August 3, 2022
Md Nadimul Haque’s Special Mention on the need for reforming the initiative of lateral entry in the Indian Administrative Service
Sir, I rise today to request the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions to reform the initiative
of Lateral Integration in IAS. The Government has said that lateral recruitment is aimed at achieving the twin objectives of bringing in fresh talent and augmenting the availability of manpower. In 2021, the Government made only 31 recruitments through lateral entry. This is not enough to radically professionalize the civil service.
With increased participation not only in the social sector but also in many new emerging sectors such as telecommunications, information technology, climate change and road transport, there is an urgent need for more officers in the general administration. However, due to the overall shortage of officials, most States are unwilling to release senior IAS officers for Central deputation leading to a bizarre situation where a Railway Traffic Officer works as Joint Secretary in the Health Department and an Ordnance Service official finds himself in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. Governance is not a contractual work; it is a commitment to the country. I urge the Government to provide incentives to young civil servants to acquire knowledge and improve their skills in order to build a healthy
bureaucracy. The Government should formalize a criterion to decide what skills, qualities and experiences a particular role requires as it will allow the Government to assign roles more confidently.
