A total of 6,077 applications were received by the DoPT for the 10 joint secretary posts.
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has sought detailed information from over 6,000 private sector specialists who have applied for 10 posts of joint secretaries in the central government through 'lateral entry' mode, a statement from Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said today. The Department had invited applications from 'talented and motivated Indian nationals willing to contribute towards nation building to join the Government' at the level of Joint Secretary on contract basis on June 10, 2018.
PTI reported that a total of 6,077 applications were received by the DoPT for the 10 joint secretary posts.
The recruitment was announced for the Department of Revenue, Department of Financial Services, Department of Agriculture Cooperation and Farmers' Welfare, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Ministry of Shipping, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Department of Economic Affairs, and Department of Commerce.
Now, the UPSC has been entrusted by the competent authority on October 29, 2018 for the task of selection of suitable candidates from those who have already applied in response to the earlier DoPT notification.
The latest UPSC notification has now said that all candidates who have already submitted their applications online to DOPT are to fill up a Detailed Application Form (DAF) which seeks to obtain additional specific information from the candidates regarding qualifications and experience so as to facilitate the selection process.
A mail is also being issued separately to each of the candidates who have applied, through their registered e-mail ID indicated in their online applications submitted in response to DoPT advertisement, the UPSC said.
The candidates may access the link indicated in the mail addressed to them and submit online all the requisite information asked for in the DAF before 6 PM on January 1, 2019.
According to the Commission, detailed information about the process is available on the website of UPSC (http://www.upsc.gov.in) and DoPT (https://lateral.nic.in).
"It may be noted that the Detailed Application Form (DAF) received from the candidates after last date of submission i.e. 06.00 PM on 01/01/2019 would not be considered," the UPSC said.
Usually, the posts of joint secretaries are manned by IAS, IPS, IFS, IRS officers recruited through civil services examination conducted by the UPSC, a premier recruitment agency for central government jobs.
While a controversy erupted after the announcement of this recruitment through lateral entry, citing the names of former prime minister Manmohan Singh, who was also a bureaucrat, and the then deputy chairman of planning commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, who was appointed through lateral recruitment route, the government had said there was no adverse effect on the morale of the civil servants due to such appointments.
In a written reply to Lok Sabha in July, Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh had said the government had decided to undertake lateral recruitment of 10 joint secretaries on contractual basis in order to achieve the twin objectives of bringing in fresh talent as well as augmenting the availability of manpower.
Government think tank Niti Ayog, in its three-year action agenda 2017-18 to 2019-20, highlighted it was essential that specialists be inducted into the system through lateral entry on fixed-term contract, the minister said.
The Sectoral Group of Secretaries (SGoS) submitted a report in February, 2017 in which it has inter alia been observed that there was a shortage of officers at the joint secretary, director, deputy secretary levels, due to reduction in recruitment in the service during 1995-2002.
Click here for more Jobs News