Why The New Recruitment Process Of Civil Services May Be Problematic

July 4 2018

One proposal led to a lot of hue and cry. The Government opened lateral entry of working professionals into the civil service. These professionals are to be given the rank of joint secretary. This proposal has received mixed reactions.

Some whole-heartedly supported it, whereas some outright rejected it. Even the UPSC, 'steel frame of the country', gave reactions. Some of them tried to be diplomatic voices amidst the critics and enthusiasts.

As soon as the news of this came, there were several questions regarding the competence of civil servants recruited through the Union Public Service Commission. There were also questions about its selection process. But there came no solution from the debate.

This proposal is not the first of its kind; it has been done in the past. What is common between the two is, lateral entry is restricted to a very small number of people—there are about 10 vacancies generally.

The recruitment process of the UPSC shall not be put in question. It's by far the most transparent institution of India. Candidates have to go through three stages of selection, and it's after this gruelling process, on the basis of marks, that they are alloted service and cadres.

If the objective is to maximise performance of bureaucrats, reforms should be carried out in the system, so that more genius people are attracted towards this service. Outside interventions, can be a short-term solution, but it will never be an everlasting solution.