Many officers promoted from the State Civil Service (Karnataka Administrative Service and others) to Indian Administrative Service (IAS) seem reluctant to attend the Induction Training Program (ITP) at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie.
A total of 26 promoted IAS officers from the state have been nominated for ITP-2026. However, only one officer is going for the ITP, while the remaining 25 have not even applied to the government for permission to go. Seven officers who were promoted in 2016 have not attended the induction program till date.
The 128th edition of the ITP will be held from February 2, 2026 to March 13, 2026. The course will last six weeks, four weeks of in-house training and two weeks of study tour.
“All the officers in the list sent by LBSNAA have been asked to attend the ITP. However, only one officer has taken permission from the government and is going,” said Jagadeesha KG, secretary, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR).
Among the 26 officers from Karnataka, seven officers were promoted in 2016, two in 2018, four in 2019, eight in 2020 batch, three in 2021 and two in 2022.
How it is filled
For IAS, about 60% of the posts are filled through the Civil Services Examination (CSE) conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). About 36% are State Civil Service (SCS) and 4% non-SCS officers are those who are promoted to IAS. Officers who have completed at least eight years of service in the SCS are eligible for promotion.
However, ITP is a mandatory training for promoted officers (SCS and non-SCS officers) to be confirmed in the IAS as per the IAS (Probation) Rules, 1954.
ITP is organized by Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Department of Personnel and Training (Training Division) at LBSNAA, Mussoorie for those who have been directly recruited into IAS and for those who have been promoted from SCS.
“It is mandatory for SCS officers who have been promoted to IAS to undergo ITP. The aim of the program is to equip officers with an all-India perspective on governance issues and develop certain basic skills and attitudes required for administrators in the contemporary context of public administration,” the LBSNAA letter said.
A total of 547 officers from across the country were nominated for ITP this year, including 26 officers from Karnataka. “Approximately 150 officers from various states are expected to participate in this training program on a first-come, first-served basis. This is a one-time opportunity for these IAS-inducted officers to undergo this training,” the letter said.
Reason
A senior IAS officer attributed the reluctance to go to the ITP to paranoia that they would lose their posts during their absence.
“After being promoted to IAS, many officers get good posts. They don’t want to leave these posts. ITP takes about one and a half months. Most officers don’t go for ITP because they fear the government may transfer someone else to that post during this gap,” he said.
“Many promoted IAS officers in the state have retired without attending ITP. Since ITP is mandatory for IAS officers and the confirmation certificate is issued only after they complete the training, in fact many of the promoted are not actually IAS officers at all,” he said. He added that their posts remain intact as long as they stay in the state and do not go to any central delegation.
Published – 31 Jan 2026 22:20 IST
