(This story originally appeared in on Apr 03, 2017)

NEW DELHI: Niti Aayog is throwing open its doors to private sector experts to join the government think tank at all levels, including at secretary rank. Unlike in the past, when the bureaucracy would walk into government organisations, Niti Aayog’s policy will ensure that officers have to compete for jobs with applicants from the private sector or academic institutions.Currently, top jobs are virtually reserved for officers from civil services such as IAS, IPS and IRS. Experts in their field usually join at the rank of members, but there are very few such appointments.“The attempt is to get the best, brightest and most talented people to work for development of India,” Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said.“The days of automatic seniority-based promotion for officers is over as Niti Aayog has come out with a path-breaking initiative to allow lateral entry at all levels, including senior advisers (secretary rank), advisers (additional secretary level), joint advisers and deputy advisers,” said a source at the think thank that replaced the Planning Commission For the last two years, Niti Aayog has been trying to get talent from the private sector but that has been confined to the junior and middle levels and most have joined as officers on special duty or as young professionals.Now, according to the new recruitment rules proposed by the Aayog, outside experts will be allowed to apply for all jobs — along with career bureaucrats — and the selection will be on the basis of merit and performance, said an officer.The private sector is set to play a more active role and with a large number of hirings expected, the bureaucracy may not turn into a hurdle for them, as has been the case with past experiments in other government agencies.The government in the past has hired eminent people from the private sector such as Montek Singh Ahluwalia (who went on to head Planning Commission) and R V Shahi, who was appointed power secretary. The Narendra Modi government has roped in Parameswaran Iyer as drinking water and sanitation secretary. Iyer, who had a long stint with World Bank after he resigned from the IAS, is a sanitation expert.Niti Aayog is also pitching the salary as competitive. The draft recruitment rules have proposed a consolidated monthly sum of Rs 3.64 lakh for senior advisors or the equivalent salary package and perks such as accommodation given to government employees. Similarly, salary for advisors is being pegged at Rs 2.88 lakh per month (combined package).The employment will be on a contractual basis for five years, which can be extended to seven years, with the option to move up the hierarchy through a performance-based selection process.The selection for advisors and senior advisors will be done through a departmental selection committee, which will be headed by a member-in-charge in Niti Aayog. The committee will also have Niti Aayog CEO as its member, along with three external experts appointed by the Niti Aayog vice-chairman.The final selection will be based on a personal interaction with the Niti Aayog vice-chairman and a clearance from the Appointments Committee of Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister.