ChatGPT, AI now key to IPS appraisals

Senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officers must complete annual courses in ChatGPT, generative AI, cybersecurity, and integrative wellness, or they will receive lower appraisal scores that affect their increments and promotions.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has sent a letter to the Chief Secretaries of all States and Union Territories, instructing IPS officers to complete the required modules on the iGOT Karmayogi platform each year. This directive follows an instruction from the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) making continuous, role-specific capacity building compulsory for officers of the All India Services, with their performance included in their annual performance appraisal reports.

For the 2026-27 period, officers must complete the first three courses in each seniority band, and a full assessment will be available only after completion.

The MHA, being the cadre control authority, has chosen 24 courses, six for each of the four service brackets. Starting with the 2018 batch, officers who have up to nine years’ service must attend a course on emerging technologies provided by the Wadhwani Foundation, a session on search-and-seizure procedures under the NDPS Act organised by the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVNPA), and a workshop on cybersecurity fundamentals for leaders from the National e-Governance Division; the remaining modules deal with personal finance, the use of feedback as a leadership tool, and the proper handling of mobile devices at crime scenes.

The groups who have between nine and sixteen years’ service, that is, the batches from 2011 to 2017, will be dealing with emerging technologies, given an overview of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which has replaced the Criminal Procedure Code, and also be involved with the interoperable criminal justice system; the other courses cover leading teams, the skills of noting and drafting, and mastering feedback.

For the group of officers who have between 16 and 25 years’ service, specifically those from the batches that served from 2001 to 2010, the list covers emerging technologies, evidence-based policymaking, the basics of cybersecurity, the art of storytelling, the use of ChatGPT and other generative AI tools by Government officials, and change management in digital transformation projects.

Officers in the 25-year category and those from the 2000 batch and earlier mostly receive the same set of training. They also attend an integrative wellness module offered by Rashtriya Raksha University, since it is the only health and resilience course in the programme.

The payment link is indirect yet specific. Since Annual Performance Assessment Report (APAR) grades already determine annual salary increases, promotion panels, and central deputations, the Centre has made iGOT completion and assessment scores a condition of one’s career by including them in the appraisal. The DoPT had previously stated that APAR-linked iGOT courses apply to central Government employees and officers of the All India Services. The MHA’s communication extends that rule to the police, with content arranged by length of service.

The syllabus addresses the pressures senior police officers currently face, such as digital evidence, new criminal procedures, data-driven decisions, the public narrative, and generative tools entering Government offices. Alongside cybersecurity and AI, storytelling is regarded as an operational skill. The wellness section of the programme views the ability to maintain performance after a quarter of a century in service as in part a matter of physical and mental capacity.

The impact of these courses on investigation quality or cyber readiness will depend on how strict the assessments are and how strongly states enforce them. IPS officers already have a clear incentive, as ChatGPT, evidence-based methods, and integrative wellness are now part of the records used to decide pay and promotions.

For the 2026-27 period, officers must complete the first 3 courses in each seniority band, and a full assessment will be available only after completion