LATERAL hiring may sound like an exciting concept, but it is a flawed one for several reasons. For one, it will destroy what it aims to rebuild. One of the reasons for its acceptance is that it will allow people with domain knowledge to participate in governance. What’s forgotten in such a logic is that, over the decades, governance and public policy have themselves acquired the status of new domains. A public servant now requires expert knowledge in both these areas. More important, an excellent doctor cannot manage AIIMS, a brilliant engineer cannot ‘Make in India’, and a lawyer cannot draft PPP contracts. Two, the IAS structure allows those in governance to understand and master the unique federal structure of this country. It enables the public servant to realise the needs of the people at several levels. As she starts from the district and works towards the centre, she undergoes a bottoms-up approach that helps her to always put the needs of the people before anything else. An efficient and effective policy maker, be it a minister or a civil servant, should never forget it. Domain experts may not even think along these lines.