Less than a week after the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) announced 45 job openings for private sector specialists in the government, the lateral entry into the Indian bureaucracy has been withdrawn.
Following the directive from the Centre, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has officially canceled the previously advertised lateral entries scheme. This decision comes as a result of the directive to retract the scheme.
On August 20, the UPSC issued a circular stating that Advertisement No. 54/2024, which announced the lateral recruitment for 45 posts at the level of Joint Secretary/Director/Deputy Secretary in various Departments, has been canceled. This decision was made at the request of the requisitioning authority. The advertisement was initially published in the Employment News, various newspapers, and on the Commission’s website on August 17, 2024.
Governments earlier approach
On Tuesday, the Chairman of UPSC was instructed by Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances Jitendra Singh to terminate the current Lateral Entry advertisement.
“While most of the major lateral entries before 2014 were made in an ad-hoc manner, including cases of alleged favoritism, efforts of our government have been to make the process institutionally driven, transparent, and open. The Prime Minister is of the firm belief that the process of lateral entry must be aligned with the principles of equity and social justice enshrined in our Constitution, particularly concerning the provisions of reservation.”
BJP made an accusation on Monday, claiming that the Congress is being hypocritical in opposing a certain move. According to the BJP, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance regime had originally proposed the idea of lateral entry back in 2005. The BJP further asserted that the current National Democratic Alliance government has simply made the process more transparent.
Opposing lateral entry
The decision to introduce lateral entry into the bureaucracy faced opposition from allies of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) such as the Janata Dal (United) led by Nitish Kumar and the Lok Janshakti Party led by Chirag Paswan in Bihar.
Furthermore, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, along with several other opposition leaders, voiced their opposition to the move. They accused the BJP of attempting to undermine the reservation system by introducing lateral entry into public sector jobs, which they claimed would disadvantage marginalized communities.
Opposition leaders argue that this proposal does not include provisions for the representation of Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC).
What is lateral entry?
Recruiting individuals from outside the traditional government service cadres, such as the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), to fill mid and senior-level positions in government departments is referred to as lateral entry.
The idea of lateral entry into government positions was initially introduced between 2004 and 2009 and was enthusiastically supported by the Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC), which was established in 2005. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration, this process was officially introduced, and the first set of vacancies was announced in 2018. This was a significant departure from the usual practice, where senior bureaucratic roles were mostly held by career civil servants.
Lateral entrants are usually employed on contracts that last three to five years, with the possibility of extensions based on performance and government needs. This approach aims to bring new talent into the bureaucracy and improve the availability of specialized skills necessary for addressing complex governance and policy challenges.
What’s the controversy about?
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has published a notice inviting applications for lateral recruitment for 45 senior positions, such as joint secretary, director, and deputy secretary, across 24 ministries of the Union government. These roles hold significant decision-making authority and serve as administrative heads within their respective departments. Individuals with suitable qualifications and experience from state/UT governments, PSUs, statutory organizations, research institutes, universities, and the private sector are eligible to apply.
The 13-point roster policy is utilized to implement reservation in public jobs and universities. Nonetheless, a circular from the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) specifies that there are no obligatory reservations for appointments on deputation. The current process of filling positions through lateral entry is viewed as closely resembling deputation.
“In a single post cadre, the reservation does not apply. Since each post to be filled under this scheme [lateral entry] is a Single Post, reservation is not applicable.”
