Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), the statutory government body that conducts civil service examination and engineering service examination for the union government, decided to allow the private sector companies to approach the aspirants who could not make it in the interview stage in 2017. The decision came out to be a huge success among the aspirants as well as the candidates in the last three years.
In 2017, 800 candidates opted for the provision and asked the UPSC to upload the score card on the organization data centre, and 200 of them bagged private jobs. In 2018, the number of candidates opting for the provision registered massive increase to 6,000 and 500 among them were offered job. This was, obviously, the effect of the previous candidates landing up in well-paying paying jobs.
As per ThePrint report, the number of such candidates peaked to 14,000 in 2019. “Now, 80-90 per cent of the candidates who make it till the interview stage opt for this,” a senior UPSC official said. “It is particularly popular among engineers and doctors who get jobs in the private sector easily on the basis of their UPSC scores.”
In the last few years, Modi government has reduced the number of vacancies for civil services and engineering services substantially. Now, 600-700 civil servants are selected every year compared to 1,000-1,100 few years ago. Therefore, the number of candidates who make in to the interview round but could get entry into the much coveted service has risen substantially.
The number of candidates who aspire for the civil services has also risen up considerably in the last few years. Therefore, it is best suited to divert the talent to private sector which has scarcity of talented human resources. The companies are ready to offer hefty package and therefore the provision has become increasingly popular in the last few years.
Many companies like NTPC and Sports Authority of India are recruiting a large number of aspirants, as they are suited for the job. The provision is a win-win situation where everyone from aspirants to the government as well as the companies are happy.
“The government can select only so many candidates, but the others are bright, competent too… If every year, about 500-1000 candidates land private jobs through the UPSC exams, you are making sure that the years they spent preparing for the civil services has not gone waste,” a Department of Personnel and Training official said.
This was not implemented in all these years due to Marxist like apathy for the private sector in Congress government. But, the BJP is pursuing privatization and recruiting the people from private sector for the government jobs.
The government is recruiting ‘experienced’ people from private sector under ‘lateral entry scheme’ for the posts like joint secretary. The people with decades of experience in private sector are ‘specialists’ for the specific sector unlike the bureaucrats who know little about everything but could not deal with the sector specific issues efficiently. The infamously lethargic and inefficient bureaucracy is an obstacle for the desired quality of policy execution. This new strategy will not only help in revitalizing the bureaucracy but will also act as a catalyst for the growth of the country. These measures may serve a wake-up call to Indian bureaucrats.