Over 6,000 private sector specialists apply for 10 joint secy posts in govt

New Delhi: Over 6,000 candidates have shown interest in 10 posts of joint secretaries in the central government offered to private sector specialists as part of the Modi government's bid to bring in fresh talent in bureaucracy, officials said today.

The Personnel Ministry had recently announced recruiting ten joint secretaries in select government departments through "lateral entry" mode, thus allowing private sector talents to join the government on a contractual basis.

A total of 6,077 applications have been received for the joint secretary posts, the officials said.

The posts of joint secretaries are in revenue, financial services, economic affairs, agriculture and farmers welfare, road transport and highways, shipping, environment, forest and climate change, new and renewable energy, civil aviation and commerce departments. The deadline to apply for the posts was July 30.

The term lateral entry relates to the appointment of specialists, mainly those from the private sector, in government organisations.

There is a maximum of 1,100 applicants against one post, depending on the department concerned. The minimum application for a post is 290.

"The central government has started the process of short-listing the candidates," a senior Personnel Ministry official said.

Usually, the posts of joint secretaries are manned by the IAS, IPS, IFS, IRS officers recruited through civil services examination conducted by the UPSC.