New Delhi: The Corporate Affairs Ministry is likely to go in for lateral recruitment of top-notch professionals as it is faced with a major manpower shortage in handling the higher workload and increasing complexities in the corporate sector. The Ministry is also planning a comprehensive cadre review of the Indian Corporate Law Service (ICLS) officers at the senior, middle and junior levels to ensure competent people find a place in its departments. While the number of companies increased from around 2.5 lakh in 1992 to over 8.78 lakh in 2008, the Ministry's staff strength declined from 2,122 to 1,529 during the corresponding period, reports Hindu Business Line. With a view to filling posts with qualified and skilled professionals as well as specialists, the Ministry would be seeking exemption from certain Government guidelines specifying restrictions with regard to lateral entry. This is to help in creating new posts and recruiting the best talent in the market on a short-term contract basis with attractive remuneration. The Ministry has also submitted a proposal to the Expenditure Department to create 142 new posts in the ICLS. In order to attract competent people to ICLS, the Ministry is planning better career progression avenues for these officers, while the recruitment will be done through the Civil Service Examination of UPSC. The selected candidates will be given extensive training, including at the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs. Besides, the Ministry would send a proposal to the Union Public Service Commission to fill up posts in the promotion quota and vacancies in the direct recruitment quota. To ensure better cadre management and avoid stagnation at the higher levels, the proposal is to fill up these posts in a phased manner. The lateral recruits may also man the offices of the Registrar of Companies and Regional Directorates. Perusing a proposal from the Ministry, the Expenditure Department in the Finance Ministry had given its nod to increasing the strength of Group 'A' ICLS posts to 291 from 231. This involves 67 additional posts being created, while doing away with 7 posts. The Corporate Affairs Ministry has already filled 170 of 291 posts, while 33 more UPSC-recommended candidates will be joining soon.