Public service refers to all those actions that are aimed for the welfare of the public at large. In India, the public services are popularly known as the civil services. It acts as an important institution for managing the governance of the country. The services have from time to time proved as to why it is known as the ‘steel frame’ of India. Public services play a critical role in day-to-day functioning of the nation. They are part of the ‘executive’ segment of the state and have been tasked with the responsibility to act as a link between the people and the government. Various schemes, programmes, policies of the government are percolated to the masses through them. It would not be an exaggeration to state that one of the reasons that the Union of India has the stood test of time and overcame plethora of challenges has been because of its efficient public services. The services have been instituted to ease out the administrative challenges that may fall upon the functioning of the nation. However, this does not make the institution immune from challenges in itself. There exist certain challenges that are faced by public services in India. These range from institutional challenges such as pertaining to nature of services to challenges associated with the federal structure in itself such as linkage between the central and state public services. This paper attempts to highlight the role of public services in functioning of India and how it helps in overall development of the nation and also simultaneously putting forward the various issues that are faced them. Further, the paper would also put forward certain possible solutions to these challenges that can assist in reducing them and make public services in India more efficient.
