh K. Arora and Rajni Goyal, Indian Public Administration, chapter on the Chief Secretary.
How to crack it
Separate the formal head of State from the real appointing authority, since the Governor acts on ministerial advice and the substantive choice of the top civil servant rests with the political executive. Then use a diagnostic clue for tenure questions: if a reform commission has recommended a minimum tenure, no fixed tenure exists, because you do not recommend what already obtains. A recommendation is evidence about the current position.