Previous Year Question

Article 321 of the Constitution of India deals with the extension of functions of Public Service Commissions. It provides that Parliament may confer additional functions on the Union Public Service Commission, while a State Legislature may, by law, confer additional functions on the State Public Service Commission.

Therefore, the functions of the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) are not directly extended by an executive order of the Prime Minister or the President; the constitutional mechanism is a law made by the Uttar Pradesh State Legislature.

Such additional functions may also relate to services of a local authority, statutory body or public institution, where the relevant law so provides.

It is also useful to distinguish Article 320 from Article 321. Article 320 specifies the ordinary functions of Public Service Commissions, whereas Article 321 provides the power to extend those functions.