Direct invite to IAS officers by US university sets off alarm bells

INFLUENCE OPERATION?

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According to the programme document, the two-week course was to include academic sessions at UC San Diego; interactions with faculty, researchers and students; site visits to US government bodies and private sector organisations; and cultural visits in San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area.

The initiative was presented as a fully funded fellowship, offering round-trip airfare, lodging, local transportation and reimbursement of meals and incidentals. Applications and queries were to be submitted directly to named contacts at the university.

Government sources told this newspaper that multiple IAS officers had already applied for the programme before the controversy surfaced.

Officials said this was unsurprising given that the brochure appeared professionally structured, resembled standard foreign-training templates, and did not indicate that government clearance had not been obtained.

However, the fact that serving officers were able to apply directly—bypassing mandatory procedures—has reinforced concerns about gaps in enforcement and awareness of protocol.