Civil Services in the context of any country refers to the sum total of all those activities which are carried out by a select group of individuals on behalf of any Government towards the welfare, development and security of the society. In its broader scope it includes all types of activities be it manual, clerical, technical or managerial at the top in the line of hierarchy.

 In simple words, every Government needs to develop an institution of Civil Services to assist the political leadership in the efficient implementation of its laws, policies and programs and their formulation as well. Civil services have always been an integral part of the Government, be it monarchy or modern democratic form of polity. It does not include military services and Judicial services. The members of civil services are known as civil servants and they are selected for one or other positions in the civil services on the basis of an open and competitive examination conducted as per the procedure established by law. But in the earlier times, the members of civil services were selected on the basis of criterions other than merit and competence like caste, class, ideological loyalty etc.