The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has sent out an advertisement for recruitment of 45 secretaries, directors and deputy secretaries across 24 Central ministries through lateral entry or on contract basis, triggering a controversy from the Opposition.
The advertisement is for the posts of 10 joint secretaries and 35 directors/deputy secretaries. The posts are required to be filled by September 17. It mentions that all posts are “suitable for candidates belonging to the category of Persons with Benchmark Disability (PwBD)”.
What’s Lateral Entry Into Bureaucracy?
It’s a practice that involves recruiting individuals from outside the traditional government service cadres to fill mid- and senior-level positions. The contracts range from three to five years, with extensions based on performance.
The first set of vacancies through lateral entry were introduced in 2018 during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tenure. In 2017, Niti Aayog in its three-year Action Agenda had recommended the induction of personnel at middle and senior management levels in the central government.
The lateral entrants are part of the central secretariat, which till then, had only bureaucrats from All India Services/Central Civil Services. They would be given a contract of three years, which could be extended to a total term of five years.
According to Minister of State for DoPT Jitendra Singh, 63 appointments have been made through lateral entry in the last five years. At present, 57 lateral entrants occupy positions in various ministries and departments.
When Was It First Introduced?
The concept of lateral entry was initially recommended by the Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) established 2005 during the UPA government led by Congress.
The ARC, headed by Veerappa Moily, advocated for lateral entry to fill roles requiring specialized knowledge unavailable within civil services. The recommnedations stressed that individuals get hired from PSUs, private sector, academia to improve policy implementation and governance.
What are the Job Openings?
The joint secretary positions are in domains ranging from emerging technologies, semi-conductors and electronics, environment policy and law, digital economy, fintech, cybersecurity, investment in economic affairs, shipping, science and technology, and economic/commercial/industrial under the Steel Ministry, to renewable energy, policy and plan, and the National Disaster Management Authority.
The posts of directors and deputy secretaries are vacant in departments related to climate change, forestry, integrated nutrients management, natural farming, rain-fed farming system, organic farming, urban water management, aviation management, chemicals and petrochemicals, commodity pricing, insolvency and bankruptcy, education laws, education technology, international law, finance, tax policy, manufacturing/auto, advanced chemical cell battery manufacturing for automobile sector, official languages, and one for digital media in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.
The appointment will be on contract basis for applicants from the private sector; other applicants will be posted on deputation. The period of appointment is three years extendable to five years depending upon performance. Directly recruited Central government employees are not eligible for these posts.
Applicants for the post of joint secretary should have a minimum of 15 years of experience in the relevant domain and aged between 40 and 55. Candidates for the director and deputy secretary posts should be in the age groups of 35-45 and 32-40 respectively.
Why is There a Controversy Over Lateral Entry?
The posts of joint secretary, director and deputy secretary in 24 ministries are key decision-makers and administrative heads within departments.
Reservation in these jobs are made through the 13-point roster policy. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), however, mentions that there are no mandatory reservations for appointments on deputation, and the current process of filling posts through lateral entry is considered closest to deputation. “Since each post to be filled under this scheme (lateral entry) is a single post, reservation is not applicable,” DoPT stated, as quoted by The Times of India.
What’s the Opposition Saying?
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused the BJP of “ripping apart the Constitution”, and asked if the lateral job openings have any reservations for the Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) or Economically Weaker Section (EWS).
“As part of a well-planned conspiracy, the BJP is deliberately making such recruitments in jobs so that SC, ST, OBC categories can be kept away from reservation. Secondly, the reservation scam in the appointment of 69,000 assistant teachers in Uttar Pradesh has now been exposed by the High Court decision,” Kharge said in a post on X.
Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) president Chirag Paswan has called lateral entry in UPSC “completely wrong”, and said he was planning to raise the issue before the government. He said the LJP (RV) was “absolutely not in favour” of such appointments. “Wherever there are government appointments, the provisions of reservation must be followed.”
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav has called the UPSC job advertisement a “cruel joke” on country’s reservation system and Constitution. “If these 45 posts were filled through the traditional civil services examination, nearly half of them (22-23) would be reserved for SC, ST, and OBC candidates. By opting for lateral entry system, the government is effectively denying these communities their rightful share in governance in a very systematic, planned and clever move,” he said in a post on X.
Information and Broadcasting minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has called out Opposition’s hypocrisy. “It was the UPA government which developed the concept of lateral entry. The second Admin Reforms Commission (ARC) was established in 2005 under UPA government. Shri Veerappa Moily chaired it,” Vaishaw tweeted.