Government opens lateral entry for 10 Joint Secretary level posts
New Delhi, June 10: Opening the doors of bureaucracy for private sector professionals, the government on Sunday invited applications for 10 Joint Secretary level posts through lateral entry as opposed to the UPSC examinations.
The government said the proposal of lateral entry was aimed at bringing in "fresh ideas and new approaches" to governance and also to augment manpower.
"Government of India has decided to invite talented and motivated Indian nationals willing to contribute towards nation building to join the government at the level of Joint Secretary," said a notification issued by the Department of Personnel and Training.
Joint Secretaries are at a crucial level of senior management in the government and lead policy making as well as implementation of various programmes and schemes of the department assigned to them. They report to the Secretary or the Additional Secretary in the respective ministries.
The joint secretary post is usually filled through the competitive exams conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
The government notification said that candidates having expertise in specific areas of revenue, financial services, economic affairs, agriculture, road transport and highways, shipping, environment and forests, new and renewable energy, civil aviation and commerce can apply for the posts.
While candidates from state governments and Central or state public sector undertakings will be appointed on deputation, the candidates from private sector will be appointed on contract basis, the notification said.
The NITI Aayog welcomed the move to initiate lateral entry in the bureaucracy with its CEO Amitabh Kant saying it was long overdue.
"NITI's experience with lateral entry has been extremely good. They (candidates) bring in a vast number of fresh and vibrant ideas.
"This move in government was long overdue and I welcome it. (It) Will catalyze UPSC entrants to specialise. Government must also allow deputation of its officers to private sector as well," Kant said in a tweet.
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Israeli police make arrests after flares fired at prime minister's private residence
Tel Aviv (AP): Israeli police said on Sunday that they have arrested three suspects after flares were fired at the private residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the coastal city of Caesarea.
Authorities said the prime minister and his family were not at the residence when two flares were fired at it overnight, and there were no injuries.
The police did not provide details about the suspects, but officials pointed to domestic political critics of Netanyahu. Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned the incident and warned against “an escalation of the violence in the public sphere”.
Netanyahu has faced months of mass protests over his handling of the hostage crisis unleashed by Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack into Israel, which ignited the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
Critics blame Netanyahu for the security and intelligence failures that allowed the attack to happen and for not reaching a deal with Hamas to release scores of hostages still held inside Gaza.
A drone launched by Lebanon's Hezbollah group struck Netanyahu's Caesarea residence last month, also when he and his family were away.
