Advertisement was released for the post of joint secretaries, directors and deputy secretaries in different central ministries.

• Till now, 63 appointments have been made through lateral entry out of which 35 appointments have been from the private sector.

About lateral entries

• It refers to the recruitment of individuals from outside the traditional government service cadres, to fill mid and senior-level positions in government departments.
• It was formally introduced in 2018, on the recommendation of NITI Aayog three-year Action Agenda.
• It was  also endorsed by the Second Administrative Reforms Commission established in 2005.

Arguments in favour

• Bring in domain expertise to address complex challenges in governance and policy implementation
• Augmenting the availability of manpower, only 442 IAS officers are working with the Centre, against the required strength of 1,469 officers.
• Widen the talent pool for appointment, similar practice is also followed in RBI successfully.

Arguments against: 

Difficult to ensure accountability as tenure is short, lack of field experience, deter existing talent, lack of clarity about reservation, etc.