Prashant Kishor backs lateral entry, will bring it in Bihar: Here's his plan
Prashant Kishor, whose party is set to contest the upcoming assembly elections, revealed that he had attempted to initiate this in Bihar under the Bihar Vikas Mission in 2015.
- Jul 29, 2025,
- Updated Jul 29, 2025 9:40 PM IST
Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor has made a strong case for lateral entry into governance, declaring that if his party Jan Swaraj comes to power, "we'll bring in people from all over the world - people connected to Bihar and relevant subjects - to bring radical transformation in delivery and conceptualisation."
"The bureaucracy has its own role," Kishor said in an interview with Live Cities. "But if you listen to my earlier thoughts, I am a big proponent of lateral entry. In fact, my separation from Modi ji was over this very issue."
Kishor dismissed claims that he opposes bureaucrats, saying: "We have no fight with the IAS. What I am telling you is that six individuals changed the course of this nation - in fields like space, atomic energy, agriculture, dairy, telecommunications, and identity infrastructure."
He named Vikram Sarabhai, Homi Bhabha, APJ Abdul Kalam, Verghese Kurien, MS Swaminathan, Sam Pitroda, and Nandan Nilekani as examples of lateral entrants who led India’s foundational transformations. "Now just imagine - if 500 such people had been given this opportunity through a structured lateral entry system, you would have witnessed fundamental, large-scale changes in many other sectors as well," he said.
Kishor, whose party is set to contest the upcoming assembly elections, revealed that he had attempted to initiate this in Bihar under the Bihar Vikas Mission in 2015. "It's still running to this day. But once I left, it came under the control of the bureaucracy. And within months, it effectively became a glorified assistant to the bureaucrats."
He also outlined his vision for solving Bihar's decades-old flood and drought problems. "We're saying that if Jan Swaraj comes, we'll scrap the Gandak project, Kosi project - all of it - and build a single water project, a water grid that connects North, Central, and South Bihar."
Explaining the logic, he said: "North Bihar has excess water. Central Bihar has waterlogging. South Bihar has drought. Until you create a unified water flow management grid, no matter how many Gandak, Bagmati, and Kosi projects you launch - they will remain mere instruments of loot."
He dismissed the idea that India must wait for Nepal to cooperate. "We have to build those canals. We have to create those water channels and water grids...China achieved this 300 years ago. If China could do it, why can't we do it here in Bihar?"
Lateral entry in Centre
Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also brought in industry experts through the lateral entry route after coming to power in 2014. In March 2022, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh recalled that lateral appointments were made even by the earlier governments, and some of the most famous lateral appointments included that of the former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh as Chief Economic Advisor in 1972.
In July last year, Singh told the Parliament that lateral recruitment, at the levels of Joint Secretary, Director, and Deputy Secretary had been undertaken since 2018. "So far, 63 appointments have been made through lateral entry. Out of which 35 appointments have been from the private sector. Presently, 57 officers are in position in Ministries/Departments."
When Prime Minister Modi returned to power in June 2024, the Centre again attempted to recruit experts through the lateral route. However, the move faced serious pushback as the opposition parties argued this was being done to sidestep reservations in the top jobs. Facing serious opposition, the Centre asked the UPSC, which had advertised 45 posts for Joint Secretary, Director, and Deputy Secretary levels, to cancel the notification.
Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor has made a strong case for lateral entry into governance, declaring that if his party Jan Swaraj comes to power, "we'll bring in people from all over the world - people connected to Bihar and relevant subjects - to bring radical transformation in delivery and conceptualisation."
"The bureaucracy has its own role," Kishor said in an interview with Live Cities. "But if you listen to my earlier thoughts, I am a big proponent of lateral entry. In fact, my separation from Modi ji was over this very issue."
Kishor dismissed claims that he opposes bureaucrats, saying: "We have no fight with the IAS. What I am telling you is that six individuals changed the course of this nation - in fields like space, atomic energy, agriculture, dairy, telecommunications, and identity infrastructure."
He named Vikram Sarabhai, Homi Bhabha, APJ Abdul Kalam, Verghese Kurien, MS Swaminathan, Sam Pitroda, and Nandan Nilekani as examples of lateral entrants who led India’s foundational transformations. "Now just imagine - if 500 such people had been given this opportunity through a structured lateral entry system, you would have witnessed fundamental, large-scale changes in many other sectors as well," he said.
Kishor, whose party is set to contest the upcoming assembly elections, revealed that he had attempted to initiate this in Bihar under the Bihar Vikas Mission in 2015. "It's still running to this day. But once I left, it came under the control of the bureaucracy. And within months, it effectively became a glorified assistant to the bureaucrats."
He also outlined his vision for solving Bihar's decades-old flood and drought problems. "We're saying that if Jan Swaraj comes, we'll scrap the Gandak project, Kosi project - all of it - and build a single water project, a water grid that connects North, Central, and South Bihar."
Explaining the logic, he said: "North Bihar has excess water. Central Bihar has waterlogging. South Bihar has drought. Until you create a unified water flow management grid, no matter how many Gandak, Bagmati, and Kosi projects you launch - they will remain mere instruments of loot."
He dismissed the idea that India must wait for Nepal to cooperate. "We have to build those canals. We have to create those water channels and water grids...China achieved this 300 years ago. If China could do it, why can't we do it here in Bihar?"
Lateral entry in Centre
Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also brought in industry experts through the lateral entry route after coming to power in 2014. In March 2022, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh recalled that lateral appointments were made even by the earlier governments, and some of the most famous lateral appointments included that of the former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh as Chief Economic Advisor in 1972.
In July last year, Singh told the Parliament that lateral recruitment, at the levels of Joint Secretary, Director, and Deputy Secretary had been undertaken since 2018. "So far, 63 appointments have been made through lateral entry. Out of which 35 appointments have been from the private sector. Presently, 57 officers are in position in Ministries/Departments."
When Prime Minister Modi returned to power in June 2024, the Centre again attempted to recruit experts through the lateral route. However, the move faced serious pushback as the opposition parties argued this was being done to sidestep reservations in the top jobs. Facing serious opposition, the Centre asked the UPSC, which had advertised 45 posts for Joint Secretary, Director, and Deputy Secretary levels, to cancel the notification.