What is Loksewa (Public Service Commission)?

'Loksewa' (लोक सेवा, literally 'public service') is the everyday Nepali name for the Public Service Commission of Nepal — the Lok Sewa Aayog — and, by extension, for the open competitive examinations it conducts. When Nepalis say they are 'preparing for Loksewa' or 'sitting the Loksewa exam', they mean the government-job entrance examinations run by this Commission. The PSC is an independent constitutional body whose core mandate is to select suitable, merit-based candidates for appointment to Nepal's civil service and other government services.

The Commission's principal duty, set out in the Constitution, is to conduct examinations for the selection of candidates to be appointed to positions in the civil service. Beyond running exams, it is consulted on the general principles to be followed in appointments and promotions across the civil service, the Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force; on matters relating to the law governing civil-service conditions of service; and on questions of departmental action and disciplinary punishment against civil servants. It also recommends candidates for permanent appointment and advises the government on broad recruitment policy. Because appointments are made by competitive examination rather than political patronage, the PSC is widely regarded as one of Nepal's most credible and trusted public institutions.

The Commission's reach extends to a wide range of organisations whose staff are governed by civil-service-style rules, and it advertises vacancies in distinct service groups and sub-groups (such as Administration, Judicial, Foreign Affairs, Audit, Engineering, Health, Education, Forestry and Agriculture). It publishes the annual vacancy notices (vigyapan), prescribes the syllabus and age limits, administers the written tests and interviews, and publishes the merit lists from which the government makes its appointments.

Civil-service vacancies are filled at graded levels, and the most commonly referenced 'Loksewa' posts correspond to the assistant and officer tiers. The non-gazetted assistant posts are Kharidar (खरिदार) and, above it, Nayab Subba or NaSu (नायब सुब्बा); the entry gazetted officer post is Section Officer, known in Nepali as Shakha Adhikrit (शाखा अधिकृत). Higher posts such as Under-Secretary and Joint-Secretary are normally filled by internal promotion and limited competition rather than fully open exams. Specialist (technical) services — for example engineering, health and education — run their own parallel streams with subject-specific syllabi.

A typical open-competition selection runs in three broad stages. The first is a preliminary written test (commonly a one-paper objective, multiple-choice examination covering general knowledge and intelligence/aptitude) used to screen candidates. Candidates who clear it sit the main written examination, usually two or more subjective/short-answer and essay papers based on the prescribed syllabus, with separate pass marks per paper. The final stage combines, depending on the post, a computer-skill test, a group test or practical test, and a personal interview; the marks from the main written papers and this final stage are then totalled to produce the merit list.

Eligibility is set by the Commission's notices in line with the civil-service law. Open posts generally require the candidate to be a Nepali citizen who has reached the minimum age (commonly 18, or 21 for officer-level posts) and who has not exceeded the upper age limit by the closing date of the application. The standard upper age limit for open competition has long been 35 years, with an extended limit (typically 40) for women and persons with disabilities; minimum educational qualifications rise with the level of the post (for example, school-level for Kharidar through to a bachelor's or master's degree for officer posts). Because the precise marks, age limits and qualifications are set in each vacancy notice and revised over time, candidates should confirm the current notice for the post they are applying to.

The Public Service Commission was established on 15 June 1951 — 1 Asar 2008 in the Bikram Sambat calendar — in the immediate aftermath of the 1951 revolution that ended the century-long Rana oligarchy and opened Nepal to democratic government. Creating a neutral, merit-based recruiting body was part of the new order's effort to replace family and political patronage in the bureaucracy with open competition. Since its founding the Commission has functioned continuously, and it is counted among the country's oldest and most stable public institutions.

The PSC's status has been guaranteed by every major constitution Nepal has adopted, and it is today an independent constitutional body under the Constitution of Nepal 2015 (2072 BS). Its formation, composition, and functions are set out in Part 23 of the Constitution: Article 242 governs the Commission's establishment and the appointment and qualifications of its members, and Article 243 sets out its functions, duties and powers. Article 244 provides for a separate Province Public Service Commission in each of the seven provinces to handle recruitment for provincial and local-level posts within their jurisdiction.

Under Article 242 the Commission consists of a chairperson and a number of other members (with up to four other members in practice); they are appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Constitutional Council. The Constitution requires that at least half of the members be persons who have served in a government post for twenty years or more, with the remainder drawn from people of high standing in fields such as science and technology, the arts, management, law, administration or other areas of national life. The detailed conduct of recruitment — service groups, syllabi, conditions of service and the like — is regulated by the Civil Service Act and Rules and by the Commission's own procedural regulations, and the PSC submits an annual report to the President, which is laid before the Federal Parliament.

Reflecting Nepal's constitutional commitment to a proportionally inclusive state, recruitment to the civil service follows an open and inclusive principle. In practice, of the posts advertised for open competition in each class, 45 percent are set aside for affirmative-action ('reservation') groups, with the remaining 55 percent filled on fully open merit. That 45 percent block has conventionally been sub-divided among women, Adivasi/Janajati (indigenous nationalities), Madhesi, Dalit, persons with disabilities and candidates from backward regions, with the largest single share allocated to women. The aim is to make the bureaucracy more representative of Nepali society and to redress the historical under-representation of these groups; the precise sub-categories and percentages are periodically revised by legislation, so candidates should always check the current vacancy notice.

Loksewa occupies an outsized place in Nepali public life. A permanent government job carries security, pension and social prestige, so each vacancy cycle attracts very large numbers of applicants, and an entire ecosystem of coaching institutes, guidebooks, model-question collections and mobile apps has grown up around exam preparation. Success rates are low and the competition intense, which is why the exams are treated as a serious, multi-year undertaking by many graduates.

For users of this encyclopedia, the practical points to remember are that 'Loksewa' = the Public Service Commission and its exams; that the headline posts are Kharidar and Nayab Subba (assistant) and Section Officer/Shakha Adhikrit (officer); that selection proceeds through a preliminary test, main written papers and a final interview/skill stage; and that age is the eligibility factor most candidates need to watch, with the open upper limit generally 35 (40 for women and persons with disabilities).