On Wednesday, February 14, Sri Lanka and India initiated bilateral delegation-level talks in New Delhi, centering on collaboration in personnel administration and governance.
Chaired by Secretary to India’s Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DARPG), Shri V. Srinivas, and Secretary to the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Anura Dissanayake, the discussions explored various aspects of cooperation between the two nations.
The Sri Lankan delegation, comprising Dr. Dharmasri Kumaratunga, Secretary to the Ministry of Technology; Pradeep Yasarathna, Secretary to the Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils & Local Government; and Nalaka Kaluwewe, Director General of the Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration (SLIDA), actively participated in the talks. From India’s DARPG, Shri NBS Rajput, Shri Puneet Yadav, and Smt. Jaya Dubey joined the discussions.
A key point of consideration was the proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between SLIDA and India’s National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) to conduct Capacity Building Programmes (CBP) for senior and mid-level civil servants of Sri Lanka. The SLIDA director outlined a comprehensive plan for capacity building over the next five years, emphasizing collaboration in curriculum development and hybrid mode training for 1,000 officials at various seniority levels.
The Indian side highlighted their expertise in administrative reforms, meritocracy recognition through India’s Prime Minister’s Awards Scheme for Public Administration, AI/ML integration in public grievance redressal, and promotion of e-governance. The discussions laid the foundation for a structured collaboration, to be formalized in an MOU jointly developed by both sides, according to a press release from the Indian High Commission in Colombo.
This bilateral engagement is part of a broader official visit by a high-level Sri Lankan delegation to India, led by PM’s Secretary Anura Dissanayake. The delegation aims to gain insights into India’s recent public service initiatives, implement policy improvements, and explore avenues for further collaboration during their stay from February 12 to 17. Meetings with key Indian officials, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of State for Personnel, and the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, are also on the agenda.
