Coronavirus pandemic | New batch of IAS officers get training on managing COVID-19 outbreak

The new batch of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers, currently being trained at the elite Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), are being provided with in-depth training on best practices in policy intervention to manage the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

According to a report by The Indian Express, the 180 IAS officers are also being trained in enforcing the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, and the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

Government officials said that once their training period is over, they will be deputed on their first assignments, where they would be in-charge of smallest administrative blocks. There, officials said, mitigation measures might still be in place by the time they take up their posts.

"Even if the lockdown is lifted, a lot of restrictions will be in place. In that context, how to implement the Epidemic Act, the Disaster Management Act, and other government directives so that preventive actions are enforced, will be important," a top government official told the newspaper.

"Normally we would not have gone into an in-depth study of these Acts and aspects. But this year is different," the official said.

"We have started online classes from yesterday. From the 15th, we will be teaching them the Epidemic Act and the Disaster Management Act. We have ramped up the syllabus," LBSNAA director Sanjeev Chopra said.

According to one trainee officer of the Telangana cadre, they are studying the best practices that are being sent by nodal officers appointed for districts. "(We are studying) Things like the Telangana government tying up with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for delivery of services, etc," the officer said.