His Excellency High Commissioner of India, Shri Alok Prasad inaugurated the first of the 20 Nanasala that the Government of India is financing at a cost of SL Rs. 13 million. H.E. Mr. Chamal Rajapaksa, Minister of Irrigation, Water Management, Ports and Aviation was the Chief Guest and Mr. Lalit Weeratunga, Secretary to the President also participated in the inauguration. The 20 Nanasalas have been carefully selected so that most of the districts in the Island benefit from project.

The financial assistance provided by India in establishing these Nanasalas underscores the commitment of Government of India to be a partner in the development process in Sri Lanka. This is part of our help in assisting the Human Resource Development in Sri Lanka. Government of India has instituted various scholarship and training programmes to strengthen the Human Resource pool in Sri Lanka. Following are some of the assistance programmes Government is providing to Sri Lanka: Mahatma Gandhi Scholarship Scheme was launched last year and 100 Sri Lankan students who are studying 'A' level were awarded these scholarships. Another group of 100 students who joined 'A' level in 2007 are being selected for the scholarship. In association with the Ministry of Education, Government of Sri Lanka, the students were selected from all the 25 districts of Sri Lanka on means-cum-merit basis. The selected scholars will receive financial assistance of Rs. 1500/- per month for a period of two years to enable them to pursue their 'A' level courses.

The High Commission of India also awards 75 Indian Council for Cultural Relations Scholarships to Sri Lankan nationals for pursuing under-graduate and post-graduate courses in various reputed institutes and universities in India. Indian Cultural Centre, Colombo awards 12 scholarships to Sri Lankan students to follow under graduate courses in music, dance and fine arts. In addition to this, through schemes of technical cooperation under ITEC, BIMSTEC and Colombo Plan the Government of India provides 150 scholarships each year for pursuing professional short & medium courses in India. To assist in capacity building in agriculture, there are training programmes, scholarships, research projects and exchange of visits of farmers. 16 MSc and 21 PhD Scholarship at Indian Agricultural Research Institutions have been made available to Sri Lankan students.