IAS to blame for govt wanting domain experts, say officers of other civil services
India

IAS to blame for govt wanting domain experts, say officers of other civil services

Civil servants say IAS stranglehold has prevented officers from services such as Railways, Forests etc. from heading ministries in their areas.

   
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) headquarters in New Delhi | Photo: Manisha Mondal | ThePrint

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) headquarters in New Delhi | Photo: Manisha Mondal | ThePrint

New Delhi: The Modi government’s decision to recruit domain experts in the bureaucracy by way of lateral entry has irked officers from civil services other than the Indian Administrative Service (IAS).

After the Union Public Service Commission shortlisted nine candidates for central ministries at the rank of joint secretaries, the Modi government has now decided to now recruit over 50 “domain experts” into Niti Aayog at different levels, including under secretaries, directors, joint secretaries, additional secretaries, etc.

The government’s decision to recruit fresh talent laterally into the bureaucracy was guided by the logic that IAS officers are “generalists” who hop from one ministry to another through their careers and do not necessarily have expertise in any area.

However, several officers from other civil services have argued that it is the stranglehold of the IAS that has precluded officers from specialised services such as the Railways, Forests, Revenue, Information, etc. from heading the ministries in their areas.


Also read: Modi govt to expand lateral entry scheme for civil servants with 50 NITI Aayog recruits


‘Has government utilised existing domain expertise?’

Speaking to ThePrint, an officer from the Indian Forest Service who didn’t wish to be named said, “The point is not that we are opposed to lateral entry… But the question is, has the government used the domain expertise it has had available for so long well enough?”

As of last year, over 60 per cent of the officers serving in the top positions in central government — joint secretaries, additional secretaries and secretaries — were from the IAS. All the other central civil services — over 25 of them — together account for the rest of the positions.

Moreover, 65 of the 81 secretary-rank officers in the Government of India were from the IAS. Even out of the remaining 16, eight are scientists or domain experts laterally recruited by the government. Another five are from the Indian Foreign Service or the Indian Legal Service since the top positions in the ministry of external affairs and ministry of law and justice are reserved for them.

“There are services like the geological service, postal service, telecom service, statistical service, etc. Their officers work in their fields since the age of 24-25 and devote decades of their career in the same area,” said the officer. “Then how can you say they are not domain experts?”


Also read: UPSC has shortlisted lateral entry aspirants, but no one knows when they’ll be appointed


IAS hegemony in ministries

Even for areas for which the government has specialised services, it has allowed only IAS officers to head the ministries, said a senior Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer.

“What explains the fact that in the finance ministry, all secretaries have been IAS officers, and none from the IRS?”

“Similarly, can’t the I&B ministry be headed by officers from the Indian Information Services? Who understands communication better than them?” the officer added. “But you have relegated them to the PIB to give ascendance to IAS officers.”

Another officer, who is also a member of the IRS association, said that while the organisation wanted to earlier “welcome” lateral entry as a way to break the stranglehold of the IAS in higher bureaucracy, it was later felt that other services will continue to be “losers”.

“The government it seems plans to take its lateral entry experiment forward… Even if it will finally put an end to the dominance of the IAS in the government, what happens to us?” the officer said.