CSS, better known as Central Secretariat Service, is a government department in which candidates can join as Assistants after going through the Combined Graduate Level (CGL) examination conducted by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC). The candidates need to score well in written examination and pass the personal interview round, in order to get final selection, and claim the job.
Role of CSS
There are three Services in the Central Secretariat, which provide support and continuity of the governmental system in the Central Government Secretariat.
1. Central Secretariat Service (CSS)
2. Central Secretariat Stenographers Service (CSSS)
3. Central Secretariat Clerical Service (CSCS)
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The CSS Officers at the middle and lower management levels of the administrative machinery are responsible for assisting in the formulation and monitoring implementation of policies concerning subjects, which are the main responsibility of the center. In other words, the service provides a strong permanent bureaucratic set up at lower and middle levels of the Central Government.
Composition of CSS
CSS comprises the following composition:
| Group of Post/ Grade |
Grade |
Classification |
| A |
Selection Grade (Deputy Secretary) |
Central Civil Service Group A Ministerial |
| A |
Grade-I (Under Secretary) |
Central Civil Service Group A Ministerial |
| B |
Section Officer |
Central Civil Service Group B Ministerial |
| B |
Assistant |
Central Civil Service Group B Ministerial |
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Job Profile
As an Assistant section officer, you need to maintain and nourish the important links between the Parliament and the Central Secretariat specifically when it is related to handling the parliamentary questionnaires and assurances of government’s bills.
Apart from this, you working profile generally include the clerical works and put them to the higher authorities, like-
- Completing files and preparing reports
- Routine noting
- Drafting
- Writing letters
- Formulation and monitoring the implementation of policies
Besides the skills in the above work, As a CSS member, you have to ensure the continuity in the policies laid by the Government of India.
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Career Growth in CSS
The very first posting in the CSS is that of Assistant’s. However, this is not the end for the aspiring candidates, who want to rise high and acquire respectable officer posts. The provision and future growth in the department is quite bright, as the candidates grow old in their service. The Assistant in the CSS need to undergo mainly clerical work and they have to be busy with handling files and moving them up in the order to be passed in the office. They often are responsible for preparing the answers of the RTI questions, which people ask in the forum. The post does not allow you to take decisions completely on your own, and you might have to take ascent from your seniors on every turn of events in the office. The job timings in the office, which lasts mainly from 10 to five in a day, it becomes possible for the candidates to further study and is posted in higher posts.
Salary of Assistant in CSS
The assistant in Central Secretariat Service is a Grade B post under the government of India and they come under the pay band II. They are paid the salary in the pay band of 9300- 34800 with Grade pay of Rs. 4800/-. In this pay structure, 7th Pay commission is still awaited to be levied. The candidates joining as assistants are eligible for getting travelling allowances, HRA, and other benefits given to the government officers in the country. The salary of the candidates can rise in leaps and bounds as they are promoted higher in the ladder in the department.
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Promotion Policy of Assistant in CSS
The candidates who join as Assistants in Central Secretariat Services through SSC CGL examination have all the possibilities to become a Section Officer within 5 to 7 years of their services. The candidates would have to undergo inter-departmental promotion examinations to be promoted to higher levels... The candidates, who are not willing to sit for the inter-departmental examination and are looking for gradual promotions to higher levels, would have to wait for almost 10 to 12 years to be promoted into the level of Section Officer. The Section Officer post is a Group B Gazetted Officer level post, for which many candidates try for every year in the CSS department. Under the CSS, the candidates have the option to shift their department while still being in the employment period. They can shift to any department of their choices ranging from Ministry of Consumer affairs, Home, Finance, Education, Civil Aviation and others under CSS. The candidates after working for a considerable amount of time as Section Officers could become Under Secretary of the department. They would become eligible to get free air tickets, to travel free at any part of the country after being promoted to this post. The candidates eventually can attain the posts of Deputy Secretary and Joint Secretary towards the end of their career.