Ministries bring in 63 lateral entry appointments since 2018: govt tells Rajya Sabha

NEW DELHI: Since 2018, there have been 63 lateral entry appointments in various ministries in the Union government at positions such as joint secretary, director, and deputy secretary, among others, Union minister of state for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh informed the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.

"So far, 63 appointments have been made at the level of Joint Secretary/ Director/ Deputy Secretary on contract/deputation basis in various Government Departments through lateral entry since 2018. These appointments have been made for specific assignments, keeping in view their specialized knowledge and expertise in the domain area," said a statement by the ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions.

Lateral entry refers to the recruitment of professionals from the private sector, academia, public sector enterprises, or other organizations directly into mid- and senior-level positions in the central government without going through the civil services examination route.

Lateral entry appointments were made in 23 ministries, including ministries of finance, commerce, civil aviation, road transport and highways, shipping, agriculture, health and family welfare, among others, since 2018, the Union minister said in a written reply.

According to data provided to the Rajya Sabha, 10 appointments were made to the finance ministry, five to commerce, six to education, six to statistics and programme implementation, and four to agriculture, among other departments.

Lateral recruitment for joint secretaries, directors and deputy secretaries in the Union government was introduced in 2018.

"Lateral recruitment is an initiative of the Government to achieve the twin objective of bringing in fresh talent as well as augment the availability of manpower at middle management levels by appointing persons, at the level of Joint Secretary, Director and Deputy Secretary, for specific assignments keeping in view their specialized knowledge and expertise in their domain area," said the department of personnel and training in its FY25 annual report.

"The number of lateral entry appointments stated is a fairly small number, compared to the size of the government. The government appoints consultants from the private sector, but these are temporary appointments, which is why the issue of reservation does not arise. This is the problem with the Indian system, that when experts from the private sector are based on merit, the whole question of reservation is brought in, and these are isolated single posts where you cannot make reservations. And you are seeking expertise, you are not seeking routine recruitment," said Subhash Garg, former finance secretary.

“However, if the government makes lateral entry on normal non-expertise posts, reservation rules must be adhered to,” Garg added.