PMS PUNJAB

What is the PMS Exam in Pakistan:

Provincial Management Service (PMS) is the provincial civil service of the province dedicated to the betterment and uplift of the general public. PMS officers come from many streams,i.e. 50% through promotion from amongst Tehsildars, Superintendents, Personal Secretaries, etc., and 50% through open merit competitive examination held every year. However, the main chunk of officers is recruited directly into the BPS 17 after qualifying rigorous examinations (Competitive Examination of 12 papers) and scrutiny (post-written tests of 4 stages) of the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC).

PMS stands for Provincial Management Service. It is a competitive exam being conducted by provincial governments of Pakistan through its Commissions, namely the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC), Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC), Balochistan Public Service Commission (BPSC), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Public Service Commission (KPSC), Azad Jammu & Kashmir Public Service Commission (AJKPSC). Candidates must clear PMS tests, including written tests, psychology tests, and interviews; those who pass these PMS tests are offered government jobs as First Class Officers (Grade 17). An officer passing this exam is called a PMS Officer.

Provincial Management Service: PMS is one of the government services. The PMS came into existence on January 17, 2014, in the province of Punjab upon notification by the S&GAD, Government of the Punjab – Pakistan. In Pakistan, it was established by the provincial governments to improve the service structure of bureaucracy in the provinces. Though the Federal Bureaucracy, especially the Pakistan Administrative Service (formerly District Management Group / DMG), predominantly controls the provincial administration in Punjab and other provinces, the Provincial Management Service Officers have also been given a considerable share in posts in Punjab.

Provincial Management Service: PMS consists of government officers appointed directly in Grade 17 through a competitive exam conducted by the Public Service Commission at the provincial level. PMS Officers appointed in Scale-17 get promotions in Scale-18, Scale-19, and Scale-20 as per notified Service Rules called PMS Rules, 2004. Commonly, PMS Officers are posted as Section Officers, Assistant Commissioner, Magistrates, Deputy Secretaries, Additional Secretary, DCO, DG, Commissioner, Secretary, or any other equivalent post of their grade. PMS Officers are an important unit in the top-level bureaucracy of the province, and they perform their duties at Tehsil, District, Division, and Provincial levels at important posts.

Abbreviation

PMS stands for Provincial Management Service

PCS stands for Provincial Civil Service

PCS-Exe stands for Provincial Civil Service-Executive

DCO stands for District Coordination Officer

DG stands for Director General

Difference between PCS and PMS

PCS stands for Provincial Civil Service, and PMS stands for Provincial Management Service. Both are the same as the PCS service has been merged into the PMS service. PCS had two tiers: PCS-Executive and Provincial Secretariat Service (PSS). Like PMS Officers, PCS Officers were appointed through competitive exams by the Public Service Commission. Those of higher merit opted for PCS-Executive, and the rest joined the Secretariat Service. In 2004, these two groups (PCS-Exe and PSS) were combined under the banner of Provincial Management Service (PMS), including all posts previously held by PCS and PSS Officers. Further, the number of posts for PMS Officers has also increased.

Job Description of PMS Officer

Newly appointed PMS Officer undergoes mandatory Training at the Management & Professional Development Department (MPDD), Lahore, for six months. After this MPDD training, a PMS Officer may be assigned the following jobs/postings:

1. Posting as Assistant Commissioner (Under Training) / AC (UT) for 03 months. This posting lets an officer know the workings of the Assistant Commissioner in Tehsil.
2. A newly appointed PMS Officer must work for the first 02 years of his/her service in the Civil Secretariat. This practice is done to make the officer go through the practical environment and learn the basic techniques of officials working in government departments. Different types of posts await newly appointed PMS Officers in the Civil Secretariat. He /She may be posted as:
   1. Section Officer General
   2. Section Officer Establishment
   3. Section Officer Technical
   4. Section Officer Budget
   5. Section Officer Inquiries
   6. Section Officer Litigation
   7. Section Officer Planning
3. Field Postings for a newly appointed PMS Officer are as follows:
   1. Assistant Commissioner
   2. Special Judicial Magistrate
   3. Sub-Registrar
   4. District Monitoring Officer
   5. General Revenue Assistant
   6. Deputy Director Anti-Corruption

Promotion Scope of PMS Officers in Punjab

In compliance with the 18th amendment, Basic Scale-17 to Scale-21 posts are available for PMS Officers in Punjab. As per service rules, their appointment and promotion criteria are as follows:

Scale – 17

1. Based on the result of a combined competitive exam, 50% of posts are filled by initial recruitment on the recommendations of the PPSC based on the result of a combined competitive.
2. 45% to be filled by promotion as follows:
   1. 22.5% based on seniority cum fitness from amongst Tehsildars, who are graduates and have five years of service as Tehsildars;
   2. 22.5% based on seniority cum fitness from amongst the Superintendents and Private Secretaries who are graduates in the ratio 50:50, respectively.
3. 05% by selection on merit from amongst the civil servants holding respective posts regularly in Basic Scale-05 to Basic Scale-16 with a Master’s Degree or Degree (4 years) or LLB from a recognized University serving under the Government and having the following experience:
   1. For officials in Basic Scale-11 to Basic Scale-16 = 5 years and
   2. For officials in Basic Scale-05 to Basic Scale-10 = 08 years.
4. Note: The Punjab Public Service Commission shall make the selection against this quota of 5%.

Scale – 18:

100% of posts of Basic Scale-18 are filled by promotion on seniority-cum-fitness from amongst the cadre of PMS/Basic Scale-17 being at least five years’ service with Prescribed Departmental Training/ Exam

Scale – 19:

100% of posts of Basic Scale-19 are filled by promotion based on selection on merit from amongst PMS Officers holding posts in Basic Scale-18 and having at least 12 years service against posts in Basic Scale-17 and above, of which at least 04 years service should be in Basic Scale-18 after Prescribed Departmental Training/ Exam.

Scale – 20:

100% of posts of Basic Scale-20 are filled by promotion based on selection on merit from amongst PMS Officers holding posts in Basic Scale-19 and having at least 17 years of service against posts in Basic Scale-17 and above, of which at least 3 years service should be in BS-19 after Advance Training Course

Scale- 21:

100% of posts of Basic Scale-21 are filled by promotion based on selection on merit from amongst PMS Officers holding posts in Basic Scale-20 and having at least 22 years of service against posts in Basic Scale-17 and above, of which at least two years of service should be in Basic Scale-20.

Qualification Requirements for the PMS Exam

1. Graduation in any discipline with minimum Second Division from a recognized university.
2. All male, female, and transgender, domiciled in Punjab, can apply for the PMS Exam in PPSC.
3. Fresh graduates and job holders in the private or public sector are eligible.

PMS Age Limit

As per Advertisement No.12/2020 by PPSC PMS, the age limit is 21 to 30 years on January 1, 2020. Age relaxation is allowed in the following cases:

1. In the case of officials serving in connection with the affairs of the Federal Government who are domiciled in Punjab, as well as the officials serving in connection with the affairs of the Punjab Government having at least 4 years of service as such, the upper age limit shall be 35 years.
2. For special persons, a maximum of 10 years of relaxation in the upper age limit shall be allowed per Punjab Civil Servants Recruitment (Relaxation of Upper Age Limit) Rules, 1976.

As per the Government of the Punjab, S&GAD Notification No. SOR-III(S&GAD)1-25/94(P) dated 29-11-2012, Punjab Delegation of Powers (Relaxation of Age) Rules, 1961 shall not apply to the posts of the Government required to be filled through Combined Competitive Examination conducted by the Punjab Public Service Commission.

The cutoff date for determining eligibility as far as age is concerned shall be January 1, 2020. However, the Candidate must fulfill all other preconditions/ qualifications for the examination on or before the Closing Date as given in this Advertisement. The candidates will produce the original certificates during the Psychological Assessment and Interview to authenticate their claim in the application form.

IMPORTANT POINTS

1. Besides Open Merit quota, Special zone, Special person, and Minorities quotas are considered.
2. The examination is held in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan, Bahawalpur, DG Khan, Faisalabad, and Sargodha districts.

PMS Exam Passing Criteria

PMS Exam is a combination of a written test (comprising 1200 marks) and an Interview/ Viva Voce (comprising 200 marks). PMS criteria are as follows:

1. Negative marking is done, deducting 0.25 marks for each wrong answer in the Objective (MCQ) paper of General Knowledge.
2. Non-Muslim candidates can either attempt a paper in Islamic Studies or Ethics (A combination of both Subjective and Objective).
3. The candidates must take compulsory and optional subjects from the PMS Syllabus defined by the PPSC.
4. The minimum standard for the question papers is graduate level.
5. The Candidate must obtain 40% marks in each paper and 50% in the aggregate, i.e., 600 marks, to qualify for an interview. After that, a candidate must also secure 50% marks in the interview to be eligible for the final merit list of successful candidates.