COMMENCEMENT

The first training course was held at the Income Tax Office at Queen’s Road, Bombay. The residential accommodation of the probationers was popularly known as Bhootkhana. Some Income Tax officers took upon themselves the responsibility of training the newly recruited officers. Early probationers fondly recall the dedication and commitment of Shri V.R. Akerkar, the Income Tax Officer in-charge of training at Mumbai. He is considered the aadi guru of the Department. Shri V.V Chari, Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax Headquarters , was then in-charge of training and Diwan Bahadur R. Varadachari, Commissioner of Income Tax, Mumbai Presidency, Sindh and Baluchistan, was the Patron.

Shri VR. Akerkar taught the batches of direct recruits from 1945 to 1949. Shri Y.G. Joshi acted as a part time lecturer of Income Tax law an d book keeping. Shri Desai taught accounts in Gujarati as many taxpayers maintained their books in Gujarati in Bombay Presidency. He also looked after establishment matters. Among the other teachers whose names deserve a mention are: Shri Pophale, Shri Bagadthey, Shri Gopinathan and Shri R.D Shah. They were officers of the Department who taught on a part-time basis.

The initial training setup at Mumbai consisted of three Income Tax officers engaged in regular training and a few more Income Tax officers supplementing their work.

The training set up was shifted to Kolkata in 1950 for administrative reasons. The training centre functioned from 3, Government Place, Kolkata. An Income Tax office is still housed here which has now been declared a heritage building. At Kolkata, an officer of the rank of Inspecting Assistant Commissioner Training headed the training establishment. Shri Athalye was the first Inspecting Assistant Commissioner Training appointed in 1952. There was no residential accommodation for the trainees at Mumbai or at Kolkata. Unfortunately, detailed account of training at Kolkata is not available except for the fact that the practice of numbering of annual IRS batches started at Kolkata.

Modest beginnings – Income Tax Officers’ Training College, Nagpur

In 1957, the training of directly recruited IRS officers was shifted to Nagpur. Training at Nagpur

MLA’s Hostel At Temple Road, Civil Lines, Nagpur

had a modest beginning. With its central location and a long tradition of learning, Nagpur was a natural choice. The first classroom session at Nagpur was held on 5th February 1957, in a room fashioned out by partitioning the office of the Income Tax Officer Headquarters with a wooden screen. The 9th batch of the IRS had its initial training in Kolkata but completed it in Nagpur. The 10th batch was the first to have its entire training at Nagpur 1957-58 .

Subsequently, the classes were shifted to MLAs’ Rest House Number-2 at Civil Lines, Nagpur. The training institution was christened the Income Tax Officers’ Training College. One of the forty rooms in the Rest House was used as a lecture hall. Another room housed the staff room and the remaining ones were used as hostel rooms. The Administrative Block and the Library were located across the road fondly remembered as Gokul .

In the initial years at Nagpur, there was no separate head for the Training College. The Training College functioned under the overall control of the Commissioner of Income Tax M.P, Nagpur and Bhandara with its headquarters in Nagpur. In 1965, the post of Commissioner of Income Tax Training was created. For quite some time, the CIT Training remained dependent on the Commissioner of Income Tax, Nagpur for establishment and budgetary support.

In 1969, the faculty at the Training College consisted of a Commissioner of Income Tax Training , four Inspecting Assistant Commissioners of Income Tax Training , three Income Tax Officers Class-I and one Income Tax Officer Class-II who acted as Income Tax Officer Headquarters . The shortage in establishment and administrative support forced the probationers to prepare their monthly pay bills. The Inspecting Assistant Commissioners, the Income Tax Officer Training and Commissioner of Income Tax Training took classes for the probationers.

The probationers arrived in mid-November from the National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie. In their first spell of training, the probationers were mainly provided with theoretical inputs. Classes were conducted up to middle of March, when the first departmental examination was held. The Director of Inspection IT declared results for the first departmental exams in early June. The second spell of training ended by mid-September. In this phase, equal emphasis was given to theoretical and practical aspects of Income Tax. The second departmental exams were usually held in September. The Director of Inspection IT declared results of the examination in early December. After the second departmental examination, talks were given on the Finance Act of the year. The officers were briefed on the working of Income Tax Offices across the country. Probationers visited the local Income Tax offices to get a feel of the ground reality. By mid-November, the probationers left for a three week long Bharat Darshan. Valediction of the outgoing batch and the inauguration of the new batch were held simultaneously in December every year.

IMPORTANT MILESTONES

1. Additional manpower for training

The Wanchoo Committee and the Informal Review Team on the working of Central Training Institutes Department of Personnel, Government of India recommended expansion of the existing training facilities. The Review Team, in its report, expressed an immediate need for recruitment of more trainers as well as provision for better infrastructure. Its recommendation to increase the number of trainers for the Staff College was accepted. The training set-up now comprised one Director Training , six Deputy Directors, six Assistant Directors, one I.T.O. Headquarters and one I.T.O. Class-II .

2. Additional infrastructure for training

With the passage of time, collection of direct taxes increased and consequently the recruitment of officials ill the Income Tax department went up. The shortage in training infrastructure began to be felt keenly. In 1972, additional space was hired at 3′d floor of Bank of India building at Kingsway for lecture halls and a library. Hostel and administrative office continued to be at their earlier location.

3. Advisory Committee

In the initial days up to 1957 , training programme for the direct recruits focused almost entirely on Income Tax law and book-keeping. After 1957, when the training process took a formal shape, the objective was to provide general as well as intensive study of direct tax statutes to make the Probationary Officers well-versed in principles of accountancy, examination of accounts, office procedure & administrative matters and to groom them to be officers holding key positions in the organization.

With rapid changes in the country’s economy, tax laws became more complex. Several new fiscal statutes and policies were formulated.

As a result, administering tax laws was becoming more demanding. The policy planners started looking towards training for enhancing professional competency. In 1970, an Advisory Committee was set up to oversee the training process and the effective functioning of the IRS DT Staff College. The Committee comprised the Chairman CBDT, the Member CBDT in-charge of training, Director of Inspection IT & Audit and the Director of IRS DT Staff College. The first meeting of the Advisory Committee took place in June, 1970.

4. Beginning of Refresher and Specialised courses

Based on recommendations of the Advisory Committee, the Department of Revenue and Insurance, in its letter dated 20-1-1973, conveyed the following decisions:

1 Refresher Courses and Specialised Courses should be conducted at the IRS Direct Taxes Staff College, Nagpur, besides the Induction Training for Income Tax Officers Class-I .

2 The four Regional Training Institutes RTIs at Calcutta, Bombay, Kanpur and Bangalore should function under overall supervision of the Staff College. They would conduct orientation courses, specialised courses for tax recovery and audit, among other things and refresher courses for ITOs Class-II /Inspectors.

3 Regular Training Centres for imparting initial and refresher training to the ministerial staff were to be set up under the charge of Commissioners. The Director of Training was expected to ensure that the standard and uniformity of training was maintained.

5. Regional Training Institutes

As a result of the above decision, four Regional Training Institutes were set up in Mumbai, Kanpur later shifted to Lucknow , Kolkata and Bangalore. The RTIs started conducting orientation and refresher courses for ITOs Class-II / Inspectors besides various specialized courses.

1. The Academy

Officers of the earlier batches who had received formal training at the Staff College and its earlier incarnations had started manning important positions in the Department and the Central Board of Direct Taxes. There was a general recognition of the centrality of training function in the over-all working of the Income Tax. Department. Professionalism had started paying dividend. The yeoman’s service rendered by the Staff College had succeeded in creating the backbone of Indian Revenue Service with very modest means at its disposal.

The increasing complexities in the tax laws and tax administration led to the realization that in the years to come, training cannot remain confined to the first year of service but will have to evolve into an on-going activity throughout the career of an IRS officer. Therefore, in-service courses needed to be included in the training calendar. And, officers / officials of Group B and Group C services of the Department had to be brought into the pale of organized training to equip them with necessary skills to manage changes in the economic environment. It was thus clear that training population was set to increase manifold in the years to come.

Therefore, an obvious need was felt to raise the status of the Staff College and bring it at par with other national level academies under the Government of India. It became necessary to provide facilities of a different nature to modernize the training apparatus. A self-contained campus with latest facilities for providing comprehensive training became a necessity.

Recognising these changes m the over-all environment of Income Tax Department, Government accorded the prestigious status of a National Academy to the IRS DT Staff College in 1981 and renamed it as National Academy of Direct Taxes vide F. No A-35015/52/80/ Ad- VI dated 4.4.81 . In a key sense, this was the culmination of the visionary efforts of legendary trainers like like Shri V.R. Bapat, Shri C.C. Ganapathy, and Shri V.V Badami amongst many others who ceaselessly strove to make IRS a premier Central Service of the country and used training as a tool for their capacity building.

The Academy shifted to its own campus at Chhindwara Road, Nagpur. Shri R. Venkataraman, the then Finance Minister inaugurated the new campus on 8′h November 1981. From a modest beginning of a makeshift classroom in 1957, the institute has now grown into a self-contained complex having world-class training facilities.

2. Faculty in the Training Set-up

The faculty in the initial years of training at Bombay / Calcutta comprised some Income Tax officers and an Inspecting Assistant Commissioner Training .

When the ITOs Training College was first set up at Nagpur, it did not have a full time Director. The CIT Madhya Pradesh, Nagpur and Bhandara held charge of the Director, Training College. In 1965, a separate post of CIT Training was created.

With the re-designation of the institute as IRS DT Staff College, a full time Director was deputed to the College. By 1974, the Academy had one Director Training , six Deputy Directors, six Assistant Directors, one Income Tax officer Headquarters and one Income Tax officer, Class-II .

The post of the Director was upgraded in 1984 to that of a Director General. One post of Additional Director General was created in 1989, six months prior to the commencement of the first Foundation Course for combined services at NADT.

In 1990, the DOPT had conducted a study and recommended that NADT should have at least 28 faculty members based on the formula of475 teaching hours per faculty member per year. Subsequently, CBDT entrusted the Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi, with the job of carrying out a review of training facilities and training programmes at NADT. In 1993, the IIPA study recommended augmentation of faculty by recruiting four Professors, one each for Law, Management, Computer and Accountancy, with an equal number of Associate Professors, as well as six additional posts of Deputy Directors. Though additional posts have not yet been sanctioned, training programmes and activities have grown phenomenally, taking NADT to new heights of excellence.

3. Campus development and augmentation of infrastructure facilities

The Academy has come a long way since 1944. From a room of800 sq ft., in the CGO building, Bombay, today, it boasts of a campus spread over 67 acres.

3.1 Campus at Chhindwara Road, Nagpur

As early as 1958-1959, the Direct Taxes Administrative Enquiry Committee had drawn the Govemment’s attention to the inadequacy of accommodation. A self-contained campus had been a long-standing requirement of the Department, which was reinforced with the consistent rise in the successive batch strength and the proposal to conduct in-service courses. The Committee had suggested shifting the training centre to Hyderabad, Bangalore or Poona. However, the makeshift training arrangement in Nagpur continued in the absence of any allotment of land or building at any of these centres. Finally, the Academy was allotted land measuring 66.67 acres at Chhindwara Road, Nagpur by the Maharashtra Govemment in 1976 for Rs. 7,87,355/-. The then Union Minister for Finance, Shri H.M. Patel laid the foundation stone of the new campus in 1978. The training institute was shifted to the new campus in 1981. Shri R. Venkataraman, the then Union Finance Minister inaugurated the Campus which then comprised the Faculty Wing, the Administration Block, hostels for the probationers and an Officers’ Mess.

By 1986-87, the residential complex for the faculty and staff, the DG’s bungalow, a tennis court, an officers’ guesthouse and a separate library building were completed.

3.2 Major infrastructure augmentation during 1988-1991

The period 1988 to 1991 was marked by hectic activity on the infrastructure front as the first Foundation Course for combined services was to be conducted at NADT in 1989.

A separate Library Building adjoining the faculty building was constructed in 1986 and furnished in 1988. Shri Ajit Panja, the then Minister of State for Finance, inaugurated the library building on 5th June, 1988. It was provided with quality fumiture and a modem vinar rack system, capable of housing more than eighty thousand books. With four reading rooms and a computer lab, the library is a storehouse of knowledge. It has more than forty thousand books and subscribes to over 120 journals and magazines as well as to documents from international fiscal bodies like IBFD.

A modern auditorium with a seating capacity of 325 was completed in 1989.

Equipped with modern audio-visual aids and stage facilities, it is used for holding ceremonial functions, guest lectures and cultural functions. It is centrally air-cooled and is also used for screening movies. Shri R. Venkataraman, the then President of India, delivered the valedictory address to the 42nd batch in this auditorium on 30th June, 1990.

The lecture halls of the Faculty building were refurbished. A central hall for holding joint sessions and guest lectures was furnished. A conference system with 30 microphones was installed in the central lecture hall.

An audio-visual centre was set up and a videocassette library was added.

Hostel buildings and Officers’ Mess were renovated. Some existing Type-II / Type-III quarters were converted into hostels for accommodating additional Officer Trainees and christened Kanchi and Avantika in 1989/1990.

Takshashila, a hostel for senior officers coming to attend in-service courses was constructed and furnished. This was inaugurated by Shri C.S. Jain, Chairman, CBDT on 3rd April, 1989.

Vaishali guesthouse having three air-conditioned suites with a well-furnished lounge and a dining room for senior officers and eminent visitors was constructed in 1990.

An extension counter of SBI and a CGHS dispensary started functioning in the campus in 1991.

3.3 Additions to Infrastructure after 1991

A multi-purpose lounge and a telecom centre were set up in Nalanda hostel.

A gymnasium, billiards lounge, a basketball court, badminton and volleyball courts were also added.

An Archive showcasing the history of the Academy was set up in 1995 by probationers of 47th batch of IRS through Shramdaan.

A spacious Director General’s bungalow with sprawling lawns was constructed in the year 2000.

In order to deal with the problems of encroachment and theft, a boundary wall encircling the campus was constructed in 2004.

A running track alongside the boundary wall was laid down in 2005.

3.4 Campus beautification

In 1993, a large landscaped garden called Lumbini was developed in front of Takshashila. Constructed mainly with the help of the probationers of the 45th Batch through Shramdaan, the garden occupies a place of pride in the campus. The garden also houses a cafeteria called ‘Meeting Point’.

A garden named Kurinchi was constructed through Shramdaan by the probationers of 46th batch.

Mess-garden with an illuminated fountain was constructed in 1993 outside the Officers’ Mess for open-air dinners and get togethers.

Personal involvement of the then Director General and persistent liaisoning with the CPWD resulted in beautiful lawns coming up in front of auditorium, guest-house, library, faculty and administrative building.

3.5 Steps for improving the quality of life.

The Academy has been making constant efforts to improve the quality of life in the campus by bringing about improvement in residential, sports and entertainment facilities.

Nalanda Hostel having 208 rooms was constructed in 1981. Amenities like music lounge, sports lounges, telecom centre and internet lounge were added over the years.

A modern swimming pool was inaugurated in 1995. Its foundation stone was laid by the then Finance Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh on 10th April 1993. The pool complex 20 x 25m has diving boards, separate changing rooms and a continuous filtration plant. It has been extensively renovated in 2006.

C. C. Ganapathy Indoor Sports Complex was inaugurated by Shri Ravi Kant, the then Chairman, CBDT on 6th October,1999. It has a gymnasium with modern equipments, three badminton courts, two squash courts, two billiards / snooker tables, a table tennis room and a carrom room. It also houses an acoustically designed music room, a clubhouse and a yoga room. The Sports Complex is popular with the probationers, guests, faculty and their families.

Extensive renovation of various building complexes started in 2004. While renovation of the swimming pool, Vaishali guesthouse and Takshashila hostel has been completed, work on Officers’ hostel, Officers’ Mess, the administrative building and the faculty building is in progress. Construction of a state of the art International Tax Training Centre is being contemplated. Work on a cricket ground with jogging track, and a synthetic turf tennis court is in progress. To commemorate the Silver Jubilee of the Academy, a new gate Rajat Jayanti Dwar was inaugurated by G. Ramesha, the youngest IRS officer-trainee of the 59th batch on 14th November, 2006.

3.6  NADT gets a NADT Cricket  Ground NCG –

In 2008 the NADT campus gets a new and proper cricket ground NCG. It also symbolised the collective efforts of the various batches in different years to create this lush green ground. This ground thereafter proudly and successfully hosted the All India Chairman’s Cricket Trophy for officers of the Department of Income tax.

3.7 Capacity augmentation of the NADT Campus –

Due to increase in intake in number of  IRS officers a new and modern hostel for officer trainees was constructed and called as “Vikramshila”. This modern hostel has 156 spacious modern rooms, with spacious lounges, solar water heating facilities and modern furniture. This hostel was inaugurated by Sh MC Joshi, IRS, Chairman CBDT on 22.01.2012

Picture of Vikramshila   illuminated picture during the night -

                Another initiative to cater to increased requirement of hostel facility for senior officers, participants and visiting faculty of in-service courses and seminars, a senior officers hostel with 56 rooms with all modern amenities is being constructed and it is expected to be ready by December 2013. A Modern Mess with 2 floors is also being constructed beside the Sr. Officer’s Hostel.

With the changing times and increase in the role of NADT in imparting training to IRS and other officer trainees, increase in its role in imparting in-service courses and hosting various international courses, seminars and events and requirement of allied facilities like revamped library, auditorium of larger capacities with modern technologies, modern and larger classrooms, forensic labs and research centre, an Advanced Training Centre has been constructed in the campus. Hon’ble Finance Minister Sh Pranab Mukherjee had laid the foundation stone for this state of the art centre on 08.05.2010. The Advanced Training Centre has been inaugurated by Sh. Sushil Chandra, Chairman, CBDT, in December 2017.

3.8 Recent proposed initiative –

                Recently new initiatives for a cleaner, greener and environment friendly campus is in progress. New proposals for strengthening hobbies clubs infrastructure in the campus, use of solar energy in the campus, lighting and power generation, revamping the level of library, setting up digital forensic lab and a research centre in the campus have been made.