Last Updated on 20/08/2024 by Arun jain
The system of making IAS without examination, i.e. lateral entry process, is in discussion these days. Many opposition parties including Congress are opposing the 45 appointments being made through lateral entry. At the same time, the central government argues that it started during the UPA government. Many leaders are giving statements in its favor and against it. Meanwhile, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has come out in support of lateral entry. He said that lateral entry is the ultimate way to have the presence of experts in the government system.
Shashi Tharoor came out in support of lateral entry
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said on ‘X’ that lateral entry is necessary for the government to gain ‘expertise’ in a particular field. This helps in working in those areas for which we do not have experts. However, Tharoor said that this is a necessary step in the short term. But in the long run, it is necessary for the government to train the government officials recruited under the existing rules.
What is the lateral system, after all?
If we talk about the lateral system, then through UPSC lateral entry, candidates are directly appointed to those posts on which IAS rank officers are posted. That is, in this system, candidates are directly appointed to the posts of Deputy Secretary i.e. Joint Secretary and Director/Deputy Secretary in various ministries, departments and organizations. In this, experts from different sectors from the private sector are given jobs on these posts in the government. In this system, UPSC does not participate in the Civil Services Examination and experts from the private sector are appointed to these posts through interview without any exam.
UPA government and lateral entry…
The Congress-led UPA government was the first to come up with the lateral entry concept. In 2005, the second Administrative Reforms Commission was constituted and senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily was the chairman of the commission. In the report titled ‘Renovation of Personnel Administration – Touching New Heights’, one of the major recommendations of the commission was to introduce lateral entry to higher government posts that require special knowledge and skills.
When did lateral entry start in bureaucracy?
In its report presented on its three-year action agenda in 2017, NITI Aayog had recommended appointment through lateral entry at the middle and senior levels in the central government. It was said that the officers appointed through lateral entry would be part of the Central Secretariat. Appointments under lateral entry will be on a 3-year contract, which can be extended to a total of 5 years. Till that time, only career diplomats (civil service officers) were appointed in the Central Secretariat.
Applications were first invited in 2018 for appointment under lateral entry. But this recruitment was only for joint secretary level posts. Director and deputy secretary level posts were opened for lateral entry later. A joint secretary, appointed by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, is the third highest post in a department (after the secretary and additional secretary), and serves as the administrative head of a wing in the said department.
The post of Director comes one rank below Joint Secretary, and the post of Deputy Secretary comes one rank below Director. However, in most ministries, they perform similar functions. Directors/Deputy Secretaries are considered to be the middle level officers in a department. The Joint Secretary is the post where decisions are taken.
Also read: Manmohan, Montek, Raghuram, Sam Pitroda… these stalwarts had lateral entry in the government during Congress rule, Ashwini Vaishnav cornered them
Central government’s logic behind lateral entry
Minister of State for the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) Jitendra Singh told the Rajya Sabha in 2019 that ‘the aim of lateral entry is to achieve the dual objectives of bringing fresh talent into the bureaucracy as well as ensuring availability of manpower.’ Replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha on August 8, 2024, Jitendra Singh said, ‘Professionals will be appointed through lateral entry at the level of Joint Secretary, Director and Deputy Secretary in the Government of India keeping in view their expertise and skills in their field of work.’
The idea behind lateral entry is that the government wants to use the expertise and skills of individuals who have long experience in a particular field, whether they are career diplomats or not. In line with this idea, in the last few years officers from various central civil services have been given the opportunity to serve in the Central Secretariat, which was always considered IAS-dominated.
How many recruitments have been done through lateral entry so far?
The first round of recruitment under lateral entry began in 2018. Then the government received a total of 6,077 applications for the posts of Joint Secretary level. After completing the selection process by the UPSC, the names of nine professionals were recommended for appointment in nine different ministries/departments in 2019. Applications were invited for the second time for lateral entry in 2021. Then in May 2023, an advertisement for recruitment through lateral entry was issued by the UPSC. Jitendra Singh had told the Rajya Sabha on August 9 this year that, ‘In the last five years, 63 appointments have been made through lateral entry. Currently, 57 professionals are working in various posts in central ministries/departments.’
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)