What It Does: The Cabinet Secretariat is responsible for the administration of the Government of India (Transaction of Business) Rules, 1961 and Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961 facilitating smooth transaction of business in Ministries/ Departments.
Mission: The Secretariat assists in decision-making in Government by ensuring Inter-Ministerial coordination, ironing out differences amongst Ministries/Departments and evolving consensus through the instrumentality of the standing/Adhoc Committees of Secretaries.
Size & Presence: 920+ employees function from the Secretariat Building, New Delhi, where most of the Cabinet of India sits.
The Cabinet Secretariat is responsible for the administration of the Government of India (Transaction of Business) Rules, 1961 and the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules 1961, facilitating smooth transaction of business in Ministries/ Departments of the Government. This Secretariat provides Secretarial assistance to the Cabinet and its Committees, and also assists in decision-making in Government by ensuring Inter-Ministerial coordination, ironing out differences amongst Ministries/ Departments and evolving consensus through the instrumentality of the standing/ Adhoc Committees of Secretaries. Through this mechanism, new policy initiatives are also promoted.
The Cabinet Secretariat ensures that the President, the Vice President and Ministers are kept informed of the major activities of all Ministries/Departments by means of a monthly summary of their activities. Management of major crisis situations in the country and coordinating activities of various Ministries in such a situation is also one of the functions of the Cabinet Secretariat.
Before the adoption of the portfolio system in the Government of India, all governmental business was disposed of by the Governor-General in Council, the Council functioning as a Joint Consultative Board. As the amount and complexity of the business of the Government increased, the work of the various Departments was distributed amongst the members of the Council, only the more important cases being dealt with by the Governor-General or the Council collectively.
This procedure was legalized by the Indian Councils Act, 1861 during the time of Lord Canning, leading to the introduction of the portfolio system and the inception of the Executive Council of the Governor-General. The Secretariat of the Executive Council was headed by the Private Secretary to the Viceroy, but he did not attend the Council meetings. Lord Willingdon first started the practice of having his Private Secretary by his side at these meetings. Later, this practice continued and in November 1935, the Viceroy's Private Secretary was given the additional designation of Secretary to the Executive Council. But these posts were separated subsequently, and a separate Secretary was appointed to the Executive Council as distinct from the Private Secretary to the Viceroy and Governor-General.
Constitution of the Interim Government in September 1946 brought a change in the name of this Office. On 5th September 1946, the Secretariat of the Executive Council was designated as Cabinet Secretariat and the Secretary to the Executive Council as Cabinet Secretary. It seems, however, at least in retrospect, that Independence brought a sort of the change in the functions of the Cabinet Secretariat. It no longer remained concerned with only the work of circulating papers to Ministers and Ministries but developed into an organisation for effecting coordination between the Ministries.
The Cabinet Secretariat functions directly under the Prime Minister. The administrative head of the Secretariat is the Cabinet Secretary who is also the ex-officio Chairman of the Civil Services Board. The business allocated to the Cabinet Secretariat under Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961 includes (i) Secretarial assistance to the Cabinet and Cabinet Committees; and (ii) Rules of Business.
The Cabinet Secretariat is responsible for the administration of the Government of India (Transaction of Business) Rules, 1961 and Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961 facilitating smooth transaction of business in Ministries/ Departments. The Secretariat assists in decision-making in Government by ensuring Inter-Ministerial coordination, ironing out differences amongst Ministries/Departments and evolving consensus through the instrumentality of the standing/Adhoc Committees of Secretaries. Management of major crisis situations in the country and coordinating activities of various ministries in such a situation is also one of the functions of the Cabinet Secretariat.
The selection process includes a written examination and an interview. The examination will have two papers- Paper I and Paper-II. The exam will be for 4 hours . Paper-I consists of General Knowledge / Reasoning / Quantitative Aptitude for 50 marks and Paper-II consists of Language Proficiency Test Comprehension/translation of concerned language in English & vice-versa/Grammar etc. for 100 marks.