What happened

Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Dr. Jitendra Singh addressed participants of the 15-Day Refresher Course for Lateral Entry Joint Secretaries, Directors and Deputy Secretaries. He emphasised that governance is being reshaped by Artificial Intelligence (AI), quantum technologies, cybersecurity, and digital tools, and he urged civil servants to stay as continuous learners as technology and administrative processes evolve.

Dr. Jitendra Singh also said the refresher course should function as a learning and dialogue platform with officers actively sharing experiences and feedback, rather than only as a lecture-delivery programme. He further connected training with officers’ responsibility to use emerging technologies for delivery of flagship government programmes while maintaining constitutional duties and institutional sanctity of government.

Background and earlier position

Dr. Jitendra Singh described the refresher programme as a mid-career course aimed at supporting officers during their professional journey. He highlighted that lateral entry is meant to institutionalise the entry of fresh talent, fresh ideas, and a fresh work culture from different sectors into governance. As per his statement, about 63 officers had entered through the lateral entry mechanism at the time of the address.

He also placed the training design in an outreach expansion approach for institutions such as the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), describing integration with other institutions and agencies working under similar mandates. He noted that such outreach is intended to extend across Central and State Governments, public institutions and elected bodies, and that courses can also be developed for corporate and private-sector participants.

Related current affairs