Nagpur: The Inaugural Ceremony of Induction Training for 70th batch of Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officers was held at the National Academy of Direct Taxes (NADT), Nagpur, on Friday, 6th January, 2017. Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Minister of State for Finance, Government of India, was the Chief Guest on the occasion. Nishi Singh, I.R.S., Member (Personnel & Vigilance), Central Board of Direct Taxes, New Delhi, was the Guest of Honour. Faculty Members of NADT and Regional Training Institutes and Senior officers from the Income Tax Department and other departments in Nagpur were also present on the occasion.
The ceremony began with a group photograph of the batch with the guests and faculty followed by planting of saplings by the Chief Guest and the Guest of Honour in the campus. Rang Nath Jha, Principal Director General (Training), NADT, gave the welcome address. Sanjay Dhariwal, Addl. Director & Course Director of the 70th batch presented the batch profile. R.K. Choubey, Additional Director General (Training)-1, NADT, presented the highlights of the 16 months long Induction Course. Nausheen Jahan Ansari, Additional Director General (Training)-2, NADT, administered the oath of allegiance to the Officer Trainees.
The 70th batch of Indian Revenue Service comprises of 166 Officer Trainees (OTs) including 44 lady OTs and two officers of Royal Bhutan Service. The batch represents 24 States and Union Territories. 29% of the Officer Trainees are from rural background while the rest are from urban or semi-urban background. The largest contingent of Officer Trainees is from Uttar Pradesh followed by Rajasthan and Maharashtra. The Officer Trainees come with diverse educational qualifications with 54% of them from engineering background, and 20% from Humanities. The batch has 20 Doctors and 3 Chartered Accountants. The average age of the batch is 28 years with the youngest being 23 years. As many as 67% of the Officer Trainees have previous work experience having worked in State governments, Central Government, Public Sector Undertakings, Banks as well as in the private sector.
The 16 month training at NADT exposes the Officer Trainees to the fundamentals of Tax, Accounts and Accounting system and equips them with specialised inputs in Income Tax laws, jurisprudence and training in allied laws, including General Laws and business laws. After the initial months, advanced inputs in Financial Forensics and Cyber Forensics are given in order to provide the Officer Trainees with the skill sets required in Investigation in tax matters and financial crimes. Exposure to different aspects and means of tax evasion and money laundering is also given. With a view to provide better tax payer service, training in soft skills is given along with sensitisation towards Right to information. Different attachments to various statutory bodies in India e.g. attachment with RBI, SEBI and NSDL, expose the trainees to the different facets of tax administration. The International attachment of the Officer Trainees adds another aspect to the training by exposing them to the best practices prevailing in International tax regimes. Various components of training work in a sequential & holistic manner to help in transforming an Officer Trainee into a well-equipped public servant ready for being posted in the Income-tax department’s field offices across India as Assistant Commissioners.
Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Minister of State for Finance, Government of India delivered the key note address. In his address, Gangwar said that the public carries a good impression of the Income Tax Department. While emphasising that tax administration is an important medium of service to the nation, he commended the Income Tax Department for having as low a cost of collection as less than a rupee for every Rs.100/- collected. Thus the Income Tax Department was one of the most efficient tax administrations in the World. He added that in the recent years, the Income Tax Department has also done a commendable job in monitoring Election Expenditure.
He expressed his admiration on the Income Tax Department’s adaptation to changing needs of the society and its endeavour towards computerization and better taxpayer services with minimum inconvenience to the taxpayers. He added that the Prime Minister has a very positive view towards the Income Tax Department as he also interacted with senior officers of the Department during the Gyan Sangam.
The Minister expressed his belief that the Officer Trainees of the 70th Batch will establish high standards of integrity and public service. The Minister made an appeal to the Officer Trainees to remember the Talisman of Mahatma Gandhi, which should always guide their work i.e. visualizing as to whether the poorest of the poor will gain from the decision being taken by them. He once gain emphasized that tax collection is an act of social service impacting the last man in the socio-economic arrangement of the country. The Minister stated that where there is work, there may always be some grievances but the officers must keep up the good work without being apprehensive about grievances that may follow. The Minister extended his good wishes to the officers with the hope that when they pass out from the Academy the country would get more officers who are concerned, dedicated and devoted to the people of India.
The Guest of Honour, Smt. Nishi Singh, I.R.S., Member (Personnel & Vigilance), Central Board of Direct Taxes, also addressed the gathering. She welcomed the Officer Trainees to IRS stating that it is a premier service of the nation which will keep them both physically and mentally active all through their career. Stating that NADT is among the best academies in the country, she advised the Officer Trainees to take full benefit of the training activities. The Member emphasised that there is no substitute for hard-work and the officers should constantly strive to improve their knowledge base and core competence. She also stressed upon the importance of maintaining impeccable conduct – both in word & deed and advised the officers to always act with discretion.
Anjani Kumar Pandey, Associate Course Director of the 70th Batch, proposed the vote of thanks. The Inauguration ceremony witnessed rendering of Academy Song by the Academy Choir. The programme concluded with the National Anthem.
