3K vie for 10 posts in lateral entry scheme

MINISTER OF STATE JITENDRA SINGH SAID FILLING JOINT SECRETARYRANK POSTS VIA ‘LATERAL ENTRY’ PROCESS WOULD BRING IN FRESH IDEAS TO GOVERNANCE

New Delhi: A contentious Union government scheme to hire 10 specialists from the private sector in key decision-making roles otherwise reserved for career members of the Indian civil services has attracted more than 3,000 applications for the 10 posts on offer, according to officials familiar with the matter.

On June 10, the government notified 10 positions of joint secretaries to be hired through a “lateral entry” route and put out advertisements in leading newspapers asking for aspirants to come forward.

“The last date for applying is July 30. The final number will obviously be higher than the over 3,000 applications received so far,” said one of the officials cited above who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The June 10 advertisement called for applications from those working at “comparable levels in private sector companies, consultancy organisations, international/multinational organisations with a minimum of 15 years’ experience”. The lateral entrants would have threeto five-year tenures, according to the advertisement.

Minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh told Parliament on Wednesday that the decision to fill the joint secretary (JS)-rank posts through the ‘lateral entry’ process was aimed at bringing in fresh ideas to governance.

He added that it would introduce “new approaches” and augment the availability of personnel at the JS level. At the same time, Singh underlined that it was not being done because the bureaucracy was inefficient.