LBSNAA Life

Successful candidates of the Civil Services Exam head to IAS officer training at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie. Here, a life of excitement and learning awaits all the trainees. The LBSNAA life is meant to equip the young IAS officer trainees(OT) with all the necessary knowledge and capacity to fulfil their role as administrators.

Apart from the Academy’s faculty, eminent personalities from public life, experienced civil servants give guest lectures and share their experiences and wisdom as well. Apart from lectures, a trainee is also expected to take part in physical and sporting activities as physical fitness is as important as mental toughness and health.

This article tries to throw some light on a day in the life of an Officer Trainee during IAS Officer training at LBSNAA.

LBSNAA Training Schedule: Daily Activities

• The day normally starts at 6:00 AM with an exercise drill at the Polo Ground for an hour or a 6-10 km jog. The trainees can also opt for riding at that time. After this, they have an hour to get ready and have their breakfast.
• They have classes commencing at 9:00 AM. Each classroom session lasts for 55 minutes and in a day there would be around 5 – 6 sessions. From 5:00 PM to 7:30 PM sports and riding activities are held.
• If there are cultural programmes, they are also scheduled before dinner time which is at 8:00 PM. After dinner, the trainees are free to mingle with one another and also review their lessons and prepare for the next day’s sessions.
• During weekends and holidays during IAS training, the trainees engage in extra-curricular activities like community service, adventure sports such as rock-climbing, paragliding, short treks, river rafting, etc. Generally, a course consumes 14-16 hours of activity per day which comes to around 80 hours of engagement in a week.

The trainees are encouraged to engage in various physical and sporting activities together with their studies because the Academy places a lot of importance to the physical fitness of the officers. They are also pushed to take part in other extra-curricular activities and to lead a varied and rich life. The facilities at LBSNAA for sports are world-class and include many outdoor and indoor sports such as athletics, football, volleyball, cricket, yoga, billiards and table-tennis etc.

The OTs are also sent to the Greater Himalayas on treks to learn to cope with harsh conditions like bad weather, insufficient accommodation, limited food, etc. They are also sent to remote and rural areas like backward villages to give them a first-hand account of what life is like in these places. This is to help them in their career as civil servants later. The Academy also boasts of many clubs wherein they can develop and carry out hobbies and interests. The following clubs and societies are there:

• Adventure Sports
• Alumni Association
• Computer Society
• Film Society
• Fine Arts Association
• Hobbies Club
• House Journal Society
• Management Circle
• Nature Lovers’ Club
• Officers’ Club
• Officers’ Mess
• Rifle & Archery Club
• Society for Contemporary Affairs
• Society for Social Service

OTs automatically become members of the Alumni Association once they complete training, while they can join any of the other clubs based on their interest. UPSC aspirants should know what to expect from life after clearing IAS and the training is a big part of it. The LBSNAA life equips trainees to become efficient officers and serve the country to the best of their ability.

To read more about IAS training, check out: