In a special ceremony at Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Education in Colombo, 300 Advanced Level school students from all 25 districts in Sri Lanka received the Mahatma Gandhi Scholarships. The scholarships, awarded by Lankan Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya, aim to support top six students from each district with LKR 2,500 monthly on a merit-cum-means basis. Notably, this year’s event honored two batches of scholars spanning from 2021 to 2024.
Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya expressed gratitude to the Government of India for providing the scholarships and commended its various initiatives in Sri Lanka. The ceremony also included a reflection on Mahatma Gandhi’s principles, encouraging students to embody his legacy. Acting High Commissioner Satyanjal Pandey emphasized that the scholarships are not just financial aid but a recognition of excellence and a call to uphold Gandhi’s ideals throughout their lives.
Apart from the Mahatma Gandhi Scholarships, the Indian government offers about 210 annual scholarships in diverse fields like engineering, technology, arts, science, and indigenous medicine. Additionally, there are over 400 fully-funded slots available for Sri Lankan government officials under the ITEC scheme. During recent state visits, agreements were made to train 1500 Sri Lankan civil servants in India over five years and to provide 700 customized capacity-building training slots annually for Sri Lankan professionals. These initiatives aim to enhance knowledge exchange and professional development for around 1000 Sri Lankan individuals each year.
