Senior Indian Police Service officers will now have to complete courses on ChatGPT and generative AI, cybersecurity, evidence-based policymaking and wellness on the iGOT Karmayogi platform, with performance reflected in their Annual Performance Appraisal Reports for 2026-27.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has written to the Chief Secretaries of all States and Union Territories setting out the requirement. The communication follows a Department of Personnel and Training directive that officers of the All India Services must complete prescribed, role-specific courses on iGOT every year, and that completion is to be recorded in the APAR. The Indian Express reported the contents of the communication on 7 October 2026.
An APAR grading feeds annual increments, promotion and career progression. The report is therefore being read as linking the new training to pay progression, although the order itself ties the courses to appraisal, not to a separate pay revision.
Twenty-four courses, four service brackets
As the cadre-controlling authority for the IPS, the MHA has selected 24 courses — six for each of four brackets based on years of service. In each bracket, the first three are mandatory. They are linked to the APAR and form the basis of a comprehensive assessment, which opens only after those three courses are completed, for the financial year 2026-27.
Up to nine years (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 other three cover personal finance, feedback as a leadership tool, and handling of mobile devices at crime scenes.
Above nine and up to 16 years (2011 to 2017 batches). Officers are to take 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, along with courses on managing and leading teams, noting and drafting, and mastering feedback.
Above 16 and up to 25 years (2001 to 2010 batches). This is the bracket that includes ChatGPT. The six courses 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.
Twenty-five years and above (2000 batch and earlier). The list substantially overlaps with the preceding bracket, with the addition of a module on integrative wellness from Rashtriya Raksha University.
Part of a wider appraisal rule
The IPS list sits on an existing DoPT rule. An office memorandum of 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 recorded 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 of Mission Karmayogi, the National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building. It is meant to shift civil-service training from a rule-based model to role-based, continuous learning. The platform hosts several thousand courses, including a large set on artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.
For the police service, the 2026-27 list mixes operational subjects — NDPS search and seizure, the new criminal procedure code, the interoperable criminal justice system, mobile-device handling at crime scenes — with leadership, drafting, cybersecurity and generative AI. The ChatGPT module is assigned to officers with 16 to 25 years of service; the wellness module is reserved for the seniormost bracket.
