High commission of India brings together alumni for ITEC Day |28 December 2021

The high commission of India yesterday organised a civilian Alumni meet at the Savoy Hotel to mark the India Technical Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Day.

The meet was attended by high commissioner of India to Seychelles, General (Retired) Dalbir Singh Suhag, who during his opening address spoke of the successes of the ITEC programme, from which at least 1100 Seychellois have benefited over recent years, a great proportion of which serve on the defence forces.

HC Suhag remarked that the flagship programme was launched on September 15, 1964 with the aim of building capacity in partner countries and developing human resource by skilling the labour force.

Since its establishment, over 200,000 individuals from 160 partner countries have benefitted from training courses, and over 14,000 scholarships are awarded to recipients in over 160 countries annually under the ITEC programme, in a variety of fields, including finance, economy, Information Technology (IT), engineering, policy-making, culture and sports, among others. The course is fully-funded by the government of India, covering return air fares, accommodation and daily allowances.

In previous years, the programme was held physically, but with Covid-19 restrictions, the programme was being held virtually.

However, over the past couple of months, defence forces officials have departed Seychelles to follow ITEC-based programmes in India.

Auditor General Gamini Herath also pronounced a few words, whereby he shared his experiences within the office with the programme, dating as far back as 1991, with the deputation of an auditing manager under ITEC. Up until 2016, the AG’s office has had around six deputations, under ITEC. The Auditor General, Mr Herath, was also lucky enough to be awarded a six-week scholarship in public auditing under ITEC, an experience which he deemed as thoroughly enriching.

Alumni Peter Roselie, who followed a programme as an individual from the private sector in India in 2011, shared his experiences with the other alumni and government officials present, as did certified yoga teacher Josette Louise.

Before concluding, HC Suhag presented a token of appreciation to all the speakers.

Laura Pillay