Lateral entry not subject to reservations, government informs Rajya Sabha

NEW DELHI: Ministry of personnel on Thursday said 63 appointments made in central government departments since 2018 through lateral entry, were not subject to reservation as they were made for specific assignments, keeping in view the candidates' specialised knowledge and domain expertise.

In reply to a written question in Rajya Sabha, junior minister for personnel Jitendra Singh said "since each of these appointments were made against single-post cadre, reservation is not applicable in view of Supreme Court judgement in the case 'PGIMER, Chandigarh vs. Faculty Association and Ors'." "Accordingly category-wise data of the appointed officers has not been maintained," he added.

The minister said of the 63 officers appointed in three cycles (2018, 2021 and 2023) so far at the level of joint secretary, deputy secretary and director, 43 are currently in position across various ministries/departments.

Following a political row over the policy for reservation of SCs, STs and OBCs not being followed in lateral appointments, UPSC had in Aug last year cancelled an advertisement for recruitment to 45 posts through this route. The UPSC action followed a communication from Singh, urging the commission to cancel the advertisement as "this (reservation) aspect needs to be reviewed and reformed in context of PM's focus on ensuring social justice".