In the biggest tranche of lateral recruitment being undertaken by the Centre, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has invited applications for 45 specialist posts in different central ministries. The advertisement issued by UPSC seeks applications for “talented and motivated Indian nationals for Lateral Recruitment” to the posts of Joint Secretary, Director, and Deputy Secretary in 24 ministries of the Union government.
Applications have been invited for 10 joint secretaries and 35 directors/deputy secretaries' posts-- positions which are usually manned by the officers of all-India services -- the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFoS) -- and Group A services, among others.
What Is ‘Lateral Entry’ Into The Bureaucracy?
The latest induction through the lateral entry mode -- referred to as the appointment of specialists (including those from the private sector) in government departments -- is aimed at bringing fresh talent and perspective into the governance.
In its three-year Action Agenda presented in 2017, the NITI Aayog recommended the induction of personnel at middle and senior management levels in the central government as ‘lateral entrants’. These lateral entrants were to be part of the central secretariat which, till then, had only career bureaucrats. It was proposed that these lateral entrants would be given contracts of three years, extendable to a total term of five years.
With this lateral recruitment, the government wanted to tap into individuals’ domain expertise and specialised know-how, regardless of whether they were career bureaucrats or not. Lateral recruitment in the central government has been undertaken since 2018 to appoint persons for specific assignments, keeping in view their specialised knowledge and expertise in the domain area.
The officers at these levels play an important role in policy-making. So far, 63 appointments have been made through lateral entry out of which 35 appointments were from the private sector. At present, 57 officers are in positions in ministries/departments, according to the latest data.
Speaking in Rajya Sabha in 2019, Minister of State for the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) Jitendra Singh said that “lateral recruitment is aimed at achieving the twin objectives of bringing in fresh talent as well as augment the availability of manpower”.
Again addressing the topic in 2024, Singh said, “Keeping in view their specialized knowledge and expertise in the domain area, lateral recruitment at the level of Joint Secretary, Director and Deputy Secretary in Government of India, has been undertaken to appoint persons for specific assignments.”
What Did The UPSC Ad Say?
"The government of India has submitted the requisitions for lateral recruitment of joint secretary and director/deputy secretary level officers. Accordingly, online applications are invited from talented and motivated Indian nationals willing to contribute towards nation building to join the government at the level of joint secretary or director/deputy secretary...," read the advertisement.
It said that vacancies in different ministries/departments with headquarters in New Delhi, are to be filled on a contract basis (on deputation for officers of states/UT cadres, public sector undertakings (PSUs), autonomous bodies, statutory organisation, universities, recognized research institutes) for a period of three years (extendable to five years depending upon performance) through website https://www.upsconline.nic.in by September 17.
The 10 posts of joint secretaries are in the Home, Finance and Steel ministries among others. Thirty-five posts of director/deputy secretary-level will be filled in the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Civil Aviation and Information & Broadcasting among others.
What Positions Are Opened For Lateral Entry?
The posts of Joint Secretary (Policy & Plan), NDMA, Ministry of Home Affairs, Joint Secretary (Emerging Technologies) and Joint Secretary (Semiconductors and Electronics) under Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Joint Secretary (Digital Economy, FinTech and Cyber Security), Department of Financial Services and Joint Secretary (Investment), Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, among others, are to be filled through the latest drive.
Of the total of 35 posts of directors/deputy secretaries, the highest of eight are to be filled in the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare under the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, followed by three each in the Ministry of Jal Shakti and Ministry of Law and Justice, among others.
The posts of directors/DS in the Home, Education, Corporate Affairs, Information and Broadcasting, External Affairs, Steel, Finance and Social Justice & Empowerment. Ministries, among others, will also be filled through the lateral entry mode, according to the UPSC's advertisement.
Individuals working at comparable levels in private sector companies, consultancy organisations, and international/multinational organisations among others with a minimum of 15 years experience for joint secretary-level posts, 10 years for director-level posts and seven years for deputy secretary-level posts are eligible to apply.
What Is The Age Limit For Application For Advertised Positions?
The minimum and maximum age limit for the JS level post are 40 and 55 years respectively and the approximate gross salary would be around Rs 2.7 lakh including dearness, transport & house rent allowances.
The minimum age for director-level posts is 35 years and the maximum is 45 years. Selected candidates would get around Rs 2.32 lakh salary. For the deputy secretary level, candidates with a minimum age of 32 years and a maximum of 40 years are eligible to apply. A gross salary of around Rs 1.52 lakh has been fixed for the candidates at this level.
The UPSC has warned candidates against furnishing false details or suppressing any material information in filling up the application form.
"Candidates are also warned that they should in no case correct or alter or otherwise tamper with any entry in a document or its attested/certified copy submitted by them nor should they submit a tampered/fabricated document," the Commission said.
Those found guilty would be liable to criminal prosecution and can be debarred from future selection process, it said.
The government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply, the advertisement added.
Opposition's Stand On Lateral Entry Recruitment
The Opposition has been critical of the lateral entries saying it has no provision of quotas for Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC) candidates.
Reacting to the latest advertisement, Congress chief Mallikarjuna Kharge, in a post on X, said lateral entries were a “part of a well-planned conspiracy”. He said that “the BJP is deliberately making such recruitments in jobs so that SC, ST, OBC categories can be kept away from the reservation”.
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav also criticised the move and in a post on X, called the move a “dirty joke”. He said that had the 45 advertised appointments been made through the civil services examination, “nearly half of the openings would be reserved for SC, ST, and OBC candidates”.
What Is Quota Provision For Lateral Recruitment?
As per the provisions of the Constitution, reservations have to be offered for any appointment in the bureaucracy. However, while the first round of lateral recruitment was being carried out in November 2018, the then Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) Additional Secretary Sujata Chaturvedi, in letter to UPSC Secretary Rakesh Gupta, said, “The candidates to be considered from the State Government, Public Sector, Autonomous Bodies, Statutory Bodies, Universities, would be taken on Deputation (Including Short Term Contract) with lien in the parent department. There are no instructions stipulating mandatory reservation for appointment on deputation”.
"The present arrangement of filling up these posts may be deemed as a close approximation of deputation, where mandatory reservation for SC/ST/OBC is not necessary. However, if duly eligible SC/ST/OBC candidates are eligible, they should be considered and priority may be given to such candidates in similarly situated cases for ensuring holistic representation," a report by Indian Express said citing the letter.