The Narendra Modi government at the center recently issued an advertisement for direct recruitment to top posts in ministries through lateral entry. The opposition opposed it. After this, it was withdrawn. This is not the first case when the central government has tried to fill officer level posts through lateral entry. Earlier, acting on the recommendation of the Sixth Central Pay Commission, Manmohan Singh’s government had proposed in January 2011 to fill 10% posts at the joint secretary level through lateral entry. The Indian Express has claimed this in one of its reports.
A note from the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) had said that in lateral entry, candidates will be selected on the basis of their CV and an interview by the UPSC. The Sixth Pay Commission had recommended identifying certain posts that require technical or specialised knowledge.
More than two years later, in June 2013, the Pay Commission recommendation was examined by the DoPT, Department of Expenditure and the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). The UPSC agreed to it.
Subsequently, a concept note on the lateral entry proposal was circulated and various ministries and departments were asked to identify posts requiring specialised knowledge.
Official records reviewed by The Indian Express show that the lateral entry scheme was discussed in a PMO meeting on April 28, 2017. It was agreed to keep it outside the purview of the UPSC and conduct the lateral recruitment process under two selection committees comprising secretaries and external experts. The selection committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary was to select joint secretaries for lateral entry.
However, on May 11, 2018, a DoPT official said that the UPSC regulation would have to be amended if these posts were to be filled through this route. Subsequently, the file note stated that the posts of joint secretary, director and deputy secretary are filled on deputation from officers of the All India Services and Central Group ‘A’ Services under the Central Staffing Scheme (CSS). Within a year, there was a rethink and the government decided to hand over the lateral entry recruitment to the UPSC.
On November 1, 2018, the UPSC said it would recommend one candidate at a time and keep two other names in the reserve list for each post. “This process of selection is being treated as a one-time process and is not being treated as a regular process to be continued every year,” the UPSC said.
