Pitroda, Montek, Raghuram Rajan examples of lateral entry, say sources as government rejects opposition criticism

New Delhi [India], August 19 : With the Congress and some other opposition parties targeting the government over the UPSC's move to invite applications for 45 mid-level posts through lateral entry, sources said that several technocrats, economists and other specialists had joined the government during the rule of Congress at the Centre and they include former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former Planning Commission member NK Singh.
Government sources said others who joined the government during the Congress rule include Sam Pitroda, Manmohan Singh, V Krishnamurthy, Bimal Jalan, Kaushik Basu, Arvind Virmani, Raghuram Rajan, Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Nandan Nilekani.
According to sources, technocrat and entrepreneur Sam Pitroda was brought into the Indian government during the 1980s under Rajiv Gandhi's administration. He is known for his pivotal role in India's telecom revolution and served as the Chairman of the National Knowledge Commission and advisor to the Prime Minister on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations.
Manmohan Singh entered the government as a lateral entry in 1971 when he was appointed as an economic advisor in the Ministry of Foreign Trade. He later became the Finance Minister in 1991, playing a key role in India's economic liberalization. He served as Prime Minister during two terms of Congress-led UPA government.
Sources said V Krishnamurthy, a technocrat, played a critical role in India's industrial policy, was brought into government and played roles such as the Chairman of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) and later Maruti Udyog. He also served as the Chairman of the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council.
Bimal Jalan, an economist with a background in international institutions such as the IMF and World Bank, Jalan, served as the Chief Economic Advisor and later as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (1997-2003). Kaushik Basu, a prominent academic economist, was appointed as the Chief Economic Advisor to the Government in 2009. He had a significant career in academia before his appointment and later went on to serve as the Chief Economist at the World Bank.
NK Singh, formerly a member of IAS, moved into roles such as the Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office and later served in key economic roles including as a member of the Planning Commission.
The sources said he was a lateral entry in the sense that he transitioned into advisory roles in finance and public policy after his time in the civil services.
Raghuram Rajan served as Reserve Bank of India Governor from 2013 to 2016. He was appointed CEA to Finance Ministry in 2012. Rajan had served as the Chief Economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and was brought into the government to help steer economic policy during a challenging period.
Arvind Virmani, an economist, served as the Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India from 2007 to 2009 and had previously worked in academia and international economic institutions before entering the government.
Montek Singh Ahluwalia was brought into government roles from academia and international organizations. He served as the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission from 2004 to 2014.
Nandan Nilekani, co-founder of Infosys, was appointed as the head of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) in 2009.
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Monday hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his remarks on the government's move towards lateral entry and said Congress had taken similar decisions.
Congress leaders including Rahul Gandhi have launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led government over the move for lateral entry of individuals on a few posts.
"Lateral entry is an attack on Dalits, OBCs and Adivasis. BJP's distorted version of Ram Rajya seeks to destroy the Constitution and snatch reservations from Bahujans." Rahul Gandhi said in a post on X.
UPSC recently invited applications for 45 mid-level posts including joint secretaries, directors, and deputy secretaries through lateral entry. Several opposition parties have opposed the decision.