The Parliamentary Standing Committee on departments like Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice will examine “lateral entry in civil services” during its tenure 2024-25, according to the Rajya Sabha secretariat. The panel will also examine the filling up of vacancies in the Central government.
This decision was taken after the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) advertised 45 vacant posts to be filled through lateral entry in August this year. These 45 advertised posts to be filled through the lateral entry mode on contract basis included 10 joint secretaries and 35 directors and deputy secretaries.
But the decision had sparked a political storm with the Opposition as well as key NDA allies like the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and Janata Dal (United) vehemently opposing the move.
The opposition parties like the Congress, SP and BSP launched a pointed attack on the Modi government accusing it of following a policy of snatching reservations from Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC) candidates. The Central government then ordered the cancellation of advertisement.
Lateral entry in Central government posts, designated as single- cadre posts, began in 2018 keeping in view their specialised expertise. Over 60 appointments have so far been made through lateral entry.
