What is Lateral Entry? Why is there controversy about it? Why was the Modi government forced to bow down?

For 10 years, the country saw the power of a government with a clear majority to take big decisions, but now it has to face the compulsions of a coalition government. Recently, the Modi government had to send the Waqf Bill to the Parliamentary Committee. The government also had to withdraw the Broadcasting Services Bill and now the Modi government has also withdrawn the decision regarding lateral entry. The way the opposition as well as the NDA allies were cornering the BJP on the lateral entry issue, the Modi government had to bow down. Let us tell you that amid the controversy, the central government has directed the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to withdraw the latest advertisement related to ‘lateral entry’ in the bureaucracy. On August 17, the UPSC had issued a notification for the recruitment of 45 joint secretaries, directors and deputy secretaries through ‘lateral entry’. This decision was strongly criticized by the opposition parties. They claim that this has violated the reservation rights of Other Backward Classes (OBC), Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST).

As the controversy deepened, Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh wrote to Union Public Service Commission Chairperson Preeti Sudan, asking her to cancel the advertisement “so that weaker sections get their due representation in government services.” Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said in his letter that for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reservation in public employment is “the cornerstone of our social justice framework which aims to redress historical injustice and promote inclusiveness.” “Since these posts have been designated as single-cadre posts, considering them to be special, there is no provision for reservation in these appointments. Keeping in mind the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of ensuring social justice, this move needs to be reviewed and rectified,” Jitendra Singh said.

He said, “I urge UPSC to cancel the lateral entry recruitment advertisement issued on August 17, 2024.” Jitendra Singh said that this step would be a significant progress towards social justice and empowerment. He said, “It is well known that lateral entry in principle was supported by the Second Administrative Reforms Commission, which was constituted in 2005 under the chairmanship of Shri Veerappa Moily. The recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission in 2013 were also in this direction.” He said that many big cases of ‘lateral entry’ have come to light before and after this. Jitendra Singh said that under previous governments, important posts like secretary in various ministries, leadership of UIDAI, etc. were filled through ‘lateral entry’ without following any reservation process.

“Moreover, it is well known that the ‘notorious’ members of the National Advisory Council headed a super-bureaucracy that controlled the Prime Minister’s Office,” he said. The minister said that before 2014, most of the major lateral entries were made in an adhoc manner, where cases of alleged favouritism were also reported. “Our government’s endeavour has been to make this process institutionally driven, transparent and open,” the minister said. Besides, the Prime Minister strongly believes that the process of lateral entry must be aligned with the principles of equality and social justice enshrined in the Constitution, particularly the provisions of reservation, he said.

Let us tell you that through ‘lateral entry’, UPSC directly appoints candidates to those posts on which Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers are posted. Under this system, experts from different professions of the private sector are directly appointed to the posts of Joint Secretary, Director and Deputy Secretary in various ministries and departments. In this way, the appointment of various experts (including experts from the private sector) in government departments is called ‘lateral entry’.

On the other hand, those who are raising the issue of lateral entry and making statements that the country’s constitution and reservation are in danger should know that former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh was made the Finance Secretary in 1976 through ‘lateral entry’. Not only this, the then Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia had joined the service through ‘lateral entry’. Manmohan Singh entered the then Ministry of Foreign Trade in 1971 as an economic advisor through ‘lateral entry’ and became the Finance Minister and later reached the post of Prime Minister. Others who joined the government through this route include Sam Pitroda and V Krishnamurthy, economists Bimal Jalan, Kaushik Basu, Arvind Virmani and Raghuram Rajan. Bimal Jalan was the Chief Economic Advisor to the government and later the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. Arvind Virmani and Kaushik Basu were appointed as Chief Economic Advisors. Apart from this, Raghuram Rajan also served as the Chief Economic Advisor and later served as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 2013 to 2016. Montek Singh Ahluwalia was brought into government roles from academia and international organizations. He served as the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission from 2004 to 2014. Not only this, Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani was appointed the head of the Unique Identification Authority of India in 2009.

The direct question to those who are creating controversy on the lateral entry issue to shine their politics is that if an environmental expert becomes a Deputy Secretary, what is the problem in it? If an expert of a field comes and works in that field, then the country will definitely benefit from it. Lateral entry is open to all, it is not that only people of a particular category are being recruited. If a person from SC, ST or OBC category applies for lateral entry, then that too will be considered.

The controversy-mongers should also explain how lateral entry will affect SC/ST recruitment in All India Services. The controversy-mongers should know that lateral entry in bureaucracy has been taking place since the 1970s during Congress-led governments. The controversy-mongers should know that the 45 posts proposed for lateral entry in administrative services are 0.5 per cent of the cadre strength of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). The IAS comprises over 4,500 officers and lateral entry will not cut into any service list. Moreover, the tenure of lateral entry bureaucrats is three years with a possible extension of two years.