NEW DELHI: Four months after UPSC, on the request of ministry of personnel, cancelled its advertisement for lateral entry to 45 govt posts, the appointment committee of the Cabinet has approved a 1-2 year extension in the three-year tenure of 17 laterally-recruited officers currently on deputation or contract.
The officers concerned — at the level of joint secretary, director or deputy secretary — will be required to sign a fresh contract of lateral recruitment, for the period of their extended appointment. The terms and conditions will remain the same as for their initial appointment for three years.
The UPSC advertisement dated 17.08.2024 for lateral recruitments was cancelled barely three days after it was issued, following questions over the lack of reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other backward classes (OBCs) in these jobs. “Reservation of SC, ST, and OBC classes is being openly snatched away by recruiting through lateral entry on important posts in various ministries of the central government,” Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had then alleged in a post on X.
UPSC on August 20 rescinded the advertisement for 45 lateral-entry posts, hours after minister of state for personnel Jitendra Singh wrote to its chairman, saying that the aspect of reservation in lateral recruitment “needs to be reviewed and reformed in the context of the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s focus on ensuring social justice”.
Pending the promised reform, however, DoPT in an order issued on Tuesday, put out a list of 17 lateral-entry officers whose three-year term, expiring either later this year on in early 2025, will stand extended to late 2026 end or early 2027.
The 17 beneficiary officers, serving across a dozen govt departments/ministries, include three joint secretaries, 12 director-level officers and two deputy secretaries.
In his letter requesting UPSC to cancel the advertisement on 45 lateral entry posts in August, junior minister for personnel Jitendra Singh had underlined that the lateral entry principle was endorsed by the administrative reforms commission and also recommended by the Sixth Pay Commission. He also reminded the Congress that it had been taking in lateral entrants when it was in office, though mostly on ad-hoc basis and without following the process of reservations.
Singh said PM Modi firmly believes that the lateral entry process must be aligned with the principles of social justice and equity. “It is important that the constitutional mandate towards social justice is upheld so that deserving candidates from marginalised communities get their rightful representation in the govt services,” he had underlined.
Over 60 senior posts in Govt of India have been filled by the Modi govt through lateral appointments so far.
