12 May 2026·PIB

First Capacity Building Programme for the Civil Servants of Seychelles commences at National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG), Mussoorie

In this note

1. At a Glance

National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) launched the first-ever Capacity Building Programme exclusively for Seychelles civil servants on 11 May 2026 at Mussoorie. [1][2]
Two-week (11–22 May 2026), 29-member cohort; jointly executed with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) under India's south-south governance diplomacy. [1]
Reinforces India's SAGAR / MAHASAGAR vision for the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), with Seychelles a key maritime neighbour. [2]

NCGG commenced the inaugural Seychelles programme on 11 May 2026, expanding the country count of foreign civil servants trained at Mussoorie. [1]
Adds Seychelles as a standalone bilateral training partner after earlier inclusion only in multi-country Indian Ocean Region cohorts. [2]

NCGG established in 2014 under the Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DARPG), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions; mandate: training, policy reform, think-tank, and capacity building for Indian and foreign civil servants. [2]
Foreign training wing run in partnership with MEA; has trained >5500 civil servants from ~52 countries (Bangladesh, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Myanmar, Tanzania, Kenya, Gambia, Seychelles, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Vietnam, etc.). [2]
Seychelles officials previously participated in the 1st multi-country IOR/SE-Asia programme (18–29 Nov 2024) alongside 9 nations; the May 2026 programme is the first Seychelles-only cohort. [2]

Programme: 1st Capacity Building Programme for Civil Servants of Seychelles. [1]
Duration: 11–22 May 2026 (2 weeks), Mussoorie & New Delhi. [1]
Participants: 29 senior civil servants. [1]
Delegation Leader: Mr. Alex Henderson, Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Policy Affairs, Cabinet Office, Office of the President (Seychelles). [1]
Seychelles ministries represented: Homeland Security & Civil Affairs; Office of the President (State House); Department of Defence; Ministry of Education & Human Resource Development; Judiciary. [1]
Indian implementing body: NCGG (under DARPG, M/o Personnel). [1][2]
Partner: Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). [1]
Typical curriculum: public administration, TQM, gender & development, decentralisation, public policy, leadership, healthcare, water & sanitation, e-governance, Digital India. [2]

Geopolitical / Strategic
Seychelles is a pivotal Indian Ocean Region (IOR) partner; training feeds India's SAGAR doctrine and the expanded MAHASAGAR vision. [2]
Soft-power lever to counter extra-regional influence in the western IOR; complements assets like Assumption Island engagement and maritime security cooperation. [1]
Administrative / Governance
Exports India's e-governance, Digital India, Aadhaar-stack and DARPG-style citizen-grievance models to a small island state. [2]
Cross-ministerial cohort (defence, judiciary, education, homeland security) signals whole-of-government replication. [1]
Economic / Developmental
Part of India's development partnership toolkit (ITEC-adjacent); enhances Seychelles' absorptive capacity for Indian Lines of Credit and grant assistance. [2]
Ethical / Diplomatic
Demand-driven, non-conditional model contrasts with conditional Western training programmes; aligns with "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" narrative. [2]

Nov 2024: NCGG ran 1st multi-country programme for SE-Asia & IOR — Seychelles among 9 nations. [2]
2024–25: 33rd Maldives, 9th Sri Lanka cohorts hosted at NCGG. [2]
11 May 2026: Seychelles standalone programme commences. [1]

NCGG established in 2014. [2]
NCGG operates under DARPG, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions (NOT MEA, NOT MHA). [2]
NCGG located at Mussoorie, Uttarakhand (co-located with LBSNAA). [1]
First Seychelles-only programme commenced 11 May 2026. [1]
Cohort size: 29 civil servants. [1]
Delegation led by Alex Henderson, Deputy Cabinet Secretary, Office of the President of Seychelles. [1]
Programme duration: 2 weeks (11–22 May 2026), Mussoorie + New Delhi. [1]
Conducted in partnership with MEA. [1]
NCGG has trained civil servants from ~52 countries / >5,500 officers cumulatively. [2]
Other countries trained include Bangladesh, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Myanmar, Tanzania, Kenya, Gambia, Vietnam, Bhutan. [2]
Seychelles capital: Victoria; member of African Union, Commonwealth, IORA.
NCGG curriculum highlights Digital India, e-governance, decentralisation. [2]

GS-II: India and its neighbourhood; bilateral, regional and global groupings affecting India's interests; Indian diaspora; effects of policies and politics of developed/developing countries on India's interests.
GS-II (Governance): Important aspects of governance, e-governance applications.
Possible question stems: 1. "Capacity-building of foreign civil servants has become a key instrument of India's development diplomacy in the Indian Ocean Region. Discuss with reference to NCGG." 2. "Evaluate India's SAGAR vision in the context of governance-export initiatives to small island developing states like Seychelles." 3. "Examine the role of DARPG and NCGG in projecting India's governance model abroad."

SAGAR & MAHASAGAR doctrines — India's IOR security/connectivity framework.
ITEC Programme (MEA) — flagship Indian technical cooperation since 1964.
LBSNAA, Mussoorie — co-located with NCGG; civil services training.
DARPG initiatives — CPGRAMS, Good Governance Index.
IORA & Colombo Security Conclave — Seychelles is member.
India–Seychelles bilateral — Assumption Island, coastal radar, hydrography MoU.
FIPIC — analogous capacity-building for Pacific Island countries.
Digital India / India Stack — export of DPI to global south.

NCGG is under DARPG (Min. of Personnel), NOT under MEA — MEA is only a partner. [2]
NCGG ≠ LBSNAA; both are in Mussoorie but separate institutions. [1]
Year of NCGG founding is 2014, not 2009 (when it absorbed the earlier National Institute of Administrative Research wing). [2]
Seychelles is in Africa/IOR, capital Victoria — not to be confused with Mauritius.
This is the 1st Seychelles-only programme; Seychelles officials had already attended multi-country NCGG cohorts (Nov 2024). [2]