Amid political row, UPSC drops latest lateral-entry recruitment drive
New Delhi, Aug 20: The UPSC on Tuesday cancelled its latest advertisement to fill key posts in government departments through lateral entry, amid a political row over the lack of a reservation provision for those positions.
The move came after Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh wrote to Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Chairperson Preeti Sudan to cancel the advertisement, so that marginalised communities get their rightful representation in government services.
The commission had, on August 17, issued a notification for the recruitment of 45 posts -- 10 of joint secretaries and 35 of directors or deputy secretaries -- through lateral entry, which is referred to as the appointment of specialists (including those from the private sector) in government departments. It was one of the biggest tranches of lateral recruitment announced by the commission.
The decision had ignited criticism from the opposition parties, which claimed that it undermined the reservation rights of the Other Backward Classes (OBC), Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).
Union Minister Chirag Paswan, the head of BJP ally Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), had also said the proposed recruitment was a "matter of concern" for him and that he would take up the matter with the Centre.
Official sources said the decision to cancel the advertisement was taken by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and the government would now review the lateral-entry recruitment drive with reference to the applicability of reservation provisions in it.
At present, the sources said, there is no policy and provision for reservation for these specialised or single-cadre posts.
They said comments and concerns of all stakeholders would be taken into account by the government to find out whether or not reservation can be applied to lateral-entry recruitment.
"The Centre may review its reservation policy to ensure social justice in lateral-entry recruitment," a source said.
In the letter to the UPSC, Singh said for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reservation in public employment is a cornerstone of "our social justice framework", aimed at addressing historical injustices and promoting inclusivity.
"Since these positions have been treated as specialised and designated as single-cadre posts, there has been no provision for reservation in these appointments. This aspect needs to be reviewed and reformed in the context of the Hon'ble Prime Minister's focus on ensuring social justice," the minister said.
"Hence, I urge the UPSC to cancel the advertisement for lateral entry recruitment issued on 17.8.2024," he added.
Singh said the step would be a significant advance in the pursuit of social justice and empowerment.
"It is well known that, as a principle, lateral entry was endorsed by the Second Administrative Reforms Commission which was constituted in 2005, chaired by (senior Congress leader) Shri Veerappa Moily. The recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission in 2013 were also in the same direction," he said.
However, there have been many high-profile cases of lateral entrants before and after that, Singh pointed out.
Under earlier governments, posts as important as those of secretaries in various ministries, the leadership of the UIDAI etc. were given to lateral entrants without following any process of reservation, he said.
"Further, it is well known that the members of the infamous National Advisory Council used to run a super-bureaucracy that controlled the Prime Minister's Office," the minister added.
While most of the major lateral entries before 2014 were made in an ad-hoc manner, including cases of alleged favouritism, the efforts of "our government have been to make the process institutionally driven, transparent and open", he said.
Further, the prime minister is of the firm belief that the process of lateral entry must be aligned with the principles of equity and social justice as enshrined in the Constitution, particularly concerning the provisions of reservation, Singh added.
Lateral recruitment in the central government has been undertaken since 2018 to appoint persons for specific assignments, keeping in view their specialised knowledge and expertise in the domain area.
The officers at these levels play an important role in policy-making.
So far, 63 appointments have been made through lateral entry, of which 35 were from the private sector. At present, 57 such officers are in positions in different ministries and departments, according to the latest data.
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SC to hear on May 4 PIL seeking stringent guidelines for issuing Aadhaar to adolescents, adults
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea seeking a direction to the Unique Identification Authority of India to issue new Aadhaar cards only to citizens up to the age of six years, and frame stringent guidelines for its issuance to adolescents and adults to stop infiltrators from masquerading as Indian citizens.
As per the apex court's causelist of May 4, the plea would come up for hearing before a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.
The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay has also sought a direction to the authorities to install display boards at common service centres stating that the 12-digit unique identification number is only a "proof of identity" and not a proof of citizenship, address or date of birth.
Besides all the states and Union Territories, the plea has made the UIDAI -- which is the authority that issues Aadhaar -- and the Union ministries of home, law and justice, and electronics and information technology as parties.
The plea, filed through advocate Ashwani Dubey, said Aadhaar, originally intended as a proof of identity, has increasingly become a "foundational document" enabling individuals to obtain other identification documents, such as ration cards, domicile certificates and voter identity cards.
"The UIDAI has issued 144 crore Aadhaar and 99 percent Indians have been enrolled. Therefore, the petitioner is filing this writ petition as a PIL under Article 32, seeking a direction to UIDAI to issue new Aadhaar to children only and frame new stringent guidelines for adolescents and adults, so as to stop infiltrators from getting it and masquerading as Indian citizens," the plea said.
It said the need to file the plea arose when the petitioner came to know the manner in which infiltrators are able to procure Aadhaar through a verification process that is weak and can be easily manipulated.
"Foreigners apply for Aadhaar under the 'foreign' category. But infiltrators apply for Aadhaar under the 'Indian citizen' category and get it easily made. Thereafter, they obtain a ration card, birth and domicile certificate, driving licence, et cetera, essentially becoming indistinguishable from Indian citizens…," it said.
Besides seeking other directions, the plea has raised legal questions, including whether the Aadhaar Act 2016 has become "temporally unreasonable" for failing to keep up with the legislative intent of distinguishing foreigners from Indian citizens.
It said the alleged misuse of Aadhaar undermines targeted welfare delivery and leads to diversion of public resources.
