Thursday, September 04, 2014

Modi Sarkar may push for lateral entry of private sector executives as GoI joint secretaries; More on July 22 meeting

Red carpet to private bigwigs?
THE CENTRE has asked cadre controlling authorities to quickly submit their comments on a proposal that would allow people from the private sector and academics to join the Government of India directly as a joint secretary. In a meeting chaired by DoPT secretary and attended by representatives of cadre controlling authorities, held on July 22, 2014, i.e. almost two months after Modi Sarkar took charge, it was urged that “comments on lateral entry (from cadre controlling authorities) should be expedited”. So, will Modi Sarkar allow…
a sizeable number of private persons in higher bureaucracy? Explaining the proposal, DoPT joint secretary Mamta Kundra took the reference of the 10th report of Administrative Reforms Commission titled, “Refurbishing of Personnel Administration – Scaling New Heights” which emphasized that 10% of posts at joint secretary level in Government of India should be open to lateral entry from state government services or private sector or academics etc., according to the minutes of the July 22 meeting, held in Room No 119 in North Block. In fact, the government is now waiting for the formal comments from cadre controlling authorities before taking a final call on the subject.
Whereas DoPT is the cadre controlling authority for IAS officers, it’s the ministry of external affairs which controls Indian Foreign Service. Home ministry is the cadre controlling authority for IPS officers, and the ministry of finance controls the IRS cadre. And the list goes on.
In the last five years, the number of consultants in government departments has gone up manifold. But they are being recruited at junior level, thereby not allowing them to take key decisions. In Planning Commission itself, there were about 80 to 100 such consultants, some of whom received competitive salary.
But if the government’s new policy on lateral entry finds favour from cadre controlling authorities and also from the PMO, the corridors of power may witness a huge brigade of former corporate sector executives and academics. When there has been a huge emphasis on inculcating corporate sector culture in the government after prime minister Narendra Modi took charge, it can be safely assumed that this proposal of lateral entry at JS level may find PMO's nod.
Among those attended the July 22 meeting included joint secretary in department of expenditure Sudha Krishnan, Joint DGFT Akash Taneja, CBEC joint secretary Arun Goyal, power ministry deputy secretary Ashok Kumar, joint secretary of science and technology ministry Inderjit Singh and Railway Board ED Rashmi Choudhary, to name a few.

20 comments:

  1. This is just not good enough. ALL posts of JS and above should be privately recruited. See details in Sone Ki Chidiya agenda (http://sonekichidiya.in/)

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  2. Actually this is a cunning ploy by IAS lobby not a decision by Modi Government. Yes allow private sector executive at senior levels. It will infuse fresh blood in government but it should not be channel for those civil services rejects to occupy higher positions. Similarly allow lateral entry into IAS from other services and private sector executives. All services other than IAS have a particular department for them. So if you allow lateral entry all services except IAS will suffer because IAS does not have a particular department. So allow lateral entry into IAS also. If u allow lateral entry into all government departments it only disturbs non-IAS.

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  3. Already the promotional prospects of non-IAS are very slow. If u allow lateral entry the non-IAS services will suffer. Allow lateral entry into IAS also. Then only this measure will work out well.

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  4. Decision taking in Govt. is prerogative of IAS only so lateral entry is required in IAS only.

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  5. Do bureaucracy defend entry or is open to answerable Competition depends upon its Litmus Test to Efficiency.

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  6. Why only academicians and corporate sector executives even Defence services officers of rank of Col & above should be inducted as Joint Secretaries

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  7. This lateral entry farce has been going on since independence. This is an arm chair idea of those who don't understand the govt functioning.Some people from corporate sector may be of some worth in higher civil services,but academician's entry into administration is a foolish idea.They,however talented they may be in public perception, are good for nothing.If lateral entry is allowed at JS level,even third class correspondence graduate will hesitate to apply for civil services exam.As for people like Sanjeev Sabhlok,they are frustrated souls.Because of low ranks in civil services exam,they could n't be empanelled for JS positions and above.Many frustrated souls like these have quit IAS and hopelessly tried to prove their "worth" in arm-chair academics(especially in areas of free market economy ),literature(of course writing on Eliot themes of inevitability of death and sufferings),politics(anarchic style in name of Aam Admi),Civil society activism and voluntary sector development(for Harsh Manderish backdoor entry into top level policy making bodies)spiritualism and happiness(drawing insipartion from Buddha to Sri Chaitanaya to Sri Sri Ravishankar ).
    It is high time IAS itself was reformed to make it more efficient,professional and accountable rather than wasting time on discussing borrowed ideas from alien context.

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  8. corporate people should get entry. why not a shell executive handle oil and gas sector? or a bank ceo finance ministry? project execution is something which govt officers are simply not capable of doing and for these kind of posts corporate sector ppl with proven track record can be hired.

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  9. The problem is that the supremacy of IAS is not because of any real expertise or skill, but because of their capacity of dominating the other services and subjugating the common citizens.Like the Britishers, they are not going to leave their dominating position unless there is a movement for real democratic values like in the developed countries.No developed country has any such service and In india this feudal service has survived because they have managed to keep the country backward by misusing the funds and denying due rights to the people, without any real accountability.So they will never allow real professionals to enter the higher echelons like in the developed world.That is the bitter truth.

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  10. One reason of India's current state is IAS. People are recruited in civil services very young. They don't have real life experience as an ordinary citizen. They don't have real work experience. After education or in few short years of work, they join civil service and start ruling.They don't have any idea of suffering of common people. If lateral entry of accomplished people is allowed,it will free India and bring it to new heights because they know what is holding country back. When power of civil service decreased in 1991,it unleashed creativity of Indians. Just imagine what will happen when these creative Indians are brought in the government.

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    1. and you think a person who has spend his entire life in a MNC knows better than an IAS officer who has vast experience in working with govt policies. i think that's utter stupidity. you are talking about suffering of common people you think a private MNC individual serves the common people of india. he is just a taxpayer nothing else. He just sits in his AC cubicle and play corporate politics or code a computer and gets fat packages while 70% of rural population of India suffer. Atleast ias officers work for these rural people. so i think IAS officers have better idea of suffering of common people than so called MNC individual.

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    2. Compare state of PSUs with similar size private companies. IAS inspite of their supposedly superior intellect could not compete with executives of private firms.So, clearly IAS are not good in management. We need people who can implement good policy for rural and poor people. IAS have failed in this. IAS-run government policies brought India near bankruptcy. Role of IAS in higher policy making should have been terminated right then. The days of IAS lording over subjects are getting over. Now IAS need to serve people like customers who pay taxes and their salaries. In modern India old IAS mai-baap mentality has no role. As far as government policies are concerned, we need people who can reduce useless laws and regulations which are stifling India and industry people know what is holding country back. Granted,we need environmental and food safety regulations but that should be entrusted to professionals with degrees in those subjects just as in US.

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  11. Kindly note that the marks scored in civil services exam are in no way a measure of capacity of administration or efficiency.

    It does not test any skill other than retaining in memory a huge syllabus and reproducing it in the answer papers.

    Modi's ideas have begun to shake up the elite oligarchy of Delhi.

    Hoping for some positive change!

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  12. Iam not sure what is the agenda or criteria for determining this lateral entry, on one side this is a good opportunity to introduce real teeth into decision making, whereas it can also have a demoralizing effect on already demoralized civil servants who have worked their backs off to qualify one of the toughest exams and reach a certain post, if lateral entry is to be opened it has to be opened in all sectors and allow civil servants to occupy private sector jobs as well because ultimately it all leads to the good of the nation, isn't it ?? I am not at all in favour of academicians getting a lateral entry as most of teh teachers, professors that I see are not doing their jobs correctly, are more politically influenced than even civil servants, how can we expect them to do better jobs in different areas ?/

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  13. We Indians have lot of committed and honest professionals who have excelled in different fields of life.It is foolish to think that qualifying in a tough exam once in life is a guarantee of an honest and efficient career.If it was true, why are some members of the so called premier service rotting in jail on charges of serious corruption.The citizens are well aware of the level of corruption and inefficiency in higher bureaucracy.On the other hand we have example of developed countries where most of the top positions are occupied through lateral entry of eminent professionals.Now India is at crossroads as to whether we have to follow the outdated model or the model of advanced countries?The answers are obvious.

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  14. Let’s wait and watch the development and guidelines. India has so many examples of public sector companies and institutes who can compete among themselves on incompetence. The civil administrator, baring few exceptions, have failed India. One just has to glace at the state of affairs everywhere. Messed infra/institutions and suffering public in all sphere of life. Hope the 10% gives the other 90% a though competition. Clearing competitive exams is no guarantee of competence! The competitive exams methods need a revisit

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  15. Let’s wait and watch the development and guidelines. India has so many examples of public sector companies and institutes who can compete among themselves on incompetence. The civil administrator, baring few exceptions, have failed India. One just has to glace at the state of affairs everywhere. Messed infra/institutions and suffering public in all sphere of life. Hope the 10% gives the other 90% a though competition. Clearing competitive exams is no guarantee of competence! The competitive exams method needs a revisit. Ethics evaluation is a step in right direction. Need an evaluation of strong character too. Meanings Guts

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  16. private sector entry as advisors on contract may certainly be useful in certain ministries or certain roles with specific on the ground expertise in particular sectors which are rid with bottlenecks. Infrastructure and agriculture are two prime examples

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  17. This is very good move by new Govt. but Govt. must not forget their officers in wait to get their share of pie even after 28-29 years of services reaching to middle level while they should have got Jt Secy or being waiting for Adl Secy rank very shortly due to non-organised cadre and non existence of higher opening for them in the depts. I am talking about myself as I had joined at under Secy level officer in 1986 in Tech, stream but still to get Jt. Secy level even once got opportunity but denied at the door of UPSC by not allowing just to be interviewed sighting reason of shortage of tech manpower in the ministry. Is it was not discouraging enough for a person committed to govt. services. Therefore, I doubt in the pattern of this scheme it self and say that it would be facilitate the IAS babus and their closed relatives as the powers for appointment is with them only. What poor Govt would do for fair dealing in this state of affairs? It is suggested that first the Govt, must search the potential candidates within Govt through an independent process without involvement of IAS babus and politicians rather than going outsider organisations with out exploring it potential. DC

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