Home By the Way Lateral appointments
By the Way

Lateral appointments

img-jan2014-25-gfilesindia.com

Bureaucrats in the government are a worried lot nowadays. Their concern is not due to the change of the government or hectic schedule within the ministries but the changing pattern of the governance within the ministries. As per sources, the government is in a mood to hire professionals on a lateral basis. This means that the government is likely to appoint professionals outside the bureaucratic domain for delivering best results. Sources have disclosed that the professionals/experts will be brought into the Petroleum, Communication, Environment and Infrastructure ministries from the corporate sector of the same nature. These professionals are likely to be appointed Joint Secretaries, Additional Secretaries and Secretaries. The professionals are required to be experts in their domain, have an outstanding performance track record and must be working with a reputed corporate house, NGOs, think-tanks or multinational companies. These professionals will be appointed for short durations: three to five years. The bureaucrats are naturally apprehensive. They do not have any issue as far as hiring the best talent is concerned, but what would their accountability be and who will check their antecedents? With the opening of the economy, there is already pressure within the government from different lobbies. So, when a Secretary or Joint Secretary is appointed as a lobbyist himself or herself, who will check their intentions, motives and the possibility of their serving bosses outside the ministry?

Related Articles

Prime Minister Narendra Modi
By the Way

PMO overhaul

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reshuffled his office during the Covid-19 crisis....

Dome_of_North_Block
By the Way

Hole in Pocket

Covid-19 has without doubt created havoc in India. It has impacted even...

JK map
By the Way

KAS : Murmu’s Challenge

Girish Chand Murmu, a 1985-batch IAS (retd) officer of the Gujarat cadre,...

red tepism
By the Way

Red tapism prevails

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had sought details about movement of files, particularly...