New Delhi: In a significant move to strengthen the foundational training of its civil servants, the Union Government today highlighted the success of the Assistant Secretary(AS) Programme for newly recruited IAS officers.
According to a written reply by Union Minister Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Dr. Jitendra Singh in the Rajya Sabha, the program has provided crucial exposure to 1,580 IAS officers since its inception in 2015.
The program, which began with the 2013 batch of officers, is designed to immerse young administrators in the policy-making processes of the Central Government before they are posted to their respective state cadres. This eight-week attachment sees officers work as Assistant Secretaries in various Ministries and Departments, a role that familiarizes them with the day-to-day operations of the Central Secretariat.
Since 2023, the Assistant Secretary Programme has been formally integrated into the core induction training curriculum for all IAS officers, becoming a mandatory part of their training before they proceed to Phase II training at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA).
“The programme reinforces a ‘whole-of-government’ approach,” Minister Singh stated in his reply, “rooted in the belief that citizen-centric governance and inter-ministerial collaboration are the bedrock of efficient and inclusive administration.”
During their tenure, officers are assigned specific “problem statements” for detailed analysis and are tasked with proposing solution suggestions. This hands-on experience, which includes exposure to flagship government schemes, is a key component of the government’s capacity-building efforts.
The goal is to instill a national perspective and a deeper appreciation for the policies that drive India’s development, thereby preparing officers to be effective and inspired administrators.