Staff Selection Commission (SSC) is an autonomous organization that comes under Government of India for recruitment of staff for various posts in the various Ministries and Departments of the Government of India & its Subordinate Offices. The Estimates Committee in the Parliament recommended the setting up of a Service Selection Commission in its 47th report (1967-68) for conducting examinations to recruit people of the lower categories. Later, in the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms, on 4th November of 1975, Government of India constituted a commission called Subordinate Service Commission. On 26th September 1977, Subordinate Services Commission (SSC) was renamed as Staff Selection Commission. The main functions of Staff Selection Commission were redefined by the Government of India through Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions on 21st May 1999. The new constitution and functions of Staff Selection Commission came into effect from 1st June 1999.
SSC has an attached office of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) that comprises of Chairman, two Members and a Secretary cum Controller of Examinations. His post is equivalent to the level of Additional Secretary to the Government of India. It has its head quarters located at New Delhi. At present it has seven Regional offices at Guwahati, Allahabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, and Bangalore. It also has two Sub Regional offices at Raipur and Chandigarh. Each Regional office is headed by a Regional Director and each Sub Regional office is headed by a Deputy Director. Asim Khurana, who is I.A.S. (Former Secretary, UPSC) is the current Chairman (since December 9, 2015) of the SSC.
Every year, Staff Selection Commission (SSC) conducts major recruitment exams all over the country. Also, SSC exams are considered as one of the biggest recruitment drives that are carried out in India. A large number of candidates appear for SSC Exam due to the fascination of getting government. Some of the popular exams conducted by SSC includes Combined Graduate Level Exam, Combined Higher Secondary Exam, Exam for Multitasking Staff, Junior Engineer Exam, Stenographer Grade C and D Exam, Constable (GD) Examination, SI in Delhi Police, CAPF and ASI in CISF and Junior Hindi Translator in Subordinate Offices / Ministry of Defence / Central Hindi Training Institute.
Important Exams Conducted by SSC:
SSC CGL Exam (Combined Graduate Level): It is considered as the most popular exam conducted by SSC. It is also called CGL exam or the Combined Graduate Level examination. This exam is hold up by SSC every year for graduates to recruit in various non-technical posts of Group B and Group C in central government. The various vacancies or posts for which large number of vacancies exists through Graduate Level are: Assistant Grade, Auditors/ Inspectors of Income Tax/Central Excise, Sub-Inspectors in Central Police Organisations (Assam rifles, BSF, CRPF, CISF, ITBP and SSB) and CBI, /Upper Division Clerks, Divisional Accountants etc.
SSC Combined Higher Secondary Exam: Also called SSC CHSL Exam is another popular examination of SSC for recruitment of basically lower division clerks (LDC), Data Entry Operators (DEO), Postal Assistant (PA), Sorting Assistant (SA) in various government departments. The minimum qualification needed to be eligible for SSC CHSL Exam is Intermediate. It means that candidate should have passed the 10+2 examination.
SSC MTS (Multi-Tasking Staff) Exam: This is conducted for recruitment of subordinate staff in various central government departments as well as organizations. The basic qualification required is the candidate should have passed the Matriculation examination or equivalent from a recognised board. Also SSC Junior Engineer Exam (JE) is conducted by the Staff Selection Commission for recruitment of technical cadres of Group B through this examination. Through SSC JE Exam, the recruitment is done for engineers in Central Water Commission, Department of Posts, Central Public Works Department, Military Engineering Services etc.
Stenographer (Grade C and Grade D) Exam: This is conducted by SSC for recruitment of stenographers in various central government offices as well as attached subordinate offices. The minimum qualification needed to apply should be 10+2 certificate from recognized university or board with stenography skills. SI in Delhi Police, CAPF and ASI in CISF is held for the selection of the personnel for various police organisations of the country such as Delhi Police, Border Security Force (BSF), Central Armed Police Force, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), ITBP etc.
SSC Constable (GD) Exam: Recruitment of constables are carried out through this open competitive exam in forces such as BSF, ITBP, Assam Rifles, CRPF, SSB, NIA etc. The interested aspirants are needed to qualify in physical efficiency and eligibility test in order to write the written examination conducted for the recruitment. The minimum eligibility is Matriculation for this examination. Also, SSC Junior Hindi Translator in Subordinate Offices / Ministry of Defense / Central Hindi Training Institute is an open competitive examination, which is conducted every year by SSC to recruit translators in various organizations of the government. A graduate or post graduate with Hindi or English is required for the post. However, for Hindi Pradhyapak in Central Hindi Training Institute, experience is also mandatory.
Along with above mentioned exams, Staff Selection Commission (SSC) comes up with various official advertisements for a number of posts throughout the year. The positive thing about the organisation is the vast mandate it has and that is why, from a matriculate to a postgraduate, everybody has the opportunity to get employed as a government servant through SSC. Those who are aspiring to join the government sector should start applying for upcoming recruitment.