Union govt extends tenures of 17 bureaucrats hired through ‘lateral entry’

In a significant move, the Union government has extended the contracts of 17 officials hired through the lateral entry mode by up to two years. According to a government order, they were hired in 2021 and 2022 in the rank of joint secretaries, directors and a deputy secretary for an initial period of three years. Their tenures were to end between December 2024 and February 2025. They have been extended by one to two years so that they remain in service till March 2027. The tenure can range from three to five years.

Of seventeen officers three are working as Joint Secretary while twelve are Director and two are serving as Deputy Secretary in various ministries and departments.

The following is the list of Lateral Entry officers whose appointments have been extended:

1. Balasubramanian Krishnamurthy, currently serving as Joint Secretary in the Department of Revenue, has been granted a two years extension to his tenure. Appointed on a contract basis, he initially joined the post on January 17, 2022, for a three years term, set to expire on January 16, 2025. With this extension, his tenure will now continue until January 16, 2027.
2. Samuel Praveen Kumar, currently serving as Joint Secretary in the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare, has been given two years extension. Appointed on deputation basis, he initially joined the post on December 31, 2021, for a tenure of three years, set to expire on December 30, 2024. His tenure now been extended until December 30, 2026.
3. Manish Chadha, currently serving as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce, has been given two years extension. Appointed on a contract basis, he joined the post on January 7, 2022, for three years set to expire on January 6, 2025. His tenure now been extended until January 6, 2027.
4. Govind K Bansal, currently serving as Director, Health & Family Welfare on contract basis, has been given one year tenure extension. He joined the post on December 31, 2021, for three years, set to expire on December 30, 2024. His tenure now been extended until December 30, 2025.
5. Sagar Rameshrao Kadu, currently serving as Director, Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade on deputation, has been given two-year tenure extension. Initially, he joined the post on December 30, 2021, for three years, set to expire on December 29, 2024. His tenure now been extended until December 29, 2026.
6. Harsha Bhowmik, currently serving as Director in the Department of Economic Affairs on contract, has been given two years extension. Appointed on January 20, 2022 for three years. His tenure, which was set to end on January 19, 2025, will now continue until January 19, 2027.
7. Prabhu Narayan, currently serving as Director in the Department of Economic Affairs on deputation, has been given one year extension. He joined the post on December 31, 2021 for three years. His tenure, which was set to end on December 30, 2024, will now continue until December 30, 2025.
8. Mateshwari Prasad Mishra, currently serving as Director in the Department of Food & Public Distribution on deputation, has been given two years extension. He joined the post on December 31, 2021 for three years. His tenure, which was set to expire on December 30, 2024, will now continue until December 30, 2026.
9. Haimanti Bhattacharya, currently serving as Director in the Department of Legal Affairs on contract, has been given one year extension. She joined the post on January 12, 2022 for three years. Her tenure, which was to expire on January 11, 2025, will now continue until January 11, 2026.
10. Mandakini Balodi, currently serving as Director in the Department of Financial Services on deputation basis, has been given two years extension. She joined the post on December 16, 2021 for three years. Her tenure, which was to expire on December 15, 2024, will now continue until December 16, 2026.
11. Kapil Ashok Bendre, currently serving as Director in the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & FW on contract basis, has been given two years tenure extension. He joined the post on December 31, 2021 for three years. His tenure, which was set to expire on December 30, 2024, will now continue until December 30, 2026.
12. Shekhar Chaudhary, currently serving as Director in the Department of Economic Affairs on deputation basis, has been given one year extension. He joined the post on December 28, 2021 for three years. His tenure, which was set to expire on December 27, 2024, will now continue until December 27, 2025.
13. Neeraj Gaba, currently serving as Director in the Ministry of Commerce on contract basis, has been given one year extension. He joined the post on February 28, 2022, for three years. Before his tenure could expire on February 27, 2025, it was extended by one year until February 27, 2026.
14. Hardik Sheth, currently serving as Director in the Department of Financial Services on deputation basis, has been given two years extension. He joined the post on January 4, 2022 for three years. Before his tenure could expire on January 3, 2025, it was extended by one year until January 3, 2027.
15. Bidur Kant Jha, currently serving as Director in the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways on contract basis, has been given two years extension. He joined the post on December 15, 2021 for three years. His tenure, which was set to expire on December 14, 2024, will now continue until December 14, 2026.
16. Gaurav Kishor Joshi, currently serving as Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Heavy Industry on contract basis has been extended for one year. He joined the post on January 1, 2022 for three years. His tenure, which was set to expire on January 9, 2025, will now continue until January 9, 2027.
17. G Sarathy Raja, currently serving as Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Steel on contract basis, has been extended for two years. He joined the post on February 7, 2022 for three years. His tenure, which was set to expire on February 6, 2025, will now continue until February 6, 2027.

Since 2019, 63 posts have been filled through the lateral route, out of which at least seven officials quit their jobs midway. The positions are open to candidates from the private sector, State government and public sector undertakings, autonomous bodies, statutory organisations, universities, and recognised research institutes.

It should be recalled here that following an outrage over the lack of quotas for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), the Union Public Service Commission had cancelled the lateral recruitment in August for 45 posts of joint secretary, director and deputy secretary levels on the directions of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).