Lateral Entry into bureaucracy and issue of Reservation

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  Lateral Entry into bureaucracy and issue of Reservation

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1. Changing norms: In 2021, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) issued an advertisement to recruit through lateral entry in the second round. This 'lateral entry' refers to the induction of new personnel at middle and senior management levels in the central government.
2. Where they go: These ‘lateral entrants’ would be part of the central secretariat. The secretariat, in the normal course, has only career bureaucrats from the All India Services/ Central Civil Services.
3. Recent appointments: Applications were open for appointment of 30 persons at the Joint Secretary and Director level in the Central administration. These individuals, who would make a “lateral entry” into the government secretariat, would be contracted for 3 to 5 years. These posts were “unreserved”, meaning no quotas for SCs, STs and OBCs. The new advertisement is for the second round of such recruitments.
4. Earlier case: The lateral appointments were made for 10 positions of Joint Secretary in different Ministries/Departments and 40 positions at the level of Deputy Secretary/Director. A Joint Secretary, appointed by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), has the third highest rank (after Secretary and Additional Secretary) in a Department. S/he functions as administrative head of a wing in the Department. Directors are a rank below that of Joint Secretary.
5. Government’s rationale: Government has, from time to time, appointed some prominent persons for specific assignments in government. This is keeping in view their specialised knowledge and expertise in the domain area. Lateral recruitment is thus aimed at achieving the twin objectives of bringing in fresh talent and augmenting the availability of manpower. However, groups representing SCs, STs and OBCs have protested the fact that there is no reservation in these appointments. The move is seen as another ploy to sideline and reduce reservations for deprived sections.
6. Why are these posts “unreserved”: As per the currently applicable “13-point roster”, there is no reservation up to three posts. The expression “13-point roster” reflects the fact that 13.33 (or 14) vacancies are required to complete one cycle of reservations. Based on this, every 4th, 7th, 8th, 12th, and 14th vacancies are reserved for OBCs, SCs, OBCs, OBCs, and STs respectively in the 13-point roster. In a single post cadre, reservation does not apply. So each post to be filled under the above scheme is a Single Post, reservation is not applicable. Each of the nine individuals appointed in 2019 was recruited as a separate appointment. If they had been considered as a group of nine, there would have been at least two seats for OBCs and one seat for an SC candidate as per the Centre’s reservation rules. But presently too, the posts have been advertised/ considered separately for each Department. So, all of them have been declared “unreserved”. 

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