Lateral Entry

Lateral Entry

News: The Government has decided to recruit 17 senior officers in the Central government from the private sector through lateral entry.

Background:
 This is the 4th such instance where government has resorted to lateral entry to bring fresh pool of talent to improve governance.

What is Lateral Entry?
 The Lateral entry in the government of India refers to the appointment of specialists from the private sector in government organizations mainly at the level of joint secretaries or directors.
 The idea has been advocated by Surinder Nath Committee (2003), Hota Committee (2004) and Second ARC (2008).
 NITI Aayog in its 3-year Action Agenda (2017—2020), recommended the induction of personnel at middle and senior management levels in the central government.

What are arguments in favor of Lateral entry?
 It can bring in domain expertise and fresh perspectives to the civil services thereby ensuring Balance in public service.
 It can augment the manpower thereby addressing shortages of officers in the Central government.
 It can enhance efficiency and effectiveness of policy formulation and implementation. For example, Mr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia (Economic Advisor in Ministry of Finance) has been a successful appointment under the scheme.
 It will promote a sense of competition in Bureaucracy. It will induce them to develop expertise in their area of choice.
 Lateral Entry solves major flaws in public service recruitment. It gives opportunity to potential administrators who didn’t appear for exams in their younger age and some who may have not cleared exams may get another chance to fulfill their dreams.

What are shortcomings in Lateral Entry?
 There is an ambiguity in the recruitment process. There is no clear policy on the determination of vacancy, shortlisting of candidates, evaluation procedure etc.
 Lateral entrants might have less field experience. The government officials reaching top positions serve 10-15 years at ground level.
 The lateral entrants would find it difficult to adjust in the bureaucratic structure within their short contractual time.
 The process may discourage motivated and talented officers.
 The short tenures for Lateral entrants are not conducive to holding accountability.

Way Forward
 The government must strike the right chords to ensure a fair and transparent recruitment drive for Lateral Entrants.
 There ought to be fine balance between government officials and lateral entrants.
 Adequate training and support should be provided to lateral entrants to help them navigate the bureaucratic work culture.