The term civil service refers to the permanent executive which means Head of State and cabinet and includes large number of administrative officials. Features of civil service is as follows:

Features of Civil Services:

1. Professional body: As Herman Finer puts it, Civil service is a professional body of officials who are, permanent, paid and skilled. It is a whole time job and career service.

2. Hierarchy: As per the staler system, each civil servant has to obey his immediate superior, where higher ranking administrative officers with discretionary powers supervise their subordinates. The authority runs from above, and helps to makeadminis tration stable.

3. Political Neutrality: Civil Servants always refrain from political activities. They perform their duties without being aligned to any one political regime.

4. Anonymity: Civil servants work behind the screen and remain anonymous even though they work for the Government. Recognition for good work or censure for any omission goes only to the concerned minister and not to the civil servants.

5. Impartiality: The Civil Servants have to apply the laws of the state while performing the duties without showing any favour, bias or preference to any groups or sections of the society.

6. Service motto: They have to work for the welfare of society. They must be humble and service-minded towards the public and not authoritative.

7. Permanent: Civil Servants are called permanent executives. They discharge duties until they attain the age of superannuation. Both at the central and in Karnataka State Services, the age of retirement is sixty years. Even though disciplinary action is taken as per rules, there is security of service.

8. Jurisdiction of Law: Every Civil Servant has to function within the prescribed jurisdiction of law. If he crosses the limit, he is met with disciplinary action.

9. Special Training: Once the candidates are selected for top civil services, they are deputed to in-service training to acquire special skills in administration, like the Lai Bahadur Shastry Academy of Administration located in Missouri for the training of the newly appointed IAS officers. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Police Academy located in Hyderabad trains the newly appointed IPS officers.