Even as the move by the Union Service Public Commission (UPSC) to recruit through lateral entry to 45 posts in certain Central Ministries ignited a chorus of protest across the country, all the scientist vacancies reported in the India Meteorological Department since 2013 have been filled through lateral recruitment. Interestingly, no reservation requirements were met in these recruitments, nor were the vacancies reported to the UPSC by the Ministry of Earth Science.
A total of 81 people received plum postings in the weather agency during the post-pandemic period. Out of this, 55 senior scientists were recruited through videoconferencing and appointments made at IMD stations in the 2021–2022 period. Similarly, 14 scientists in the D category were recruited through a marathon interview of 195 people in 2023.
According to sources, of the total 81 postings, 11 were in the scientist E category, which is equivalent to Director, Administration. They will be promoted to the joint secretary level in 10 years, an opportunity that might elude even Indian Administrative Service recruits in normal circumstances. Similarly, 40 scientists in the C category and 30 scientists in the D category were also recruited during this period. The pay of D category scientist is equivalent to that of the director, and that of E category scientist is equivalent to that of Deputy Director General of Meteorology (DDGM). The lateral entry recruitments are made to higher posts. The last direct recruitment for 73 entry-level scientists was done in 2013.
For key posts
The mass recruitment of scientists through lateral entry was done based on a clause that scientists can be recruited for research purposes in select scientific institutions without reporting to the UPSC. The scientists thus recruited by the IMD were for key posts, including forecasting. The weather forecast by the IMD had recently been challenged by various institutions after it failed to maintain accuracy. Recently, Home Minister Amit Shah had to defend the IMD after its forecast of the catastrophic landslide in Wayanad, Kerala, failed.
When the issue of lateral entry was taken up with IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra soon after the posting of 55 scientists in 2023 by The Hindu, Mr. Mohapatra maintained that all the prescribed rules were followed in the interview. Lateral entry was allowed in senior posts in the IMD, he had said.
Twin objectives
The NITI Aayog, in its three-year Action Agenda, and the Sectoral Group of Secretaries (SGoS) on Governance, in its report submitted in February 2017 recommended the induction of personnel in the middle and senior management levels of the government with the twin objectives of bringing in fresh talent as well as augmenting the availability of manpower.
Though the move is expected to benefit the institutions in terms of bringing in domain experts with national and international exposure, conflict of interest and favouritism are quite common in lateral recruitments, apart from reducing the chance of candidates at the entry level, said sources.
