Recruitment to government service: India
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
Lateral entry
A backgrounder
Sidhartha, Aug 20, 2024: The Times of India
New Delhi : Govt’s latest move to induct 45 mid-level specialists through the lateral entry route has stirred a political controversy. But ever since the industrial management pool days in the 1950s, to inducting specialists such as IG Patel, Manmohan Singh, V Krishnamurthy, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, and RV Shahi, govt has always had lateral inductions, although it was largely limited to senior posts.
If it was the absence of economists that prompted the Centre to rope in Bimal Jalan, Vijay Kelkar and Rakesh Mohan, the fous now, as the latest UPSC advertisement to recruit joint secretaries and directors suggests, is on technology and environment like sectors where the current civil service set up does not allow specialisation.
In 1959, PM Jawaharlal Nehru started the industrial management pool that saw the likes of Mantosh Sodhi join the govt and later become secretary of heavy industry. V Krishnamurthy, who successfully led PSUs such as BHEL and SAIL, was another lateral entry who was the heavy industry secretary. Similarly, D V Kapur went on to head three ministries — power, heavy industry and chemicals & petrochemical.
Before then, in 1954, I G Patel joined as deputy economic adviser from IMF and later went on to become economic affairs secretary and RBI governor. In 1971, former PM Manmohan Singh joined as economic adviser in the commerce ministry before moving on hold several other assignments. During Janata govt M Menezes, a railway engineer, was made secretary defence production.
Rajiv Gandhi appointed K P P Nambiar, chairman of the Kerala Electronics Development Corporation, as the electronics secretary and Sam Pitroda joined to lead the Centre for Development of Telematics (CDOT). In 2002 the Vajpayee govt inducted R V Shahi from the private sector to push electricity reforms as power secretary.
Several of the economists who joined govt in the 1980s and 1990s came at the additional secretary level and then went on to hold secretary level posts.
It is only since 2018 that the Modi govt has gone for a lateral hiring strategy on a bigger scale, and at the middle level. While it cited the recommendations of the second administrative reforms commission to hit back at Congress, the failure to attract the best talent in govt jobs has played a role, more so because several IAS officers are not keen to come for central deputation.
In any case, there are few who are able to develop the expertise during their career, having had to handle a diverse set of jobs.
The lack of qualified officers, leave alone specialists, has led to the emergence of the Big Four syndrome where consultants work on everything from designing investment strategies to even presentations that secretaries often make to the PM’s Office.
“With the level of expertise available now through regular UPSC recruitment (MBAs, engineers, doctors, candidates with high computer science knowledge), there is enough talent within the services... It is a question of finding the right person for each job. Govt should focus on creating a results oriented administrative system. We retain our old process oriented colonial system of administration with hardly any change while many other countries have moved on with new public management and new public governance systems,” said former cabinet secretary K M Chandrasekhar, who is not a supporter of the lateral entry system.
Overnight reorientation is unlikely given that bureaucracy is resistant to change, said a secretary rank officer.
“In Niti Aayog we institutionalised lateral entry at the level of joint secretaries, directors and young professionals, who brought in a lot of fresh ideas and young energy, which helped us roll out several initiativesincluding PLI, aspirational districts and AI,” said Amitabh Kant, who was CEO of the govt think tank. Kant advocates a five-year term, instead of three for such joinees. “Lateral entry should be a twoway street with govt officers allowed to work in the private sector, international agencies and civil society organisations working at the grassroot level.”
