The Valediction Ceremony of the Induction Training of the 71st Batch of Indian Revenue Service was held at the National Academy of Direct Taxes, Nagpur on 16th April, 2019. Shri P.C. Mody, Hon. Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes, New Delhi, graced the occasion as the Chief Guest.
Smt Asha Agarwal, Principal Director General, NADT, Additional Director Generals and Faculty Members of NADT and senior officers from the Income tax department and other departments were also present on the occasion.
The ceremony began at 10.30 am with a group photograph of the batch with the Chief Guest and Faculty followed by planting of a sapling by the Hon’ble Chief Guest in the campus.
Smt Asha Agarwal, Principal Director General (Training), NADT, in her welcome address stated that new challenges in the form of fight against black money and corruption are awaiting the young officers and they should carry out their responsibilities with courtesy, humility and non-adversarial attitude. She emphasized the importance of time bound delivery of public services and accountability in the discharge of official duties.
Smt Leena Srivastav, Additional Director General (Training)-3, NADT, presented the overview of the 16-month-long Induction training and highlighted the innovations done in pedagogical methodologies in the core areas of academic and extracurricular inputs given at NADT. Smt Sarita Kumari, Addl. Director & Course Director of the 71st batch presented the Course Report with a view to brief the gathering about the batch profile and overall performance of the officers during the training period. Ms. Nausheen J. Ansari, Additional Director General (Training)-2, NADT, administered the Tax Administrators’ Prayer to the batch whereby the officers committed themselves to discharge their duties with diligence and without fear or favour.
The National Academy of Direct Taxes in Nagpur is the apex training academy in India for the Indian Revenue Service officers of the Income Tax Department. The IRS officers are recruited through the Civil Services Examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). These 146 direct recruit IRS officers along with two officers from the Royal Bhutan Service, have undergone Induction Training of about 16 months during which, the Officer Trainees have been provided with specialised inputs in Income Tax Laws, jurisprudence and allied tax laws as also general laws like GST, Companies Act, Contract Act, IPC, CPC, CrPC, Indian Evidence Act, Transfer of Property Act, Benami Transactions Act etc. under a special collaboration with the National Law School of India University, Bangalore.
As IRS Officer Trainees, they have received intensive training in accounts & accounting systems practiced in India. Further, inputs on Financial Forensics and Cyber Forensics have also been given in order to prepare the trainees for investigation in tax matters as well as financial crimes including tax evasion and money laundering. The officer trainees have been particularly sensitized towards public service and the right to information.
In addition to theoretical inputs, the trainees have also been exposed to various practical aspects by way of attachments with various statutory bodies in India including the Parliament, National Investigation Agency, RBI, Stock Exchange etc, Bharat Darshan-cum-Industrial Attachment and their On-The-Job Training modules. Moreover, in order to expose them towards the best international tax practices, an International Attachment was also a part of their training programme.
In addition to the academic inputs, due emphasis has been laid on the physical fitness and overall personality development of the officer trainees by way of activities such as Physical Training, Karate and Yoga. Their abilities in the domain of sports and physical activities are brought to the fore in various activities including annual INTAX games, which develop camaraderie and sportsmanship among Officer Trainees.
 In his valedictory address, Shri P.C. Mody, the Chief Guest greeted the officers on successful completion of their training. He stated that learning is a continuous exercise and the officers should always keep striving for excellence. He quoted the well-known cliché that success is not a destination but a journey. He exhorted the officers to keep evolving in the era of dynamic challenges before tax administration by way of updating their knowledge and skills. He also underlined the importance of out-of-box thinking in improvement of processes of tax payer services so that ultimately the larger objective of voluntary tax compliance may be achieved.
He urged that the officers should keep exceptional official conduct and highest standards of probity.
He concluded his address by emphasizing the three words that constitute the Indian Revenue Service and urged the officers to imbibe the essence of pan-Indian character of the service and must not shy away from working in any region of the country. While elucidating the words ‘Revenue’ and ‘Service’, he stated that though revenue administration is the core competence of an IRS officer, taxpayer education and services are equally if not more important in achieving organisational goals.
Finally, the Chief Guest extended his best wishes to the outgoing batch and presented medals of merit to the following officers for best performance in academics and overall performance:
SrNo AREA OF EXCELLENCE ACHIEVER
1 V R Akerkar Memorial Gold medal for highest score in Direct Taxes. Pavan Sameer Kumar Chirravuri
2 S.A.L. Narayana Row Memorial Gold Medal for Highest Score in Business Laws. Shri Abhishek Jain
3 C.C. Ganapathy Memorial Gold Medal for Highest Score in Advance Accounting and Finance Shri Mohit Garg
4 V.V. Badami Memorial Gold Medal for Highest Score in Procedure/Techniques of Investigation and drafting of Orders and Reports 1. Shri Vinoth P.
2. Shri Amogh Gopinath
5 The Chairman’s Gold Medal for highest Score in Management and Administration in Income Tax Department Ms. Teresa Joseph
6 Pr. DG’s Gold Medal for highest Score in
Information Technology & Operations Ms. Sunaina R.
7 Rajbhasha Padak Ms. Preeti Hooda
8 Gold Medal for highest Score in Transfer Pricing and International Taxation Ms Cathy Tresa Mathew
9 Dr A P J Abdul Kalam Gold Medal for highest score in Law of Governance & Ethics Shri Ashwani Kumar
10 V. R. Bapat Gold Medal for Overall Topper in Academics. Pavan Sameer Kumar Chirravuri
11 Finance Minister’s Gold Medal For All Round Performance Pavan Sameer Kumar Chirravuri
These outgoing officers will join their respective place of postings as Assistant Commissioner of Income-tax in various field offices across the country and take their first steps towards nation building.