Civil trainee officers attend special course in Manali

Avinash Negi, Director of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, Manali, said yesterday that the Himalayan and Mountainous Study Tour, part of the Special Foundation Course (SFC), is at present being conducted for officer trainees from the Indian police, revenue, forest services and other Group-A Central Civil Services. The programme was being jointly organised with the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration and the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie.

Negi said that the 10-week course being held from November 3 to January 9, 2026, featured a substantial field component designed to provide trainees with firsthand exposure to the challenges of governance in high-altitude regions. As part of the initiative, a six-day Himalayan Study Tour was being organised from November 16 to 21.

Negi said that the itinerary included visits to the high-altitude district of Lahaul and Spiti, where officer trainees would witness administrative intricacies, harsh climatic conditions, strategic border significance and distinctive socio-cultural fabric of these remote Himalayan areas.

He said that the field-based training aimed at preparing future civil servants with leadership and crisis-management capabilities essential for operating in challenging terrains. It also sought to offer direct experience of governance in remote and inaccessible zones, deepen awareness of disaster-prone and ecologically-fragile

Himalayan ecosystems and introduce trainees to district-level coordination in strategically-vital border regions. Negi added that such an exposure was crucial for building physical endurance, mental resilience, adaptability and teamwork among the trainees.

The Director said that 33 officer trainees, accompanied by two officers, would take part in the Himalayan Study Tour.