Centre To Roll Out AI Training Modules For Next-Gen Bureaucrats

They said that the aim is to equip bureaucrats with critical AI-related skills to make them future-ready civil servants capable of meeting emerging governance challenges in a fast-evolving digital world.

It is learnt that the training modules are being developed to equip bureaucrats with a wide spectrum of AI competencies, which include ‘AI Fundamentals’, ‘Machine Learning Concepts’, ‘Prompt Engineering’, ‘Natural Language Processing (NLP)’, ‘Data Analytics’ and Ethical AI Governance.

A senior DoPT official told The Secretariat that during the training sessions, the substantive focus would be on the application part of these AI-related tools and their potential and actual role in real-world governance scenarios, such as public service delivery, data-driven decision-making, and how these enable policy-making with precision.

Training Programmes

By introducing such training programmes, the official said that the modules are being designed to help bureaucrats not just understand, but also apply AI tools to enhance efficiency, transparency and citizen-centric outcomes in governance.

“With digital transformation becoming a national priority, AI literacy is now seen as indispensable for the civil services,” he said, adding that during the course of training programmes the bureaucrats “would not only be familiarised with tech jargons or coding”, but they would be equipped with skills to use AI for governance improvement, prediction, personalise citizen services and optimise resource allocation.

Ethical Aspects Of AI

The ethical aspects of AI will also be expounded. They will include "bias in algorithms", "responsible data use", "transparency in AI decision-making", and "privacy and citizen rights in digital architecture".

By this, the government aims that when bureaucrats adopt and use AI tools, they apply them with trust as guardians of the digitally governed society, the officials said.

Digital Empowerment

According to another senior DoPT officer, the training programme is part of the government’s larger goal to transform public institutions into digitally empowered ecosystems, which would move away from the traditional status quo-based bureaucracy to an “agile and tech-driven” one, which is not averse to change for the better.

The training modules will hit the ground in a phased manner, as they will be introduced at top civil service training institutions, including the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) and state-level administrative institutes.

In the later phases, these will be integrated into the foundational and mid-career training courses for IAS and allied services.

Subsequently, exposure to AI tools will also be given to junior-level officials in the government.

The officials said that of late, the top leadership in the government has recognised the disruptive abilities of AI and, keeping this in mind, India’s governance systems must also evolve to meet the challenges. The growing use of AI in sectors such as agriculture, urban planning, healthcare, disaster management, and law enforcement makes it essential for decision-makers to understand and harness it.