india

Updated: Apr 18, 2020 03:28 IST

From watching Virus, a Malayalam film on the 2018 Nipah virus outbreak, to understanding the Epidemic Diseases Act, the next batch of IAS officers graduating from the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration is gearing up to fight the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

The 182 officers currently at the academy are expected to join as trainee assistant collectors in districts across the country next month, provided the government lifts the lockdown, said an official at the academy.

The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers will complete their course on May 8. The Centre for Disaster Management recalibrated its course to instruct these officers about ways to tackle the outbreak.

“The online course in the academy is focusing on the legal ecosystem around Covid-19, such as extant rules [for] national disasters with a special focus on procedure,” said academy director Sanjeev Chopra.

A two-hour introductory session for this was held on the academy’s e-learning platform, GYAAN, on Thursday.

“The session was mostly about the National Disaster Management Act (NDMA),” a trainee officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre said. “It was conducted by our faculty members, some of whom have experience on the ground of having handled disasters in Tamil Nadu and other states.”

The trainee officer said Covid-19 is a nascent case study, though mitigation of the disease can be similar to other natural disasters. “We are still discovering things about Covid-19 but many steps taken for mitigation of disasters like floods can help here as well,” the trainee officer added.

A second trainee officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre said information about laws will help with their work in the districts.

“The DM [Disaster Management] Act, for instance, tells us about the exact responsibilities of a district magistrate and sub-divisional magistrate, ” he said. “We learnt we could requisition helicopters for delivering rations and ask private companies to provide equipment and human resources, if needed.”

The second trainee officer added that Covid-19 has no precedent and officers will have to “improvise” when they start work. “The provisions apply in general to disasters, we will have to see how to use them to fight Covid-19,” he said.

“We learnt how to set up relief camps, ensure sanitation and ensure no discrimination happens. We can extend these to tackle the present migrant worker crisis.”

A second academy official said: “There are certain disasters that need an immediate response, such as floods. Others, like the pandemic, require a standardised response. These are the best practices needed to help reduce infections.”

As a run-up to Thursday’s introductory session, the batch was asked to watch documentaries and films such as Virus and 93 Days, a Nigerian movie on Ebola.

“The idea is to make them familiar with how countries across the world have dealt with epidemics,” the second academy official said. “Sub-divisional magistrates and sub-divisional officers are generally involved in disaster management in normal times as well. The district magistrate is the disaster management authority at the district level.”

The batch was provided access to documents and modules on how districts and state governments and the Central government are tackling the pandemic.

“Whether it’s understanding the concept of an incident response team or making sure different departments coordinate seamlessly, they will be in a better position to administer [after] this module,” said the second academy official.

Inter-departmental coordination is being stressed. “Coronavirus has been declared a disaster by the government, so it automatically falls under the ambit of the course,” the official added. “We are also explaining coordination, such as working with police, the railway department, or others to ensure vulnerable groups and migrants don’t suffer.”

A third official said disaster management was always an integral part of the course, but extra attention is being paid to it this year. “We have increased our focus on the National Disaster Management Act, State Disaster Management Act, epidemic Act and State Disaster Response Fund to help prepare the officers for their forthcoming assignment,” a third official said. “We are trying to help them understand and solve supply chain problems and ease the migrant crisis.”

This official added that along with three classes a day, the trainees were asked to do book reviews on various subjects to help broaden their horizons. “Those who haven’t studied Hindi as a first language have to review a book in Hindi, others who are literature graduates have to review books on economy. The academy wants to help them expand their oeuvre.”

The third official added an online concurrent assessment is being conducted on the material provided on Covid-19.

The second trainee officer said while constant online assessment is being conducted, the trainees are also likely be tested on Covid-19 once the module is completed this week