Lateral entry has twin objectives of bringing fresh talent, augmenting manpower: Jitendra Singh

Union minister Jitendra Singh on Monday said the lateral entry process has the twin objectives of bringing fresh talent and augmenting the manpower at certain levels in the central government.

Lateral entry refers to the appointment of private sector specialists in government departments.

Singh said the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has approved the appointment of 38 candidates, including 10 joint secretaries, suitably recommended by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to join the government on a contract or deputation basis.

Singh, the Minister of State for Personnel, said the lateral entry process has the twin objectives of bringing fresh talent and augmenting the manpower at certain levels in the central government.

He said the credit goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that in order to institutionalise the selection process and also to make it more objective, it was decided that the entire lateral-entry recruitment process will be conducted by the UPSC.

The minister said the DoPT requested the commission on December 14, 2020 and February 12 this year to select suitable persons to join the government at the level of joint secretary, director and deputy secretary in various ministries or departments of the Government of India on a contract or deputation basis.

On the basis of the online application forms submitted by the candidates, the UPSC shortlisted 231 of them for the interviews, a statement issued by the personnel ministry said.

The interviews were conducted from September 27 to October 8 and 31 candidates have been recommended for the posts of joint secretary, director and deputy secretary, it added.

It maybe recalled that seven joint secretaries were selected earlier, thus taking the total number of such suitable candidates to 38, the statement said.

Singh said the pre-appointment formalities have also been incorporated, which include police verification and IB clearance, among others, while recommending the candidates recently.

He said each post being filled is a single one in a specific domain area and the candidates are either to be appointed on a contract basis or those from the state governments, Union territories, public sector undertakings, autonomous bodies, statutory bodies, universities etc. on deputation basis (including short-term contracts).

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