The debate over lateral entry into the UPSC has reignited. Amidst this, Central Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has made a statement. He stated that Congress is misleading the country on lateral entry. Vaishnaw cited the lateral entries of Dr. Manmohan Singh and Montek Singh Ahluwalia during the Congress rule. Vaishnaw alleged that Congress is making deceptive claims. He asserted that these entries would not affect the recruitment of SC/ST categories to All India Services.
On August 17, UPSC issued an advertisement inviting applications for 45 positions at the Joint Secretary, Deputy Secretary, and Director levels through lateral entry. Candidates are recruited through lateral entry without taking the UPSC exam. This recruitment does not benefit from reservation rules. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi opposed this, claiming that lateral entry is openly denying reservations to SC, ST, and OBC categories.
When the controversy escalated, Central Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw took charge. He clarified that lateral entry in the bureaucracy is not new. Since the 1970s, Congress-led governments have been utilizing lateral entry, with former Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Montek Singh Ahluwalia being notable examples. The minister argued that 45 posts have been proposed for lateral entry in the bureaucracy, which is only 0.5 percent of the over 4,500 officials in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and will not impact any service rosters.
Read More: Lateral Entry Concept Was Introduced During Congress Rule. Understand the Rationale Behind It?
Ashwini Vaishnaw List Notable Figures
The term for lateral entry bureaucrats is three years, with a possible extension of two years. Vaishnaw noted that Manmohan Singh joined the then Ministry of Foreign Trade as an Economic Advisor through a lateral entry in 1971 and later became Finance Minister and Prime Minister. He mentioned other prominent figures, including technocrat Sam Pitroda, V. Krishnamurthy, economists Bimal Jalan, Kaushik Basu, Arvind Virmani, Raghuram Rajan, and Ahluwalia.
Rajan Served as Chief Economic Advisor
Bimal Jalan served as Chief Economic Advisor and later as Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. Virmani and Basu were also appointed as Chief Economic Advisors in 2007 and 2009, respectively. Raghuram Rajan served as Chief Economic Advisor and later as Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from 2013 to 2016.
Read More: The System of 'IAS Without Exams' Discussed Again. Which Countries Already Have Lateral Entry?
Ahluwalia transitioned from academia and international organizations to governmental roles. He served as Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission from 2004 to 2014.
Vaishnaw emphasized that Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani was appointed as the head of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) in 2009.
Congress Introduced the Lateral Entry Concept
In a post on X, Vaishnaw said that it was the UPA government that introduced the concept of lateral entry. The second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) was brought in under the UPA government in 2005, chaired by Veerappa Moily. The ARC suggested appointing specialists to positions requiring special knowledge, which ARC was formed during the UPA's tenure, and NDA has implemented its recommendation transparently and impartially.
Read More: 'Privatization of IAS is a Guarantee of Ending Reservations...', Rahul Gandhi Targets Center on UPSC Lateral Entry Issue
Meanwhile, Central Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal criticized Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, saying that as the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Gandhi isn’t focusing on these matters. He alleged that lateral entry is being used to recruit RSS people. Reiterating that Dr. Manmohan Singh also joined through lateral entry, he questioned,
