No Plans For More Joint Secretary Recruitment Through Lateral Entry: Centre

The Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh in a written reply to a question in the Parliament today said the government has no plans to recruit more Joint Secretary (JS) level officers through lateral entry. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) had in June 2018 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.

In response to the advertisement published by Department of Personnel and Training for lateral recruitment to 10 posts of Joint Secretary in the Government of India, a total of 6077 applications were received, Mr Singh said the reply in the upper house. 

After scrutiny, the minister also said, 65 candidates were shortlisted and called for interview by the Union Public Service Commission or UPSC. Of which nine candidates were recommended for appointment to Joint Secretary level posts on contract basis under lateral recruitment.  

"The recruitment process for selection of a candidate to Joint Secretary level post in the Department of Revenue became infructuous.  Thereafter, upon acceptance of the terms and conditions of appointment, eight out of the nine candidates recommended by UPSC have been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Ministries/Department of Civil Aviation, Commerce, Economic Affairs, Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Financial Services, New and Renewable Energy, Road Transport and Highways and Shipping. One candidate has not accepted the offer appointment," the minister added.

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, the government had said, 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 were appointed through lateral recruitment route, 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 last year, Mr Singh had said the government decided to undertake lateral recruitment of 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 then.

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.

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