UPSC cancels lateral entry for 45 posts of level of Joint Secretary, Director, Deputy Secretary

After the centre's directive to take back the lateral entry advertisement, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) cancelled the advertisement and, hence, the recruitment process.

The hiring has been cancelled for 45 posts for the levels of Joint Secretary, Director and Deputy Director.

In a circular released on August 20, UPSC wrote, "It is for information of all concerned that the Advertisement No.54/2024 pertaining to Lateral recruitment for 45 posts of the level of Joint Secretary/Director/Deputy Secretary in different Departments published in the Employment News, various Newspapers and on the website of the Commission on 17th August, 2024 is cancelled as requested by the requisitioning authority."

Earlier on Tuesday, Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances Jitendra Singh had asked the chairman of UPSC to cancel the ongoing Lateral Entry advertisement. 

In a letter, the minister said the decision comes as part of a broader reassessment of the lateral entry process within the government. 

"While most of the major lateral entries before 2014 were made in an ad-hoc manner, including cases of alleged favouritism, efforts of our government have been to make the process institutionally driven, transparent and open," the letter read. "The Prime Minister is of the firm belief that the process of lateral entry must be aligned with the principles of equity and social justice enshrined in our Constitution, particularly concerning the provisions of reservation." 

The directive signals a shift in the approach towards lateral entry, potentially reconsidering how external talent is integrated into the government system.

The DoPT minister’s letter underscores the urgency of this action, calling for swift compliance from the UPSC to align with the new directive.

 On August 17, the Central government announced its search for 45 "talented and motivated Indian nationals" to take on roles as joint secretaries, directors, or deputy secretaries, through a lateral hiring process. This initiative, aimed at filling knowledge gaps in the cadre-based bureaucracy, is not new but has reignited controversy, particularly over the absence of explicit provisions for reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes.