New Delhi: A major controversy over Lateral Entry after the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) recently issued an advertisement for lateral recruitment in various positions in the Central government. Among the positions for which the advertisement was issued included Joint Secretary, Director, and Deputy Secretary in 24 ministries There were 45 posts for which the advertisement was issued.
Soon after, the move was heavily criticised by Opposition parties including Opposition Leader in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, who observed that the move was against the reservation and would impact Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and Other Backward Caste (OBC) categories.
Know What Is Lateral Entry?
Notably, the Lateral entry in bureaucracy mentions the recruitment of officials from outside the traditional practice of civil service exams to fill in the posts in various departments of the Central Government. The Lateral entry was It was formally introduced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tenure. The first time vacancies through Lateral entry were announced in 2018.
Through this process, officials are hired on a contract basis for three to five years. After the end of their tenure, the services of officials are extended based on their performances. After their selection officials bring their expertise in required fields that can help in in governance and policy implementations.
Those officials who are selected mostly serve as administrative heads of various sections under departments. By recruiting them, the government looks to bring in fresh talent as well as skilled manpower in the administration.
The idea of lateral entry was first proposed when the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. The second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) was established in 2005 when under the chairmanship of Veerappa Moily. The Commission was given the task of recommending reforms in the Indian administrative system.