10 Joint Secys appointed through lateral recruitment scheme: Govt

A total of 10 Joint Secretaries and 19 Directors were appointed through the lateral recruitment scheme and are working in various Ministries and Departments, the Parliament was told on Thurday.

Lateral recruitment at the levels of Joint Secretary, Director, and Deputy Secretary in the Central government provides for appointment of persons for specific assignments, keeping in view their specialised knowledge and expertise in the domain area, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions Minister Dr Jitendra Singh informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

He said that the selection was undertaken by the Union Public Service Commission on the basis of transparent process, inviting applications through open advertisement for these posts.

Candidates from private sector are appointed on contract basis while officials from state governments/Union Territories administration, Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs), autonomous bodies, statutory organisations, universities and recognised research institutes are appointed on deputation basis, for a term of three years, the Minister said.

Ten candidates appointed as Joint Secretary through lateral recruitment - seven selected in 2019 and three selected in 2021 - are in position in various Ministries, Departments. Further, 19 candidates have been selected in 2021 for appointment to the post of Director on lateral recruitment basis, he said.

On February 5, the government has advertised 30 posts for Joint Secretaries and Directors for lateral recruitment which will be processed by the UPSC for a period of three years on contract basis.