Among the 45 lateral appointments, 10 are joint secretaries, while the rest are directors or deputy secretaries in ministries such as finance, electronics, agriculture, environment and renewable energy. (Representative image)
According to a new advertisement notification issued by UPSC, the government is seeking to hire 45 domain experts with the rank and salary of Joint Secretary, Deputy Secretary or Director. This position is available for lateral hiring
In order to promote the realignment and reorganization of the system, Modi Government 3.0 has launched a major reorganization of the top bureaucracy earlier this week, appointing new cabinet secretaries and home ministers, and reappointing 20 secretaries. The move signals a broader effort by the government to update administrative systems, as it seeks to bring in new expertise and domain-specific knowledge through major lateral entry programmes.
According to the latest advertisement notification issued by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), the government is seeking to hire 45 domain experts with the rank and pay of Joint Secretary, Deputy Secretary or Director. Among the 45 lateral appointments, 10 are joint secretaries, while the rest are directors or deputy secretaries in ministries such as finance, electronics, agriculture, environment and renewable energy.
Applications are open for positions across ministries and departments, in one of the most extensive recruitment campaigns for domain experts since the first batch of nearly a dozen lateral entrants was introduced in 2019. Private sector experience entering government has the potential to enhance policy development and implementation.
“Think laterally”
Lateral entry is a relatively new approach to governance that was introduced about five years ago after the central government faced an acute shortage of senior IAS officers in the central bureaucracy by professionals from outside the traditional civil service.
The government initially tried to fill the gap by recruiting officials from other departments such as forestry, postal services, and taxation. But then it decided to hire experts from the private sector, using their skills and experience to provide the government with new perspectives and greater efficiency. Professionals with diverse expertise were brought in in 2019, including those in finance, infrastructure and agriculture.
The largest batch of lateral recruitment
In the past five years, the government has also introduced several batches after 2019. Some of the cross-departmental joint secretaries hired laterally received orders for extension of service, while others exited the service and returned to the private sector.
The effectiveness of lateral entry and integration into existing bureaucracies is mixed. “While some entrants bring valuable insights and drive impactful change, others face challenges in navigating bureaucratic structures. The integration of lateral entrants into existing systems is a complex process in which From resistance within the civil service to issues such as how these professionals adapt to the way government works.
In 2021, the government hired three more domain experts as lateral entrants, 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, about 8 to 9 are still employed. These include four from the public sector and five from the corporate sector, while around three to four lateral entrants exited for various reasons. Defense Ministry sources said that after 2021, the government will hire experts in small batches.
However, this new wave of lateral hiring is believed to be the largest to date and shows the government's continued commitment to reforming the bureaucracy by bringing in outside talent.
