NK Singh on lateral entry in bureaucracy: 'We need a middle path, that's what we have opted for'
The former chairman, however, noted that not all lateral recruitments were a roaring success for the government.
- Aug 20, 2024,
- Updated Aug 20, 2024 3:35 PM IST
Former 15th Finance Commission Chairman NK Singh on Tuesday said he was entirely in favour of lateral entry into the bureaucracy but stressed that domain knowledge alone is not sufficient to succeed in the system. "We need a middle path. That's what we have opted for," he said while speaking to Business Today TV Managing Editor Siddharth Zarabi at the BT INDIA@100 event at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.
"That's what the option has been exercised by the government in having lateral entrances and the debate on that is raging. I'm entirely in favour of the steps which have been taken. I agree with you that just like anything else, India follows the middle path and in this one too. We are following that middle path," Singh said when told that the United States has possibly the smallest bureaucracy in the advanced economies and China has in fact the highest level of lateral entry across sectors.
The former chairman, however, noted that not all lateral recruitments were a roaring success for the government. "For the first time, we have begun in a non-discriminatory in a manner where the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) will be recruiting people at levels of directors and deputy directors of government. Do you believe that the examples where private sector people came to occupy the space of the governor of the Central Bank were a fundamental roaring success? I think you would have a mixed opinion on this."
Singh said that part of the reason was because the person needs to have an understanding of the workings and intricacies of the system in which s/he works. "After all, all over the world, the governors are appointed both for their domain knowledge, but also for an understanding that you have to work in a system and a framework you are part of. The idea of having a completely independent governor of a central bank or a governor of the Reserve Bank or a Federal Reserve is alien even to the more advanced economies," he said.
"I do believe that whereas the best talent and best domain talent must be selected, you need to have a fair amount of understanding of the working of the system of the whole, of which he remains and must remain an integral part," he added.
Singh's comment comes on the day the Centre cancelled the lateral entry notification for the recruitment of 45 officers following criticism from Congress and other opposition parties.
Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh wrote to UPSC Chairman Preeti Sudan and asked her to cancel the advertisement so that marginalised communities get their rightful representation in government services. The UPSC had on August 17 issued a notification for recruiting 45 joint secretaries, directors and deputy secretaries through lateral entry -- referred to as the appointment of specialists (including those from the private sector) in government departments.
The decision had triggered criticism from opposition parties, which claimed it undermined the reservation rights of OBCs, SCs and STs.
India@2047: Blueprint for a Developed Nation
Former 15th Finance Commission Chairman NK Singh on Tuesday said he was entirely in favour of lateral entry into the bureaucracy but stressed that domain knowledge alone is not sufficient to succeed in the system. "We need a middle path. That's what we have opted for," he said while speaking to Business Today TV Managing Editor Siddharth Zarabi at the BT INDIA@100 event at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.
"That's what the option has been exercised by the government in having lateral entrances and the debate on that is raging. I'm entirely in favour of the steps which have been taken. I agree with you that just like anything else, India follows the middle path and in this one too. We are following that middle path," Singh said when told that the United States has possibly the smallest bureaucracy in the advanced economies and China has in fact the highest level of lateral entry across sectors.
The former chairman, however, noted that not all lateral recruitments were a roaring success for the government. "For the first time, we have begun in a non-discriminatory in a manner where the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) will be recruiting people at levels of directors and deputy directors of government. Do you believe that the examples where private sector people came to occupy the space of the governor of the Central Bank were a fundamental roaring success? I think you would have a mixed opinion on this."
Singh said that part of the reason was because the person needs to have an understanding of the workings and intricacies of the system in which s/he works. "After all, all over the world, the governors are appointed both for their domain knowledge, but also for an understanding that you have to work in a system and a framework you are part of. The idea of having a completely independent governor of a central bank or a governor of the Reserve Bank or a Federal Reserve is alien even to the more advanced economies," he said.
"I do believe that whereas the best talent and best domain talent must be selected, you need to have a fair amount of understanding of the working of the system of the whole, of which he remains and must remain an integral part," he added.
Singh's comment comes on the day the Centre cancelled the lateral entry notification for the recruitment of 45 officers following criticism from Congress and other opposition parties.
Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh wrote to UPSC Chairman Preeti Sudan and asked her to cancel the advertisement so that marginalised communities get their rightful representation in government services. The UPSC had on August 17 issued a notification for recruiting 45 joint secretaries, directors and deputy secretaries through lateral entry -- referred to as the appointment of specialists (including those from the private sector) in government departments.
The decision had triggered criticism from opposition parties, which claimed it undermined the reservation rights of OBCs, SCs and STs.
India@2047: Blueprint for a Developed Nation