They are governed by Central Secretariat Service Rules of 1962,[5] which has been issued under the powers of Article 309 of the Constitution of India.

In the year 1919, the Imperial Secretariat Service came into being as one of the offshoots of the Lewllyn-Smith Committee which had been set up on the eve of the introduction of the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms.

[12] The recruitment of the members was made by Central Staff Selection Board, which was precursor of the Union Public Service Commission set up in 1926.

However, after the cadre restructuring in 2003, the direct recruitment into CSS through the Civil Services Examination has been stopped.

The mode of recruitment was changed to the grade of Section Officer by way of 50% through Limited Departmental Competitive Examination by Union Public Service Commission[17] and 50% by seniority.

[17] The Government had set up a Committee on Cadre Restructuring of Central Secretariat Service (CSS) in June 2008.

[30] The report is currently pending with Prime Minister's Office and is expected to improve the service conditions by increasing the number of posts at the level of Deputy Secretaries.

[citation needed] In addition to these, the Government has also introduced mandatory training programs at every level of promotion.