India Begins First Good Governance Training Programme for Seychelles Civil Servants at NCGG Mussoorie

India has launched the first Capacity Building Programme for civil servants of Seychelles at the National Centre for Good Governance in Mussoorie, marking a new step in administrative cooperation between the two countries. The two-week programme began on May 11, 2026, and will continue until May 22, 2026, in Mussoorie and New Delhi, in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs.

The inaugural batch includes 29 senior officials from Seychelles, including Directors General and officers from key sectors such as defence, information technology, finance, judiciary, education, public administration and the Office of the President. The delegation is led by Alex Henderson, Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Policy Affairs in the Cabinet Office, Office of the President of Seychelles.

The programme is the first major outcome of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in February 2026 between India’s National Centre for Good Governance and the Public Service Bureau of Seychelles. Under the three-year agreement, India will train 250 civil servants from Seychelles with a focus on institutional leadership, digital governance and administrative capacity building.

The inaugural session was chaired by Dr. Surendrakumar Bagde, Director General of NCGG. Welcoming the Seychellois delegation, he said the programme had been specially designed to match the professional profiles of the participating officers and the governance needs of Seychelles. He also highlighted the historical and cultural ties between India and Seychelles, adding that the training aims to equip officials with the knowledge and tools required to design and implement high-impact national programmes.

Alex Henderson thanked the Government of India for organising the training initiative and said the programme would not only strengthen administrative capacity but also deepen bilateral dialogue between India and Seychelles. He noted that such engagements can help both countries exchange governance experiences and build stronger institutional linkages.

The training curriculum covers a wide range of governance and public policy subjects. These include principles of good governance, policy framing and implementation, technological innovation in governance, court management and judicial reforms, e-Courts, digitisation of legal access, Government e-Marketplace, artificial intelligence-enabled governance, digital public infrastructure, PM Gati Shakti, ethics and integrity in administration, public-private partnerships in infrastructure, performance management, national security and India’s digital payments experience.

Dr. B.S. Bisht, Associate Professor at NCGG and Course Coordinator of the programme, briefed the participants on the Centre’s work and its achievements in training civil servants from partner countries. The second phase of the programme will include field visits to important institutions, giving the participants practical exposure to India’s governance systems and public administration models.

The National Centre for Good Governance has so far trained more than 5,500 civil servants from 52 countries, including Madagascar, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Kenya, Tanzania, Tunisia, Seychelles, Gambia, Maldives, Afghanistan, Laos, Vietnam, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Cambodia and several other African and Latin American nations.

The Seychelles programme underlines India’s growing role as a governance and capacity-building partner for countries in the Indian Ocean region. Beyond training, the initiative also strengthens India-Seychelles relations in areas such as digital transformation, institutional reform, administrative efficiency and development partnership.

Source: PIB