In a major move to strengthen efficiency in Central government administration, the government is not just recruiting the Joint Secretary (JS) rank, the Narendra Modi-led government plans to recruit outside experts at the lower Deputy Secretary (DS) and Director level too.
Sources told that Secretary (Personnel) has asked officials of his Department of Personnel & Training to prepare a formal proposal for inducing an estimated 400 domain experts from the private sector to fill DS/Director posts in the Central Staffing Scheme (CSS). The sources further added that this is likely to take away more than 60 percent of the 650 posts at the DS/Director level under the CSS. These posts are available for officers from three all-India services and 37 participating services such as Income Tax, Customs, Railways, Telecom, Posts, Trade etc, reported the Indian Express.
On the other hand, the Niti Aayog is also set to fill 54 of total 516 positions. These posts are known as “flexi-pool posts,” for which the NITI Aayog usually hires consultants as needed. In the meanwhile, another 650 posts at the DS/Director level under the CSS are reserved for promotees from the Central Secretariat Service, but sources told that these posts can’t be encroached upon as that would require an amendment in the Central Secretariat Service Rules of 2009. The government has asked the DoPT officials to frame the recruitment process and performance evaluation for selection and appointment of private sector employees.
