LBSNAA Seeks IAS Trainers: Bihar Government Approaches 130 Officers, Including 27 DMs, for Training Assignments
The Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie, is looking to strengthen its pool of experienced administrative officers to train and mentor future civil servants. In response to the academy’s requirement, the Bihar Government has sent offers to 130 IAS officers belonging to the 2013-2018 batches, seeking their participation in training assignments.
The initiative is aimed at bringing serving administrators with substantial field experience into the civil service training system, enabling young IAS officers to gain practical insights into governance, district administration and the implementation of government policies.
The Bihar General Administration Department has communicated the proposal to the selected officers following a request from LBSNAA. The list includes several senior field-level administrators, among them District Magistrates of 27 districts, as well as officers holding important positions in state government departments and public sector undertakings.However, the proposal also presents a staffing challenge for Bihar, which is already functioning below its sanctioned IAS cadre strength.
LBSNAA Director Seeks Experienced IAS Officers as Trainers
In a communication addressed to Bihar Chief Secretary Pratyay Amrit, a 1991-batch IAS officer, LBSNAA Director Dr B. Rajender, a 1995-batch Bihar-cadre IAS officer, highlighted the need for dynamic and experienced administrators who could contribute to the professional development of young civil servants. The academy is seeking officers who can share their administrative experience, professional knowledge and understanding of governance with officer trainees.
The proposed engagement is not limited to conventional classroom teaching. LBSNAA intends to draw upon the practical expertise of serving IAS officers to familiarise trainees with the complexities of public administration, including district management, implementation of government schemes, law and order, policymaking and grassroots governance.
Officers from the 2013 to 2018 batches have been approached as they have accumulated considerable field and departmental experience through their assignments across Bihar.
130 Bihar-Cadre IAS Officers Receive Training Offers
The Bihar General Administration Department has sent offers to 130 IAS officers for the proposed training responsibilities at LBSNAA. The list includes several prominent officers currently serving as District Magistrates, municipal administrators, Special Secretaries, Additional Secretaries and heads of state-level corporations.
Among the notable names are:
Yashpal Meena – Commissioner, Patna Municipal Corporation
Richie Pandey – District Magistrate, Begusarai
Anshul Kumar – District Magistrate, Purnia
Alankrita Pandey – District Magistrate, Bhagalpur
Kumar Gaurav – District Magistrate, Muzaffarpur
Udita Singh – District Magistrate, Nalanda
Roshan Kushwaha – District Magistrate, Samastipur
Shashank Shubhankar – District Magistrate, Gayaji
Manish Kumar Meena – District Magistrate, Bhojpur
Apart from district-level administrators, the proposed list also includes officers serving in important state government departments, including Health, Education, Road Construction, Finance and Building Construction.
Managing Directors of various state-level corporations have also been approached for the assignment. The inclusion of officers holding diverse administrative responsibilities is expected to provide officer trainees with exposure to different dimensions of governance and public service delivery.
Bihar Grapples with Shortage of IAS Officers
While the proposal addresses LBSNAA’s requirement for experienced trainers, it also comes at a time when Bihar is facing a shortage of IAS officers against its sanctioned cadre strength.
The state has 359 sanctioned IAS posts, but only 316 officers are currently deployed. Additionally, around a dozen officers are serving on central deputation. This gap between sanctioned strength and available manpower has placed considerable pressure on the state’s administrative machinery.
Against this backdrop, the proposed engagement of 130 officers for training responsibilities could require careful administrative planning. Several officers included in the list are currently handling important district-level and departmental assignments that demand continuous supervision and decision-making.
The Bihar Government will therefore need to balance the academy’s requirement for experienced trainers with the state’s own administrative priorities and operational requirements.
Strengthening Practical Training for Future IAS Officers
The initiative underlines the growing importance of practical administrative exposure in the training of India’s future civil servants. Experienced IAS officers who have served as District Magistrates, departmental heads and senior administrators bring valuable insights into the functioning of government institutions and the challenges associated with policy implementation.
Their involvement can help officer trainees understand the realities of public administration beyond theoretical instruction, particularly in areas such as crisis management, public grievance redressal, rural development, infrastructure delivery and coordination between government departments. By involving serving administrators in its training programmes, LBSNAA aims to strengthen the connection between classroom learning and field-level governance.
The proposed engagement of 130 Bihar-cadre officers, including several District Magistrates, therefore represents an important initiative towards developing the next generation of administrative leadership.
At the same time, the exercise will require the Bihar Government to carefully assess manpower availability to ensure that the state’s ongoing administrative responsibilities are not adversely affected.
