Archive · 21 Aug 2025
IAS Officers Participate in Assistant Secretary Program; Lateral Entry Doesn't Apply to Reservation
The government is running a program to help young IAS officers understand how the central government works.
This program, called the Assistant Secretary program, sends officers to different government departments for a few weeks to learn about their jobs.
They study important issues and suggest solutions.
Also, when the government hires experts from outside through a 'lateral entry' program, they don't have to follow the usual rules about reserving jobs for certain groups.
1,580 IAS officers have participated in the Assistant Secretary programme to date.
The program aims to familiarize officers with central government operations and policy.
Officers are attached to ministries/departments for eight weeks as assistant secretaries.
They analyze problem statements and suggest solutions during their attachment.
Reservation is not applicable for lateral entry appointments in government departments.
- Who
- Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh and IAS officers.
- What
- The Assistant Secretary program for IAS officers and the inapplicability of reservation in lateral entry appointments.
- When
- The Assistant Secretary programme commenced in 2015.
- Where
- New Delhi
- Why
- The Assistant Secretary program aims to give IAS officers a national perspective, promote citizen-centric governance, and prepare them for effective administration. Lateral entry does not follow reservation rules because of the nature of these specialized appointments.
Supporters
Critics
Reservations
Supporters
The Assistant Secretary program equips officers with necessary skills.
Critics
Concerns about the lack of reservation provisions.
- IAS Officers in Program
- 1,580
- Program Start Year
- 2015
- Attachment Duration
- 8 weeks
- Lateral Entry Appointments
- 63 since 2018
- Officers currently in position
- 43