Answer: Lateral entry allows individuals with expertise and experience in a particular field to enter the civil service at a mid to senior-level position instead of starting from the bottom through the traditional recruitment process. Recently, UPSC announced 20 vacancies for lateral entry.

Benefits of Lateral Entry:

• Specialized Skills and Experience: Lateral entry brings specialized skills and knowledge for innovative ideas and approaches in technical areas to civil service.
• Bringing a Change in Work Culture: Lateral entry can improve civil service efficiency by bringing in private sector experts to manage complex projects and streamline processes.
• Faster Decision Making: Lateral entry can speed up decision-making by bringing fresh ideas that challenge traditional practices.
• Bridging the Gap: Lateral entry can help in bridging the gap between the government and the private sector by bringing in individuals with experience in both sectors.
• Participatory Governance: The lateral entry provides stakeholders such as the private sector and non-profits an opportunity to participate in the governance process.

Drawbacks of Lateral Entry:

• Lack of Merit-Based Recruitment: Critics of lateral entry argue that it undermines the merit-based recruitment process and may lead to nepotism, and favoritism.
• Crony capitalism: Nexus between the political parties and capitalists.
• Lobbying and changing loyalties: Private organisation through their nominees could lobby for policy initiatives which could benefit few private individuals at the cost of wider public.
• Lack of Understanding of Bureaucracy: Outsiders may struggle to navigate bureaucracy and need more time and resources to adjust to the civil service system.
• Lack of Accountability: Lateral entry may make it difficult to hold individuals accountable as they may not know existing systems and will not stay beyond their tenure.
• Resistance from Bureaucracy: Lateral entry may face resistance from the traditional bureaucracy, which may perceive it as a threat to their positions, authority, and expertise.

According to 2nd ARC, lateral entry could alleviate challenges such as a lack of specialization, bureaucratic inefficiencies, and resistance to change in the Indian civil services. The commission stressed the importance of selecting and training lateral entrants meticulously to ensure their understanding of the civil service’s functioning and enable their effectiveness.