Lateral Entry Policy Still Active

Syllabus :GS 2/Governance 

In News

• Union Minister Jitendra Singh clarified that the government has not given up on the idea of lateral entry into government departments.

Lateral entry 

• It refers to the hiring of specialists, including professionals from the private sector, to take up senior roles in the government.
• It aims to bring in fresh talent and strengthen middle management by appointing specialists with domain expertise for specific roles.

View of NITI Ayyog and various commissions 

• The policy of lateral entry originated from recommendations by the NITI Aayog in its 2017 report, which highlighted the need for specialists in policymaking due to the economy’s growing complexity.
  • It proposed inducting experts to enhance competition and bring fresh talent into governance. 
  • The idea was to replace frequent officer rotations with longer, specialised postings. 
• Similar recommendations were made earlier by the second Administrative Reforms Commission in 2005 under the UPA government. 

Previous appointments

• Former PM Manmohan Singh and experts like Verghese Kurien, Homi Bhabha, and A.P.J. Abdul Kalam were lateral entrants who made significant contributions in various fields. 
• Post-independence, lateral entries helped overcome the shortage of civil servants, and the system gradually evolved with regular UPSC recruitment.
• Around 60 posts had already been filled through the lateral entry mode. “Today 40 to 45 [lateral entry recruits] are still working.

Advantages 

• Lateral entrants can  bring domain-specific knowledge and professional experience, essential in today’s complex policymaking environment.
• Private sector professionals may introduce new ideas, data-driven strategies, and outcome-based approaches to governance.
• The government faces a shortage of All India Services officers, especially at the Central level.
  • Lateral entry helps fill these gaps.
    • According to a 2023-24 parliamentary panel report on the DoPT, only 442 IAS officers were working with the Union government, against the required strength of 1,469.

Disadvantages 

• Lateral entry has faced criticism for not applying caste-based reservations, potentially sidelining marginalized groups.
  • Critics argue that such appointments bypass the DoPT’s roster system, which applies reservation to each department individually, not across ministries. 
• Entrants may lack knowledge of governmental procedures and hierarchies, leading to inefficiencies.
• Cooperation related challenges with existing civil servants.

Way Ahead 

• The lateral entry holds promise for modernizing India’s administrative machinery but  it must be implemented with transparency, fairness, and clear integration mechanisms to ensure long-term success.

Source :IE