On April 15, 1958, the then Union Home Minister Pandit Govind Ballabh
Pant announced in the Lok Sabha, that the Government would set up a National
Academy of Administration, where training would be given to all the recruits of
the Civil Services. The Ministry of Home Affairs also decided to amalgamate the
IAS Training School, Delhi and the IAS Staff College, Shimla to form a National
Academy of Administration to be setup in Mussoorie’s Charleville Estate. On the
first day of September, 1959 curtains were drawn on the training in Metcalfe
House. Union Home Minister Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant was instrumental in
effecting this shift to Mussoorie.
The Charleville Hotel was built in 1854 by General Wilkinson on the
grounds of Chajauli Estate, a part of the abutting Chajauli Patti. Was the name
Charleville French in origin? Apparently not. The locals always called it
‘Charley-Biley’ – apparently Mr. Hobson, the retired Manager of the Mussoorie
Bank, purchased it in 1861 and named it after his two sons: Charlie and Billy.
The grounds of Happy Valley were
acquired in 1904 by the brewer V.A. Mackinnon. He started the Happy Valley Club
with tennis courts, while gymkhanas were held on the polo ground field. The
last record of a ‘Pagal Gymkhana’ dates back to 19th June
1943, to raise funds for the Red Cross during World War II.
The main building of the erstwhile Charleville complex was destroyed in
a fire in 1984. However, its old architecture can still be seen in some of the
buildings inside the main campus of the Academy. The Ladies' Block and the G.B.
Pant Block were damaged in earthquake of 1991 and on these two sites, the two
new buildings viz. 'Dhruvshila' and 'Kalindi Guest House' came up. A part of
the “Happy Valley Club” extending right below the Charleville Hotel, now
belongs to the Academy. This has the horse-riding ground, the shooting range
and the sports club. The racecourse and polo ground, that was carved out of a
hillside in 1904, were leased by the Uttar Pradesh government to the Academy.
It is used, for housing the horse-riding establishment and conducting various
sports events.
In October 1972, the name of the Academy was changed to "Lal Bahadur
Shastri Academy of Administration" and in July 1973 the word
"National" was added to it. The Academy is now known as the “Lal
Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration" (LBSNAA). There have
been subsequent expansions and several new buildings have been constructed and
others acquired over the years.
CHRONOLOGY
1958 |
Announcement in
the Lok Sabha by the Union Home Minister Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant to setup
the National Academy of Administration. |
1959 |
Academy
established in Mussoorie along with Director's Office, Language Block (later
renamed Charleville after renovation), Sardar Patel Hall (SPH) and Happy
Valley Guest House. |
1960 |
A common FC for
IAS, IFS and other Central Services was introduced. |
1969 |
Sandwich Pattern
of training introduced in the Academy which included Phase-I, District
Training in the respective State Cadres followed by Phase-II. |
1970 |
Academy
functioned under the Ministry of Home Affairs from the date of inception till
1970, again from 1977 to 1985. |
1970-1977 |
Academy
functioned under Cabinet Secretariat. |
1972 |
Name changed to
“Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy of Administration”. |
1973 |
Subsequently, the
word “National” was added and it became “Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy
of Administration”. |
1975-1978 |
Ganga, Kaveri and
Narmada hostels constructed. |
1984 |
In May, 1984, a
portion of the Campus which housed the Officers' Mess, the Libray, VIP Guest
House, Director's Residence etc., was destroyed in a fire accident. |
1985 |
Academy began
functioning under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances &
Pensions, Government of India. |
1988 |
NIC Training Unit
established. |
1989 |
Centre for Rural
Studies (initially called the Land Reform Unit) established. |
1991 |
In October, 1991,
the Uttarkashi earthquake severely damaged the Ladies' Block and the G.B.
Pant Block, and on these two sites, 'Dhruvshila' and 'Kalindi Guest House'
came up. |
1991 |
Sampoornanand
Auditorium constructed by UP Government and named after the 2nd Chief
Minister of the State. |
1992 |
Karamshila
Building was inaugurated by the then Vice President of India Shri K.R.
Narayanan. |
1995 |
National
Gender Centre, a registered society under
Societies Registration Act-1860, was setup. |
1996 |
Kalindi
Bhavan inaugurated by the then Union Minister
of State for Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions and Parliamentary Affairs
Shri S.R. Balasubramaniam. |
1996 |
Dhruvshila Bhavan
inaugurated by the then Minister of State,
Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions and Parliamentary Affairs Shri S.R.
Balasubramaniam. |
2004 |
Hospital Block
inaugurated by the then Minister of Home Affairs Shri Shivraj V. Patil. |
2004 |
Centre for
Disaster Management inaugurated. |
2010 |
Gyanshila
Building operationalize. |
2012 |
Mahanadi
Executive Hostel was inaugurated. |
2014 |
National Centre
for Leadership Development & Competency Assessment (NCLDCA) a
registered society under Societies Registration Act-1860,
was setup. |
2015 |
Aadharshila Block
inaugurated by Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and
Pensions Dr. Jitendra Singh. |
2016 |
Originally
established as Centre for Cooperatives & Rural Development in 1995, it
was renamed as Centre for Public Systems Management (CPSM). |
2017 |
Prime Minister
Shri Narendra Modi laid the foundation stones of the new hostel at Monastry
Estate; Horse stables and residences for the horse-riding establishment; and
400m Synthetic Track at Polo ground. |
2018 |
The state of the art Chanakya Hall was inaugurated. Orders were issued for reintroduction of Common Foundation Course
(CFC). Director’s assessment of CFC was made a part of overall assessment of
members of all services in their final determination of seniority. |
2019 |
Aarambh 1.0- Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi interacted with Officer
Trainees of Indian Civil Services in the first edition of the Integrated
Foundation Course, ”Aarambh” |
2020 |
Mission Karmayogi- A new experiment of its kind in the direction of
capacity building of civil servants started Aarambh 2.0 on the theme ‘Governance in India @100’ |
2021 |
First Common Mid Career Training Programme for for All India Services
& Group A Central Services organised in the Academy. Aarambh 3.0 in
Kevadia. Inauguration of the Happy Valley Sports Complex by Sh. Narendra
Modi, Hon’ble Prime Minister & Sardar Patel Leadership Centre by Dr.
Jitendra Singh, Hon’ble MoS (PP). |
2022 |
Inauguration of Monastery Hostel Complex & DiGiTAG Arena. Happy
Valley Civil Services Marathon for the Civil Servants instituted and dedication
Polo Ground dedicated to the nation by Hon’ble President of India Smt.
Droupadi Murmu. |
2023 |
Inauguration of DiGFAC, National Centre for Law & Administration
by Hon’ble Former President Sh. Ram Nath Kovind. Inauguration of Alumni
Centre. |