Govt appoints 38 civil servants from private sector, PSUs via lateral entry

The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has approved the appointment of 38 candidates for the first batch of lateral entry into various positions in the Indian civil service. It has ten joint secretaries. This was announced by Shri. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions on Monday.

Previously, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) uses to recommend candidates from the private and public sectors to join the government on a contract or deputation basis.

According to the Union Minister, the lateral entry process has two goals: bringing in new talent and supplementing manpower at various levels of the Central government.

Singh credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi with institutionalising and objectifying the selection process by delegating the entire process to the UPSC.

The Union Minister stated that the DoPT requested the UPSC on December 14, 2020, and February 12, 2021, to select suitable persons to join the Government on a contract or deputation basis at the level of Joint Secretary, Director, and Deputy Secretary in various Ministries and Departments of the Government of India.

The UPSC shortlisted 231 candidates for interviews based on the Online Application Forms submitted by the candidates.

The interviews took place between September 27 and October 8, and 31 candidates were recommended for the positions of Joint Secretary, Director, and Deputy Secretary, according to the Minister."It should be noted that seven Joint Secretaries were previously selected, bringing the total number of suitable candidates to 38," Singh said.
While recommending candidates recently, the Minister informed that pre-appointment formalities such as police verification and Intelligence Bureau clearance, among others, had been incorporated.

According to the Union Minister, such appointments serve the dual purpose of bringing in new talent while also increasing the availability of manpower.

Each post being filled is a Single Post in a specific domain area, and candidates will be appointed on a contract basis or on a deputation basis (including short term contracts) from State Governments, Union Territories, Public Sector Undertakings, Autonomous Bodies, Statutory Bodies, Universities, and so on.