The Civil Services Examination is a nationwide competitive examination in India conducted by the Union Public Service Commission for recruitment to various Civil Services of the Government of India, including the Indian Administrative Service, Indian Foreign Service, and Indian Police Service. In earlier times, when civil servants were part of the king’s household, they were literally the monarch’s personal servants. As the powers of monarchs and princes declined and as, in some countries, their sovereignty was denied them, appointment became a matter of personal choice by ministers and heads of departments. The influence senior civil servants may wield over policy and the need for them to work in close harmony with ministers induce all governments to insist on complete freedom of choice in appointments, even when, as in Great Britain, the freedom is rarely invoked.