MHA Makes ChatGPT, Cybersecurity Training Mandatory for Senior IPS Officers on iGOT Karmayogi

Senior Indian Police Service officers will have to complete a new set of courses on the iGOT Karmayogi platform — including a module on ChatGPT and generative AI for officials with 16 to 25 years of service — after the Union Ministry of Home Affairs directed States and Union Territories to ensure compliance as part of the officers’ Annual Performance Appraisal Reports for 2026-27.

The ministry’s communication, sent to the Chief Secretaries of all States and Union Territories, follows a Department of Personnel and Training directive requiring officers of the All India Services to complete prescribed, role-specific courses on iGOT every year, with completion recorded in the APAR. The Indian Express reported the contents of the communication on 7 October 2026.

The linkage matters because APAR grading feeds annual increments, promotion and overall career progression. While the communication stops short of announcing a separate pay revision, the move effectively ties completion of the assigned training to the appraisal process that influences service advancement.

24 courses across four service brackets

As the cadre-controlling authority for the IPS, the MHA has drawn up a list of 24 courses, divided into four service brackets based on years of service. Each bracket has six courses, and in every case the first three are mandatory. Those three courses are linked to the APAR and form the basis of a comprehensive assessment, which will open only after they are completed for the 2026-27 financial year.

For officers with up to nine years of service, corresponding to the 2018 batch onwards, the mandatory modules are an introduction to emerging technologies, offered by the Wadhwani Foundation; search and seizure under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy; and cybersecurity fundamentals for leaders, from the National e-Governance Division of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. The additional three courses in this bracket cover personal finance, feedback as a leadership tool, and handling of mobile devices at crime scenes.

For the next bracket — officers with more than nine and up to 16 years of service, covering the 2011 to 2017 batches — the mandatory courses are an introduction to emerging technologies, an overview of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita as it replaces the Code of Criminal Procedure, and a foundational module on the interoperable criminal justice system. The other courses are on managing and leading teams, noting and drafting, and mastering feedback.

The bracket for officers with more than 16 and up to 25 years of service, which covers the 2001 to 2010 batches, is the one that includes ChatGPT. The six courses listed for this group are emerging technologies, evidence-based policymaking, cybersecurity fundamentals, the art of storytelling, ChatGPT and generative AI tools for government officials, and change management in digital transformation projects.

For officers with 25 years of service and above, corresponding to the 2000 batch and earlier, the course list substantially overlaps with the preceding bracket but adds a module on integrative wellness from Rashtriya Raksha University.

Part of a broader training mandate

The IPS-specific list sits within an existing DoPT framework. An office memorandum dated 4 July 2025 required Central Government employees and All India Services officers to complete courses and a comprehensive assessment prescribed by their ministry or cadre-controlling authority on iGOT, with the status to be reflected in the APAR from the 2025-26 reporting year. In April 2026, Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh told the Rajya Sabha that the requirement is annual and competency-linked.

iGOT Karmayogi is the digital learning platform under Mission Karmayogi, the National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building. The programme is intended to move civil-service training away from a rule-based model towards role-based, continuous learning. The platform hosts several thousand courses, including a large number on artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.

In the IPS list for 2026-27, the MHA has combined operational subjects with management and technology courses. Alongside the modules on NDPS search and seizure, the new criminal procedure framework, the interoperable criminal justice system and handling mobile devices at crime scenes, officers will also be tested on leadership, drafting, cybersecurity and generative AI. The ChatGPT module is reserved for the middle-senior bracket, while the wellness module is meant only for the seniormost officers.