CONCEPT – CIVIL SERVICES AND LATERAL ENTRY

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 CONCEPT – CIVIL SERVICES AND LATERAL ENTRY

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• Civils Services’ responsibility: The responsibility of the civil services is to run the administration of India. There are multiple agencies working across Ministries to run the systems of India.
• Roles they play: Civil Services Members are (a) administrators in the central government and state governments, (b) emissaries in the foreign  missions/embassies, (c) tax collectors and revenue commissioners, (d) civil service commissioned police officers, (e) permanent representative(s) and employees in the United Nations and its agencies, and (f) Chairman, Managing Director, full-time functional Director/Member of the Board of Management of various Public Sector Undertakings/ Enterprises, Corporations, Banks and financial institutions.
• Various agencies: Civil servants are employed to various agencies of India and can also be appointed as advisors or special duty officers or private secretaries to ministers of the Union and the State Government.
• ACC: All appointments in the rank of Joint Secretary to Government of India and above, other major appointments, empanelment and extension of tenure is done by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
• Top posts and ACC: The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) decides appointments to several top posts under the Government of India. It is composed of the Prime Minister of India (Chairman), and the Minister of Home Affairs (MHA). With effect from July 2016, the minister of concerned ministry has been excluded from the committee.
• EO Division: The Establishment Officer’s Division (EO Division) processes all proposals for senior appointments in the GoI that require approval of the ACC under the "Government of India Transactions of Business Rules, 1961". These include Board level appointments in Public Sector Undertakings and appointments to the posts at the level of Joint Secretary. In addition, all appointments by promotion that require ACC approval are processed through the E.O. Division.
• Joint Secretary: A Joint Secretary (JS, GoI) is a post and a rank under the Central Staffing Scheme of the Government of India. The authority for creation of this post solely rests with Cabinet of India. It is an ex-cadre post, that means anyone can occupy it. Usually the civil servants who hold this rank and post are either from All India Services (Deputation; on tenure, after empanelment) or Central Civil Services (Group A; on empanelment). All promotions and appointments to this rank and post are directly made by the ACC.
• Admin Head: A JS is the administrative head of a wing in a department. Joint secretaries in the Union Government is analogous to major general and equivalent ranks in Indian Armed Forces and are listed as such in the Order of Precedence. Joint secretaries rank 26th on Indian Order of Precedence. They hold posts like Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO), Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), emissaries in the foreign missions/embassies (ambassadors and ministers), Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, Director General of Civil Aviation of India, Joint Directors of CBI, board members of Staff Selection Commission of India, Commissioner of Taxes and Police, Social Secretary and Press Secretary to President of India, etc.
• Civil Services Board: All appointments in the ranks below Joint Secretary in the federal government are done by the Civil Services Board.
• Code of conduct: Civil servants work on behalf of the elected government and cannot publicly show their disinterest or disapproval for the elected government. They cannot be removed by any state or central government, but can only be retired.
• An old demand: In 2009, Governor of RBI Bimal Jalan called for JS level posts to be opened up to outside competition. Non-IAS civil services have complained to Government of India because of lack of empanelment in the rank/post of joint secretary on numerous occasions. In June 2018, Government of India announced opening up of 10 posts of Joint Secretary (GOI) in several departments through lateral entry.

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