Indian Police Service (IPS) officers may soon have to specialise in at least one policing domain like counter-insurgency, terror funding or cyber crime to get promotion to the senior ranks.
According to a proposal prepared by the Home Ministry, each of the IPS officer will have to specialise in different policing domains like anti-terrorism, terror funding, economic crimes or cyber offences before being promoted to senior ranks.
"As per the proposal, IPS officers will have to specialise on a particular domain and mandatoryly undergo training before being promoted to the ranks of deputy inspector general (DIG), inspector general (IG) or additional director general (ADG)," a home ministry official said.
Among the subjects in which the IPS officers can speacilise include anti-corruption and vigilance, police research and development, criminal investigation (CBI, CID), intelligence, cyber crime, counter-insurgency and anti-terrorism.
Before being promoted as a DIG, an officer will have to undergo training in at least one of the domains.
Similarly for the promotion to ranks of the IG and ADG, mandatory training will have to be completed in two or three subjects.
The National Police Academy in Hyderabad and other similar institutes will be asked to prepare training modules.
The plan was discussed in November last during an annual conference of top police officers of the country in Hyderabad which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Rajnath Singh.
The proposal has been prepared as part of the follow-up of the discussion that took place in that meeting.
Future postings of senior police officers may be decided as per specialisation, the official said.
An IPS officer goes through at least three mid-term training programmes. The first one is after seven to nine years in the job, the next comes after another seven years and the final one is on completing at least 24 years in service. These courses are mandatory and linked to promotions and increments.