LATERAL ENTRY: 1 out of 607 applicants will make it into the post of union joint secretary

AS MANY as 6,077 individuals want to joint as union joint secretaries, according to reports. This is in response to 10 JS vacancies for which the Central government in the month of June had invited applications for lateral entry of “talented and motivated Indian nationals”. The overwhelming response of the applicants means, only one out of 607 applicants will finally make into the corridors of power with a position usually reserved for…

A lateral entry into a GoI joint secretary’s post: 10 Things to Know

IN AN unprecedented move, the Central government last week invited application from “talented and motivated Indian nationals” to apply for 10 union joint secretary posts, something that mostly go the IAS and at times to officers belonging to other All India and central services. Understandably, the move created a huge buzz both in the conventional and social media, with views being aired both for and against of it. Here below are 10 things you need to know about this new initiative of a lateral entry:

What provokes IAS officers to oppose lateral entry of specialists and claim they are specialists in governance?

A NEWSPAPER article arguing that prime minister Narendra Modi should have started his innings by ending the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), has provoked a number of IAS officers to resort to social media to strongly defend their contribution to the nation and oppose lateral entry of specialists. Though the article published in a business daily was against “un-fire-able, unaccountable civil service” as a whole, it mainly targeted the IAS with “imperial-era privileges”. Former chief secretary of Delhi Shailaja Chandra, who calls herself an “independent policy analyst” and “Once IAS” argues that the alternative to…

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…

Govt debates lateral entry into Indian civil services, UK crops up as example

THE government has begun the process of debating whether it should allow lateral entry of talents, from academia, research and private sector to join the civil services. It’s noticed that some civil servants with a time-bound career progress get lazy and lethargic which in turn damage the over-all efficiency of Indian bureaucracy.

“For all civil services, especially for the All-India Civil Services, lateral entry at different levels could be evaluated. The lateral entry would inspire competition among the civil servants,” a government-prepared background paper released on this year’s Civil Services Day writes.

The 56-page long background paper which formed the basis of a panel discussion on April 21 last, also gave the UK example where...