India-Sri Lanka Talks for collaboration in Personnel Administration and Governance -Positive and Successful
India-Sri Lanka Talks for collaboration in Personnel Administration and Governance -Positive and Successful
India-Sri Lanka talks for collaboration in Personnel Administration and Governance were positive and successful. The two sides discussed the roadmap for collaboration between the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) and Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration for capacity building programs for 1500 Sri Lanka Administrative Service Officers in India for 2024-2029 period over 39 capacity building programs including faculty development programs and district collector level interactions.
During the 3-day visit to Colombo from July 7-9, 2024, the 5-member Indian delegation from Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) led by Secretary DARPG and Director General, National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG), Shri V. Srinivas, called on Hon’ble Prime Minister H.E. Mr. Dinesh Chandra Rupasinghe Gunawardena, held bilateral meetings with Secretary to the President Mr. E.M.S.B.Ekanayake; Secretary to the Prime Minister Mr. Anura Dissimulate; Secretary, Ministry of Public Administration and Home Affairs, Provincial Council and Local Government Mr. Pradeep Yasarathne.
The Indian delegation visited the Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration (SLIDA) for interactions with the Director General SLIDA Mr. Nalaka Kaluwewe and Senior Faculty, interacted with alumni of NCGG and shared best practices in adoption of Next Generation Administrative Reforms with officers of Sri Lanka Administrative Service. It is pertinent to mention that the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) organized three capacity-building training programs for senior and mid-level officers of Sri Lanka. During the first visit to NCGG from February 12-17, 2024, a delegation of fourteen senior Sri Lankan civil servants was led by Secretary to the Prime Minister, Mr. Anura Dissanayake. To date, NCGG has trained a total of 95 civil servants from Sri Lanka. A Special Oration titled “Centralized Public Grievances Redressal System: The Foundation for SMART Government” was presented. Indian delegation visited the Colombo District Secretariat for interaction with District Secretary and GA, Additional GA’s and Divisional Secretaries. A number of administrative innovations in Sri Lanka were presented by the Divisional Secretaries and District Secretariat officials.
The delegation level talks enabled a deeper understanding of the Sri Lankan governance models and capacity building requirements of Sri Lanka Administrative Service Officers. Exposure to India’s ‘Maximum Governance – Minimum Government’ policy which seeks to empower citizens and reach the last mile through technology would benefit Sri Lanka Administrative Service Officers in digital empowerment of citizens and digital transformation of institutions.
The Indian side also shared implementation modalities of the Scheme for Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration which recognizes meritocracy and encourages constructive competition across District Collectors, and dissemination of award-winning best practices through regional conferences and National Good Governance Webinars. In addition, the two sides discussed areas of Secretariat reforms including e-Office, improving service delivery through integrated service portals and benchmarking governance through indices like the National e-Services Delivery Assessment and the Good Governance Index.
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