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West Bengal Civil Service

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West Bengal Civil Service
পশ্চিমবঙ্গ জনপালন সেবা
Service overview
Founded26 January 1950; 74 years ago (1950-01-26)[1]
StateWest Bengal
CountryIndia
Staff college
  • Netaji Subhash Administrative Training Institute, Salt Lake, Sector-III, Kolkata (Executive and Other Services)[2]
  • Swami Vivekanada State Police Academy, Barrackpore (Police and Revenue Service)
Cadre controlling authorityPersonnel & Administrative Reforms Department, Government of West Bengal
Minister responsibleMamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal and Home Minister
Legal personalityState Civil Service
Cadre strength
  • 1,677 (Gr. A, Exe.)[3]
  • 551 (Gr. B, WBPS)[4]
(2024)
SelectionWest Bengal Public Service Commission (WBPSC)
Success Rate0.5%
Head of the Civil Services
Chief SecretaryManoj Pant, IAS
Official websitepsc.wb.gov.in

The West Bengal Civil Service (Executive), commonly known as W.B.C.S. (Exe.), is the civil service of the Indian state of West Bengal. The Public Service Commission of West Bengal conducts competitive examinations for W.B.C.S. (Exe.) and other similar posts in three phases each year: Preliminary, Mains, and Personality Test. W.B.C.S. is regarded as a prestigious public service within the state of West Bengal.

WBCS Exams

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Exam Phase Paper Time Subject Question Type Total Marks
Preliminary Exams 1 paper (qualifying) 2½ hrs. General Studies (8 topics including Reasoning), English language, History, Geography, Current Affairs, General Knowledge, General Science and Indian Polity and Economy MCQ 200
Main Exams Paper I 3 hrs. Bengali / Hindi / Urdu / Nepali/Santali Descriptive 200
Paper II English 200
Paper III General Studies-I : History & Geography MCQ 200
Paper IV General Studies-II : Science & Technology, Environment, G.K and Current Affairs 200
Paper V The Constitution of India & Indian Economy 200
Paper VI Arithmetic and Test of Reasoning 200
Paper VII Optional Subject Paper I[1] Descriptive 200
Paper VIII Optional Subject Paper II 200
Total Marks 1600[2]
  • 1 Only one optional subject should be chosen from the prescribed list.
  • The optional paper is applicable only for candidates who have opted for Group A and B.
  • 2 The total marks are 1,200 for Group C and D candidates.
Personality Tests
Group A Group B Group C Group D
200 Marks 150 Marks 100 Marks

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the online application process for the examination used to begin in November, and the preliminary exam was generally held either in the last week of January or the first week of February, across various cities in West Bengal. Although the recruitment process remains the same post pandemic, the usual timings of the examination has undergone drastic changes altogether. It takes at least five months to publish the result of the Preliminary examination. The candidates clearing the cut-off score qualify for the Main examinations, conducted across four days in August–September at selected centres in Kolkata and at the WBPSC office. Candidates who pass the Mains are called for the Personality Test.

A selection list for Group A and Group B is initially issued by the Commission, consisting of the names of candidates who have cleared the cutoff scores for the respective groups and qualified for the Personality Test. A few months later, the Personality Test for Group C and Group D are conducted. Once the Personality Tests for the services under respective groups are over, the final merit list of the officers under different services are published in phases. The entire recruitment process for Group A and B officers takes approximately two and a half years, while it takes more than three years for Group C and Group D, respectively.

Recruitment

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There are different groups in the recruitment for this examination based on choice and merit. These are Group A, Group B (only for the West Bengal Police Service), Group C,[5] and Group D. The WBCS (Exe) officers belong to Group A. Generally, according to the records of the WBPSC, candidates with higher scores prefer WBCS (Exe), WBPS, and some allied services like the erstwhile WBCTS as their first choice. Since 1988, some top-ranked candidates have chosen an allied service called WB Commercial Tax Service (WBCTS) as their first choice due to its less strenuous nature and the attraction of metro postings. Typically, WBCS (Exe) and WBCTS (now WBRS) cadres, along with the WBA&AS cadre, are promoted to IAS after about 27 years of service, while WBPS officers are promoted to IPS after 13 to 15 years of service in the state police.[6]

Functions

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The WBCS (Exe) officers are typically appointed as Deputy Magistrates or Deputy Collectors on probation. After completing two years of mandatory administrative training at the Administrative Training Institute, they begin their careers as Deputy Magistrates, Deputy Collectors, and Block Development Officers (BDOs). They also issue orders in Executive Magistrate Courts and enforce certain sections of the Criminal Procedure Code. These officers perform crucial administrative functions at various levels across state departments. The highest position attainable for WBCS (Exe) officers is that of Departmental Secretary, with three posts of District Magistrate reserved for them in West Bengal. Additionally, WBCS (Exe) officers may be nominated to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) later in their careers.[7]

In 2017, the West Bengal government merged four revenue-related departments to form a single entity, the West Bengal Revenue Service (WBRS), to improve taxpayer service. The departments included in this merger were the West Bengal Commercial Tax Service, West Bengal Excise Service, West Bengal Agricultural Income Tax Service, and West Bengal Registration and Stamp Revenue Service. The Finance Department manages the cadre of the West Bengal Revenue Service. Officers start as Assistant Commissioners of Revenue and can be promoted to Deputy Commissioner, Joint Commissioner, Senior Joint Commissioner, Additional Commissioner, and Special Commissioner of Revenue. Similar to WBCS (Exe) officers, WBRS officers may also be promoted to the IAS cadre later in their careers.

WBRS officers are crucial in revenue collection, administration, and mobilisation in the state. Many aspirants prefer WBRS over WBCS (Exe) and WBPS due to its better work-life balance, urban postings, and reduced political interference, which contributes to a more comfortable work environment. WBRS officers can be posted as Assistant Commissioners in the Commercial Tax Department, Deputy Excise Collectors in the Excise Directorate, or Additional District Sub-Registrars in the Directorate of Registration and Stamp Revenue. Officers recruited at a young age may rise to the Commissioner rank, which is an IAS cadre post.

WBRS officers, as Assistant Commissioners of Revenue, handle the collection of State GST and prevent tax evasion through searches and raids. As Deputy Excise Collectors, they collect excise duty on alcoholic beverages and combat illicit drug sources through regulatory and enforcement actions. As Additional District Sub-Registrars, they oversee the registration and valuation of immovable properties during transactions and collect stamp duty and registration fees.

  • WBCoS officers start as Assistant Registrars of Cooperative Societies (ARCS).
  • WBLS officers begin as Assistant Labour Commissioners (ALC).
  • WBF&SS officers are initially Sub-Divisional Controllers of Food and Supplies (SCFS).
  • WBES officers are appointed as Employment Officers (EO).
  • WBPS officers are initially posted as Deputy Superintendents of Police (DySP) or Assistant Commissioners of Police (ACP).

Services

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Services are categorised into four groups, as follows:[8]

Group A
  • West Bengal Civil Services (Executive) WBCS (Exe)
  • West Bengal Revenue Service (WBRS)[a]
  • West Bengal Co-operative Service (WBCoS)
  • West Bengal Labour Service (WBLS)
  • West Bengal Food and Supplies Service (WBF&FS)
  • West Bengal Employment Service (Non-Technical) (WBES)
Group B
Group C
  • West Bengal Correctional Home Services (CSWB)
  • Joint Block Development Officer (Jt. BDO)
  • Deputy Assistant Director of Consumers and Fair Business Practices
  • West Bengal Junior Social Welfare Service (WBJSWS)
  • Assistant Canal Revenue Officer (Irrigation) (ACRO–Irrigation)
  • West Bengal Sub-ordinate Land Revenue Services, Grade-I (SLRO)
  • Assistant Commercial Tax Officer (ACTO)
  • Chief Controller of Correctional Service (CCCS)
Group D
  • Inspector of Co-operative Societies (ICoS)
  • Panchayat Development Officer (PDO)
  • Rehabilitation Officer (RO)

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Post GST implementation, the services like Commercial Tax Service (CTS), Agricultural Income Tax Service, Excise Service and Registration and Stamp Revenue Service were merged into one service.

References

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  1. ^ About PSC, West Bengal psc.wb.gov.in
  2. ^ "Situation of country grim, politics of isolation not correct, says Mamata". www.millenniumpost.in. 4 May 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  3. ^ "WBCS officers list as on 14-11-2024" (PDF), Government of West Bengal
  4. ^ "Gradation List of WBPS Officers (as on 01.05.2024)" (PDF). wbpolice.gov.in. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  5. ^ "WBCS (Gr-C) new appointee of 2018", PSCWB
  6. ^ "Groups of Services of WBCS". WBCSMadeEasy. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  7. ^ "WB CM announces incentives for WBCS officers". All India Trinamool Congress. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  8. ^ "WBCS Job Profile". Edufever Jobs. 24 April 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
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