As many as 63 appointments have been made in various government departments through lateral entry since 2018, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday.

Lateral entry refers to the appointment of specialists, including those from the private sector, in government departments.

"So far, 63 appointments have been made at the level of joint secretary/director/deputy secretary on contract/deputation basis into various government departments through lateral entry since 2018," Union Minister of State for Personnel, Jitendra Singh, said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

Of the total, eight appointments were made in 2019, 30 in 2021 and 25 in 2023, according to the reply.

The appointments were made for specific assignments, keeping in view their specialised knowledge and expertise in the domain areas, Singh said.

Since each of these appointments was made against a single post cadre, and in view of the Supreme Court judgement in the case titled ‘PGIMER Chandigarh vs Faculty Association and Others’, category-wise data of the appointed officers has not been maintained, the minister said.

Singh was responding to a question seeking details of the number of individuals belonging to the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and the minority communities appointed under the lateral entry process.

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