Government works for the welfare of society. High-rank officers are appointed to do so. They help in maintaining law and order of society. The services provided are like – Fire Department, Healthcare Services, Electricity, Transportation, and many more. Various officials tend to play a vital role in implementing laws and programs launched by the Government.
Civil Services vs Public Services
The main difference between Civil Services and Public Services is that Civil Service is responsible for working in people interest while Public Service tends to be something a group of people makes an official to work over them for their interest. The example for Civil Service may be an individual working on a post of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) while Politicians are a good example for Public Service.
In Civil Services, people used to get paid for their work with a handsome amount. Civil Servants have greater decision-making power. It is also said that all the civil servants are called public servants, while not all the public servants are called civil servants.
In Public Services, people are not generally paid for their work. Also, the work done by them is said to be informal and voluntarily done by them. They do not require high-quality qualifications for being a Public Servant. The individuals working as Public Servant do not have any authority of decision making but have to follow the superior orders.
Comparison Table Between Civil Services and Public Services
| Parameters of Comparison | Civil Services | Public Services |
| Definition | Civil Service is a type of service responsible for the proper functioning of a society and is regulated by the Government. | Public Service is a type of service that is done to serve the commodity. |
| Qualification Required | To be in civil services, both educational and professional qualifications are required, along with experience. | To be in public services, both educational and professional qualifications are not necessary. |
| Salary | Civil Services provides a fancy amount to their employees. | Public Services does not provide a handsome salary to their employees. |
| Responsibilities | They have quite a large number of responsibilities, one of them is to help implement many programs, schemes offered by the Government. | It is done for a volunteering purpose. |
| Financing | Civil Services is usually financed by the Central Government. | Public Services are not always financed by the Central Government. |
What is Civil Services?
Civil Service can be stated as the services provided by the Government to everyone. And is also responsible for implementing the new and already launched schemes, programs, and laws for the proper functioning of society. Some of the services offered by Civil Servants are – Providing a proper pension system to older people who have been retired from their work, issuing a driving license to the right candidate, management of the prison, representing our Government at various level – nationally or internationally around the globe, and many more.
The highly qualified officials in academics as well as in profession along with some prior experience is required for this kind of pace of work. The officials are also paid a great sum for their job. And are authorized of making a major decision which has to be followed by the juniors. For the proper regulation, these services are governed by the Central Government.
What is Public Services?
Public Service can be stated as the services provided voluntarily by any group or individual for the betterment of society and is in the public interest. These services do not require prior experiences; also, no higher academic or professional qualification is necessary to do so. They just focus on how to serve people by providing them more and more benefits. As the services are provided voluntarily, the individual or groups are not benefitted monetarily always.
These services are not authentically governed by the Central Government always. The individual working as a Public Servant isn’t given any authority/right to make a decision and act upon it. They just have to follow the orders of their superiors—for Example, Healthcare Sectors, Fire Departments, Ministers, etc.
The services which come under this category are said to be received by everyone, and the main aim of the Public Servant must be to provide them with every household.
Main Differences Between Civil Services and Public Services
- Civil Service is a type of service including some officials who are appointed by the Government to work in favour of people, while Public Service is a type of service in which the public appoint someone for working above them and in the public interest.
- To be an aspiring employee to work in Civil Service, one must possess both academic and professional qualifications along with some experience while it ain’t necessary for working under Public Service.
- Employees working for both the services are offered with a different sum of salaries that is individuals working under Civil Service get a handsome salary, but it is not the same for the individuals working under Public Service.
- On the part of responsibilities served by the Civil Service officials are larger and critical compared to Public Service, in Civil Service the officials are asked to help in the implementation of laws made by the Government while in Public Service officer mainly does a thing on a volunteering purpose.
- Civil Service is mainly governed by the officials of Central Government while the Public Service is not necessarily governed by it.
Conclusion
As Government works for the betterment of society, they make laws, programs, schemes, etc. To implement these for the proper functioning of the society Government has to appoint some ranks which maintain it.
So, do the services are categorized broadly in two ways – Civil Service and Public Service. In which one is properly functioned by the Central Government while the other one is not necessarily be governed by it.
The roles of responsibilities assigned to a civil servant are way larger and more different from the public sector. Also, to become a high-rank officer under Civil Service requires a great effort and qualification, unlike that of in a Public Service.
References
- https://academic.oup.com/jpart/article/8/3/413/987732?login=true
- https://academic.oup.com/jpart/article/7/4/499/950586?login=true