Bhubaneswar: Gopabandhu Academy of Administration, with its high-class infrastructure and training eco-system, has upgraded itself as a Partner Training Institute of Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA). Previously, the Academy conducted special training on disaster management for IAS probationers. It also conducted administrative training for officers from Central Secretariat Service and Chhattisgarh Civil Service. Bharat Darshan programme for a full batch of IAS Probationers sponsored by LBSNAA was also conducted by the Academy recently.
Today at GAA, Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra inaugurated the Special Foundation Course Training for central civil service officers from the Indian Railway Traffic Service ( IRTS) and Indian Postal and Telegraph Account & Finance Service cadre in the presence of Director General of GAA Smt Ranjana Chopra, Vice Chancellor Utkal University Dr Sabita Acharaya, Course Coordinator Sri Manish Agrawal, Prof R.P. Tripathy Dean National University of Law and Additional Commissioner Sri Himanshu Bhusan Panda.
In his inaugural address, Mahapatra asked GAA to make the training programme “memorable with field visits and practical exposure to ground level management”. The training programme should not be confined to monotonous classroom learning type”.
Mahapatra added, “Odisha today is a faster-growing economy at the national level. In the last twenty years Odisha has set new benchmarks in disaster management, farmers’ empowerment, and innovative IT applications”. “After the years of heavy capital investment in the development of infrastructures like roads, bridges and embankments, the State is now investing for transformative changes in health, education, agriculture, women empowerment and sports”. Odisha ranked among the top-3 investment destinations in India. A high-performance centre for different sports and athletics was set up and made operational in Kalinga Stadium. Odisha successfully organized international sports and athletic events. He expressed the hope that days would not be very far “when Odisha trained sportsmen would shine as Olympiads”.
Further, Mahapatra said that State’s green coverage increased to around 40% of its total geographical area with rich bio-diversity. He advised the trainee officers to experience Odisha’s dense forest with exquisite flora and fauna from a close range. He highlighted how the State has reestablished its traditional sculpture and craftsmanship in the national and global market. Sri Mahapatra also explained how the whole administrative set-up operated as “one coherent unit in saving the human life and serving the people at emergency under a stable and strong political set up during last two decades”.
Director General Smt Chopra said that GAA is now all set to impart national-level training to officers of different cadres. The academy has got a well-knit collaboration with world-class academic institutions and experts from various fields. She advised the trainees to undertake the training with “strong willpower by removing all pre-conceived and subjective ideas about people, administration and management”.
Course Coordinator Manish Agrawal said that “Special foundation Course is being conducted for the first time in GAA in collaboration with LBSNAA”. Twenty-nine officers joined the course. This would be a 15-week course with a “suitable mix of indoor academic and outdoor sessions”. The course structure included Law, Political systems, Indian constitution, economics, public administration, management, history and culture, application of IT etc. There would be village visits’, forest trackings, visit to industrial clusters, make in Odisha Conclave, and places of historic as well as archaeological importance. Additional Commissioner Himanshu Bhusan Panda presented the vote of thanks in the inaugural session.