Reservation is not applicable for civil services lateral entry

Minister of State, S Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Dr Jitendra Singh has informed that for Lateral recruitment to the Civil Services, reservation is not applicable. The minister was replying to a question on lateral entry into the Civil Services.

The minister stated that at the levels of Joint Secretary, Director and Deputy Secretary in the Government of India has been undertaken to appoint persons for specific assignments, keeping in view their specialized knowledge and expertise in the domain area. He also informed that In 2019, nine candidates were appointed as Joint Secretaries in various Ministries/Departments of the Government of India through lateral recruitment as a reply to the question on the number of candidates selected. In 2021, 31 candidates have been chosen for lateral appointments. This includes three for the position of Joint Secretary, 19 for the position of Director, and nine for the position of Deputy Secretary.

There was a question "whether there is any provision to ensure the representation of SCs, STs, OBCs and EWSs in the appointments done through lateral entry?" The minister informed that the selection process for making lateral recruitment was entrusted to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). In such a case, the eligible SC/ST/OBC candidates are considered along with other eligible candidates. Reservation is not applicable to such appointments to a single post.

What is the lateral into the Civil Services?

Lateral entry reform was introduced by the government to attract the best talent from outside at the joint secretary level. It refers to when persons from the private sector are appointed to a government administrative position despite not having been chosen or being a part of a bureaucratic set-up under civil services. 

In its three-year Action Agenda, NITI Aayog and the Sectoral Group of Secretaries (SGoS) on Governance both in 2017 recommended the induction of personnel at the middle and senior management levels in the central government. These 'lateral entrants' would join the central secretariat, which normally consists of career bureaucrats from the All India Services/Central Civil Services. Lateral recruitment is aimed at achieving the twin objectives of bringing in fresh talent as well as augmenting the availability of manpower. Groups representing SCs, STs and OBCs have protested the fact that there is no reservation in these appointments.