Lateral Entry in the Civil Services

In August 2024, the UPSC advertised 45 senior government posts for outside experts. Three days later, the government told it to cancel the advertisement. This lesson explains what lateral entry is, how it began, and why it hit a wall over reservation.

1Part 1: What Lateral Entry Is

Must Know

The basic idea

• Lateral entry means hiring specialists directly into senior government posts.
• They come from the private sector, academia and public sector enterprises.
• They skip the usual UPSC civil services exam route.
• The posts are Joint Secretary, Director and Deputy Secretary level.
• The idea is to bring in domain skill that a generalist officer may lack.

How it began

• The Second Administrative Reforms Commission recommended it in 2005. Veerappa Moily chaired it under the UPA government.
• The NDA government put it into practice from 2018.
• So the idea has support across parties. Its history is not one side’s alone.

2Part 2: Two Rounds and a Reversal

Good to Know

The 2018 round

• The first notification came on 10 June 2018.
• It covered 10 Joint Secretary posts.
• It drew over 3,000 applications.

The 2024 round and its cancellation

• On 17 August 2024, the UPSC advertised 45 posts. They were at Joint Secretary, Director and Deputy Secretary level.
• The advertisement drew criticism. Opposition parties said it bypassed reservation for SC, ST and OBC candidates.
• Just three days later, on 20 August 2024, the government asked the UPSC to cancel it.

Scale so far, and the reservation rule

• Since 2018, roughly 35 private-sector specialists have been appointed. They work in fields like finance, energy and technology.
• Each lateral entry post is advertised as a single vacancy.
• Under current rules, reservation does not apply to single-post recruitment.
• Critics say this creates a route around reservation. That is why the 2024 notice caused a storm.

3Part 3: Where Things Stand

Great to Know

Not shelved, but stuck

• The scheme has not been formally suspended. The government says the door is open, but it has not reopened it.
• DoPT Secretary Rachna Shah said in December 2025: “If there are any modifications needed, we will engage with the Ministries and formulate a policy.” (Source: The Secretariat)
• That means no finalised reservation redesign existed even 16 months after the cancellation.
• Parliament’s Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice took up a review of the policy in its 2024-25 session. (Source: Swarajya)

Officers already inside

• On 19 December 2024, DoPT extended the contracts of 17 sitting lateral entrants. They were 3 Joint Secretaries, 12 Directors and 2 Deputy Secretaries.
• The extension runs one to two years, into late 2026 or early 2027.
• So people already inside stayed. Only the door for new entrants remained closed. (Source: The Secretariat)

The case for and against

• For: it brings expertise into technical or fast-changing sectors.
• Against: it may weaken a career service built on open, merit-based exams.
• Against: it creates a route around reservation duties.
• Lesson: the quick reversal shows that a sensitive reservation question can override an approved reform.

An old idea, a real constraint

• The episode shows an old reform idea colliding with India’s reservation framework.
• That framework works through cadre-based, multi-post recruitment. Single-post lateral hiring does not fit it neatly.

4Part 4: Exam-Ready Summary

Great to Know

• About 35 appointments since 2018.
• Reservation does not apply to single-post recruitment.
• The scheme is not formally suspended.

Quick Q&A

• What is lateral entry? Direct hiring of outside experts into senior posts.
• When was the first notification? 10 June 2018.
• How many posts were advertised in August 2024? 45.
• When was the advertisement cancelled? 20 August 2024.
• Why did critics object? No SC/ST/OBC reservation in single-post hiring.