In its push to recalibrate and reorganise the system, the Modi Government 3.0 has already initiated a significant reshuffle in its top bureaucracy earlier this week, appointing a new cabinet secretary and home secretary while reassigning 20 secretaries to new positions. With this move signalling a broader effort to refresh the administrative system, the government also seeks to bring in fresh expertise and domain-specific knowledge through a major lateral entry programme.
According to a fresh advertisement notification issued by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), the government is looking to employ 45 domain experts in the rank and pay of joint secretaries and deputy secretaries or directors. The 45 positions, open for lateral hire, include 10 joint secretaries, while the rest are the ranks of directors or deputy secretaries across ministries including finance, electronics, agriculture, environment, and renewable energy.
Applications have been called for positions across various ministries and departments, marking one of the most extensive recruitment drives for domain experts since the first batch of almost a dozen lateral entrants was inducted in 2019. The idea behind hiring domain experts was aimed at infusing specialised knowledge and private sector experience into the government, potentially enhancing policy-making and implementation.
‘Lateral thinking’
Lateral entry, a relatively new approach in governance, was introduced around five years ago to bring in professionals from outside the traditional civil services after the central government faced an acute crunch of senior IAS officers in the central bureaucracy.
The government initially tried to plug the gaps by inducting officers from other services including forest, postal, revenue and so on. But later, it decided to hire experts from the private sector to leverage the skills and experience of people who could provide fresh perspectives and drive efficiency in the government. The 2019 batch saw the induction of professionals with varied expertise, including in areas like finance, infrastructure, and agriculture.
Biggest batch of lateral hire
Over the past five years, the government inducted a few batches post-2019 as well. Some of the lateral hires, posted as joint secretaries across departments, received orders of extension of their service, while some quit the service and returned to the private sector.
The effectiveness of lateral entry and the way of assimilating into the existing bureaucracy have been mixed. “While some entrants have brought valuable insights and driven impactful changes, others have faced challenges in navigating the bureaucratic structure. The integration of lateral entrants into the existing system has been a complex process, with issues ranging from resistance within the civil services to the adaptation of these professionals to the government’s working style,” said a senior IAS officer serving in the central government.
In 2021, the government hired three more domain experts as lateral entrants which include one from the public sector and two from the private sector. Of the total 12 domain experts hired by the government as lateral entrants in 2019 and 2021, around eight to nine are still serving. These include four from the public sector and five from the corporate sector, while around three to four lateral entrants quit for various reasons. Post-2021, the government hired experts in small batches, said a source in the ministry.
However, this fresh wave of lateral recruitment is seen as the biggest batch as and when it comes and it also indicates the government’s continued commitment to reforming the bureaucracy by tapping into external talent.
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