News
Mahatma Gandhi Scholarships awarded to 300 students across Lanka
The prestigious Mahatma Gandhi Scholarships were awarded to 300 Advanced Level school students from all 25 districts across Sri Lanka by High Commissioner Gopal Baglay, Minister of Education Susil Premajayantha and State Minister of Education A. Aravindh Kumar at a special ceremony held in Ministry of Education recently, said a press release from the Indian High Commission in Colombo.
An amount of LKR 2500 per student is being provided to Advanced Level students on merit cum means basis to the top six students from each district every month under this Scholarship. This year, scholarships were awarded to two batches simultaneously due to COVID during the year 2021 – 2022.
Congratulating students for their achievement, High Commissioner stressed the importance of bilateral cooperation in education sector for bright future of youth in both the countries. Drawing parallels between The Buddha and Mahatma, he stated that the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi hold good even in the fast-changing world. Underlining the close cultural links between India and Sri Lanka, he called on the young students to utilize the opportunities available in India, where rapid advances are taking place in the field of education. He expressed confidence that the young students of Sri Lanka would be a great source of strength for both India and Sri Lanka in future.
Minister Premajayantha thanked Government of India for providing not only Mahatma Gandhi Scholarships, but also various other Scholarships and opportunities in prestigious institutions including IITs. He said that these initiatives proved to be instrumental to the growth of Sri Lanka’s Human Resource. Minister also paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi for his ideas and thoughts about education. Further, he expressed gratitude to Government of India for extending support for text book printing in Sri Lanka for school children.
Apart from Mahatma Gandhi scholarships, Government of India offers around 210 scholarships annually in various fields including Engineering, Technology, Arts, Science, Indigenous medicine etc. to Sri Lankan students. More than 400 fully paid Scholarship slots are also available under ITEC scheme for Government officials in Sri Lanka to enhance their domain knowledge. In addition, thousands of seats are also available to Sri Lankan students in India under “Study in India” programme.
A discussion with the Catholic Council was held on Thursday (21) afternoon at the Presidential Secretariat under the co-chairmanship of Minister of Science and Technology, Chrishantha Abeysena and Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake.
Discussions focused on administrative issues relating to Catholic schools taken over by the Government, the formulation of a structured teacher cadre system for Catholic religious education, the need to recruit Catholic nuns and priests into the teaching profession and the establishment of a mechanism to obtain the support of the Ministry of Education for the administration of Government-acquired Catholic schools.
It was also decided that discussions with the Catholic Council would be held three times annually, while Senior Additional Secretary to the President Roshan Gamage would serve as Secretary to the forum.
Expressing appreciation on behalf of the Catholic Council, His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith thanked President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and the Government for facilitating the discussion.
His Eminence further stated that the expectation was to ensure every student, without discrimination, is given the opportunity to learn his or her own religion and stressed the importance of resolving the prevailing issues within the education sector.
Also present at the occasion were Most Rev. Bishop Harold Anthony Perera, Most Rev. Bishop Christy Noel Emmanuel, Most Rev. Bishop Anton Ranjith, Most Rev. Bishop Wimal Siri Jayasuriya, other clergy representing the Catholic Council, Secretary to the Ministry of Education, Nalaka Kaluwewa and senior officials of the Ministry of Education.
(PMD)
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has decided to broaden the Women’s Emerging Nations Trophy, which was launched last year. Unlike the inaugural edition held in November 2025 that featured eight Associate teams, the second edition will comprise 10 teams, including five Test-playing nations. The tournament is scheduled to be held in November this year.
Italian Navy’s ITS GIOVANNI DELLE BANDE NERE, which arrived in Colombo (21 May 2026) on a replenishment visit, departed the island today (22 May).
The Sri Lanka Navy bade a customary farewell to the departing ship in compliance with naval traditions at the port of Colombo.
During her brief stay in Colombo, the Commanding Officer of the ship, Commander Antonio BUFIS called on the Commander Western Naval Area at the Western Naval Command Headquarters.
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Landslide early warnings issued to the Districts of Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Kegalle, Nuwara Eliya and Ratnapura
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