The system of creating ‘IAS without examination’ i.e. lateral entry process is in discussion these days. Many opposition parties including Congress are opposing 45 appointments being made through lateral entry. At the same time, the central government argues that it started during the UPA government itself. Many leaders are giving statements in 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 for experts to be present 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 for a short period of time. But in the long run, government officials recruited under the existing rules are required to be trained by the government.
What is lateral system after all?
If we talk about lateral system, then through UPSC lateral entry, candidates are directly appointed to those posts on which IAS rank officers are posted. That is, in these systems, candidates are directly appointed to the post of Deputy Secretary i.e. Joint Secretary and Director/Deputy Secretary in various ministries, departments and organizations. In this, experts from different sectors from private sectors are given jobs on these posts in the government. In this system, UPSC does not take part in the Civil Services Examination and private sector experts are appointed to these posts through interviews without any examination.
UPA government and lateral entry…
The Congress-led UPA government was the first to come up with the lateral entry concept. In the year 2005, the second Administrative Reforms Commission was formed and senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily was the chairman of this commission. In the report titled ‘Renovation of Personnel Administration – Reaching New Heights’, one of the major recommendations of the Commission was to introduce lateral entry into higher government posts which require specialized knowledge and skills.
When was lateral entry started in bureaucracy?
NITI Aayog, in its 2017 report on its three-year action agenda, had recommended recruitment through lateral entry at middle and senior levels in the central government. It was said that the officers appointed through lateral entry will be part of the Central Secretariat. Appointments under lateral entry will be on a 3-year contract, which can be extended up to a total of 5 years. Till that time only career diplomats (civil service officers) were appointed in the Central Secretariat.
Applications for appointment under lateral entry were invited for the first time in 2018. 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 Secretary and Additional Secretary), and acts as the administrative head of a wing in the said department. .
The post of Director is one rank below Joint Secretary, and the post of Deputy Secretary is one rank below Director. However in most ministries, they perform similar functions. Directors/Deputy Secretaries are considered middle level officers in a department. Joint Secretary is the post where decisions are taken.
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Central government’s logic behind lateral entry
Jitendra Singh, Minister of State in the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), had told the Rajya Sabha in 2019 that ‘the objective of lateral entry is to achieve the dual objectives of bringing new talent into the bureaucracy as well as ensuring the availability of manpower. While replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha on August 8, 2024, Jitendra Singh said, ‘Keeping in mind the expertise and skills of professionals in their field of work, through lateral entry at the level of Joint Secretary, Director and Deputy Secretary in the Government of India. He will be appointed.
The idea behind lateral entry is that the government wants to utilize the expertise and skills of individuals who have long experience of working in a particular field, whether they are career diplomats or not. In line with this idea, over the years officers from various Central Civil Services have been given the opportunity to serve in the Central Secretariat, which was always considered to be IAS-dominated.
How many recruitments have taken place through lateral entry so far?
The first round of recruitment under lateral entry started in 2018. Then the government had received a total of 6,077 applications for Joint Secretary level posts. After UPSC completed the selection process, 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, advertisement for recruitment through lateral entry was issued by UPSC. Jitendra Singh had told in the Rajya Sabha on August 9 this year that, ’63 appointments have been made through lateral entry in the last five years. At present, 57 professionals are working on various posts in Central Ministries/Departments.