Dr. T.M. Thomas Isaac, Hon’ble Minister for Finance and Coir,
Shri Ramesh Chennithala, Hon'ble Leader of the Opposition,
Adv. M.K. Sakeer, Chairman, Kerala Public Service Commission
Shri P. Sivadasan, Member, Kerala Public Service Commission,
Shri Saju George, Secretary, Kerala Public Service Commission
Sahodaree Sahodaranmaare,
Ellaavarkkum Ente Namaskaaram,
I am very happy to address you all as Chief Guest at the Closing Ceremony of the Diamond Jubilee of Kerala Public Service Commission, which is undoubtedly, one of the most trusted institutions in the State.
Let me at the outset, convey my sincere appreciation for the Commission's decision to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee in a unique manner, by concentrating on work rather than on lavish and colourful celebrations. What we have seen during the Diamond Jubilee Year was the celebration of the unfailing trust that the people of Kerala have bestowed on this institution during the last six decades.
The conclusion of the Diamond Jubilee is also an occasion to recall the dedicated services of past Chairmen, former Members and a large number of employees whose hard work has enabled the PSC to be what it is today. I understand that if we go by the statistical data related to the recruitment processes, the Kerala Public Service Commission is justified in its claim as being one of the largest recruiting agencies in the world.
The story of the formation and development of the Public Service Commission in Kerala is too well known to be recounted in detail. However, it merits mention that it was with the Constitution of India coming into force on the 26th January, 1950, that the erstwhile Travancore-Cochin Public Service Commission gained its true sanctity as a people's organization. Its transformation as Kerala Public Service Commission brought it even closer to the people as it had imbibed the spirit of the various reformative movements that guided Kerala in its struggles to ensure social justice. It is commendable that this sense of social justice has only strengthened in the last six decades.
We have also witnessed the growth of the Commission in the last few years, with the strength of members growing from five in 1959 to 20 at present. As a body created by the Constitution of India with provisions clearly laid down in Chapter II of part XIV of the Constitution, the PSC has to handle service matters in a fair and impartial manner, free from influence from any quarter. Apart from recruitment to Government and related posts, Article 320 A of the Constitution confers on the Commission a very significant advisory role. In fact, while the business of other PSCs in the country is limited to the selection to certain elite posts, our PSC is saddled with the task of recruitment to all State Government Departments, Public Sector Undertakings, Local Self Governments, Co-operative Sector, all Universities and now to the recently constituted Kerala Administrative Service.
I am informed that the number of job seekers approaching the Kerala Public Service Commission has crossed 3 crore and would increase in future. This certainly calls for speeding
up the selection process by safeguarding accuracy and
social justice. One method is to use technology and
Kerala Public Service Commission has rightly embraced extensive automation and mechanization to achieve precision and promptness.
All over the world, various technologies have helped in improving the speed and efficiency of service delivery. Kerala being a digitally empowered State, I feel that the PSC has not faced much resistance against the conduct of on-line examinations. It is true that we have four on-line examination enters in the State, but that certainly is not enough. We should also examine whether our plan to convert 40% of the conventional examinations into the on-line mode would be enough to serve our purpose.
I would like to suggest that the Kerala Public Service Commission should become a model to other institutions in the effective use of Technology not just by expanding the online examinations, but through a re-engineering of the manual processes. We often find that public organizations do not show full faith in the adoption of technologies, with the result that in some organizations, modernization becomes a mere replication of the manual processes on computers.
We need to do a lot of homework to avoid such flaws. This would include among other things, an effective internal capacity building through adequate training of manpower. Linkage with academia and the industry would be helpful in identifying the most suitable technologies and in fixing the training processes. I would suggest that the Commission should first study the latest trends in Industry practices before embarking on a re-engineering process.
The process of recruitment and other practices in Human Resources Management have also undergone several changes and modernization. We even see the Industry depending on the use of Analytical tools, Artificial Intelligence and so on, while our processes remain conventional and time consuming. In this fast changing world, how long an organization can remain conventional in approach, is to be seen. I hope to see the Commission initiating interactions for suggesting modern Human Resources practices in recruitment. However, any change that we bring in should ensure that the hard-earned reputation and credibility of the Commission remain intact.
I once again congratulate the Public Service Commission led by Adv. M.K. Sakeer, on its decision to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee with the slogan More Activities Than Festivities. After all, there is no worship greater than work.
I greet all the Members and employees both past and present, their families and others who have come to attend this function. I also compliment the organizers for conducting this function in a befitting manner.
Ellavarkkum Ente Aashamsakal
Nanni
Jai Hind
