New Delhi: In a significant shift in recruitment policy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has instructed the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to revoke a recent advertisement by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for the recruitment of joint-secretary-level officers and other senior positions through the lateral entry system.
The directive was communicated through a letter from Union Minister Jitendra Singh to UPSC Chairperson Preeti Sudan, signaling a pause in the government’s use of lateral hiring for key positions in ministries like finance and electronics. The lateral entry recruitment method was introduced in 2018, aiming to bring in external talent for posts traditionally reserved for civil servants.
Since its inception, 63 individuals have been recruited through lateral entry, with 35 coming from the private sector, according to a Lok Sabha response on July 24, 2024. Currently, 57 appointees are actively serving in various ministries or departments across the government.
In his letter, Singh noted that the lateral entry scheme had been recommended by the Second Administrative Reforms Commission in 2005 and endorsed by the Sixth Pay Commission in 2013. He pointed out that the Congress-led UPA government had also employed this recruitment method, with high-profile appointments like Nandan Nilekani as head of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) being made under its tenure.