Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, July 2: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel/ DoPT, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said here today that lateral entry into Civil Services will enrich governance.
Delivering the inaugural address at 44th Advanced Professional Programme in Public Administration (APPPA) for Civil Servants and officers, organized by the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), Dr Jitendra Singh dispelled misgivings appearing in a section of media in recent weeks and said, lateral entry into services has been there even in the past and the Modi Government has tried to institutionalize it and streamline it, so that the process is more objective and aimed at selecting the best, based on pure merit and specific requirements of a given assignment. Such appointments are purely of contractual nature and not regular ones, he added.
Several of the new and innovative programmes and schemes launched by the Modi Government, Dr Jitendra Singh said, call for specialized expertise, for which a functionary appointed through lateral entry could serve the purpose more optimally and effectively. In addition, he said, there are several posts lying vacant at different levels in bureaucratic hierarchy including at the level of Joint Secretary and Deputy Secretary / Director.
In an illuminating speech supported with illustrious examples, Dr Jitendra Singh spelt out various path-breaking, revolutionary decisions taken by the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said, soon after the Government took over in 2014, Prime Minister Modi gave us the Mantra of “maximum governance, minimum Government” and looking back four years, we have abundantly vindicated this pledge.
In the last four years, Dr Jitendra Singh said, while every possible step was taken to provide a work-friendly environment for civil servants, at the same time, on the other hand, most of the government programmes involved more and more of citizen participation and even the flagship programmes turned into mass campaigns.
Chairman IIPA and former Governor of Karnataka, T.N. Chaturvedi, Director IIPA Dr. Tishyarakshit Chatterjee and Programme Director Prof. Ashok Vishandass also spoke on the occasion.
Follow our WhatsApp channel