E-Paper
43 posted in central ministries, departments via lateral entry: Govt
The government appointed 63 officers via lateral entry since 2018, with 43 currently in various ministries, amid concerns over reservation and social justice.
A total of 43 officers are currently posted in different ministries and departments of the Central government through lateral entry, Jitendra Singh, minister of state in the ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions, told the Parliament on Thursday.
He was responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha by MP Ramji Lal Suman, who sought details on the recruitment of officers through lateral entry in the past five years and whether they were appointed through reservation.
The minister replied, “So far, 63 appointments have been made at the level of joint secretary/director/deputy secretary on a contract/deputation basis into various government departments through lateral entry since 2018 in three cycles – 2018, 2021, and 2023. These appointments have been made for specific assignments keeping in view their specialised knowledge and expertise in the domain area. Since each of these appointments has been made against a single post cadre, reservation is not applicable in view of the Hon’ble Supreme Court judgment in the case titled ‘PGIMER, Chandigarh Vs. Faculty Association and Ors.’ Presently, 43 officers are in position in various ministries/departments. The details of ministries/departments where these officers were/are appointed/working are at Annexure.”
According to the minister’s reply, most recruitments through lateral entry were made in 2021. That year, the government inducted 30 people through lateral entry. In 2023, the number was 25.
Overall, at least 14 joint secretaries and 33 directors were appointed through this route. The joint secretaries inducted include those in the ministries of civil aviation, commerce, economic affairs, environment, forest and climate change, and other key ministries. Others were hired at the ranks of deputy secretary.
At a press conference on June 18,2025, Singh had said that the government has not suspended the inclusion of officers through lateral entry. He had then said, “It was started with a noble intention and was possible only because we had someone like PM(Narendra) Modi. But then don’t say that lateral entry did not happen before. The most famous lateral entry since 1947 has been that of Shri Manmohan Singh, who went on from one position to another and went on to become the PM. Rather, we tried to institutionalise it and make it objective by routing it through the UPSC. We did not have an objective mechanism. We made a system that even if a candidate applies, let the candidate go through the mechanism of UPSC.”
The issue of reservation in lateral entry surfaced last year when the Centre advised UPSC to suspend an advertisement that the Commission had released for the appointment of 45 officers in senior positions such as Joint Secretary and Director through lateral entry. There were protests by many parties who said that the absence of reservation compromised social justice.
