20 Local Government Representatives from the upcountry region of Sri Lanka completed a 10-day capacity-building programme at the Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR) in Hyderabad, India from 19-29 January 2026. The programme was organised at the request of Ceylon Worker’s Congress (CWC).
Through a combination of interactive sessions and field visits, the programme provided exposure to the participants to best practices in local-self governance, budgeting, women empowerment through self help groups, participatory planning & development, primary health and education, alternative livelihood development, simple methods of economic surveying and eco-tourism amongst others.
The participants undertook site visits to local institutes including Primary Health Sector, Anganwadi Centre, Cooperative Bank, Women Developed Diary Farm, Fruit and Horticulture Research Station, Tea Plantations of Nilgris. The customised programme for Sri Lankan Local Representatives endeavoured to strengthen professional competencies, encouraging knowledge sharing, and deepen institutional linkages in the field of Local Governance between India and Sri Lanka.
The programme was organized under the enhanced capacity building framework announced by Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi during his State Visit to Sri Lanka in April 2025, whereby 700 customized slots annually for Sri Lankan professionals were added over and above all existing schemes such as ITEC. With around 300 Sri Lanka civil service officers being training annually under a MoU between the National Centre for Good Governance of India and the Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration, the enhanced capacity-building endeavour of India thus now benefits 1000 Sri Lankans annually.
