Budget: UPSC gets over Rs 200 crore for examination, selections; Lokpal gets Rs 33.32 cr for 2024-25

New Delhi: Over Rs 200 crore have been earmarked for expenditure on "examination and selection" of the civil servants by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) in the 2024-25 Budget announced on Tuesday.

The Commission conducts the civil services examination annually in three stages -- preliminary, main and interview -- to select officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS), among others.

The UPSC has been given Rs 425.71 crore for the ongoing fiscal in the Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Of these, Rs 208.99 crore is for expenditure on salaries and allowances of the chairman and members, besides administrative expenses, among others.

A total of Rs 216.72 crore has been allocated for the "expenditure in connection with the examinations, recruitment tests and selections conducted by the Union Public Service Commission", according to the Budget documents.

The Commission was given Rs 426.24 crore during 2023-24.

Anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal has been allocated Rs 33.32 crore for 2024-25. The provision is for establishment and construction-related charged expenditure for the Lokpal.

The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has been allocated Rs 51.31 crore for the current financial year.

The probity watchdog was given Rs 44.46 crore for 2023-24, which was revised to Rs 47.73 crore for the last fiscal.

The UPSC has been in the spotlight since probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar's case came to fore.

The Commission had recently lodged a criminal case against Khedkar, a 2023 batch probationary IAS officer, for faking her identity to fraudulently avail attempts in the civil services examination beyond eligibility.