The 74th IRS batch which has 43 officers and five Bhutan civil servants received their induction training in Bangalore. An MOU was signed between Bhutan and India ten years ago to train Bhutanese Civil Servants as Indian Revenue Officers.
The 74th IRS batch has 43 officers and five Bhutan-origin civil servants. Sharing their experience in learning in India , they said that IRS syllabus offered them the chance to enhance their knowledge. They got to learn about land, sea and air trade, unlike Bhutan, which is mostly about mountains.
As per India -Bhutan agreement, these officers are selected while they are with the Bhutan government and sponsored by India during the training period. They receive about 1,200 as daily allowance from India for training to become revenue and custom officers,’ said a faculty member at National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes and Narcotics (NACIN) in Bengaluru. The one-year IRS training requires them to work at NACIN for a short period of time.
Tshering Yangki, a young civil servant from Bhutan said visiting India has been a tremendously beneficial experience. “Indians have been very welcoming and supportive. From our peers in the classroom to top officials, they are all warm and friendly,” said another trainee Dawa Zangmo.
Most revenue officers are deployed near the Indian border, which is shared with West Bengal. “We are an import-driven nation and learning about different international customs will be helpful to our careers back home” Thinley Wangchak, another trainee said.