NU professor Jayanta Choudhury participates in rural development events in Sri Lanka

DIMAPUR — Prof. Jayanta Choudhury, head of the Department of Rural Development and Planning at Nagaland University, participated as an invited distinguished expert in two major rural development events hosted by Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka.

According to an update, the events were held in collaboration with the Rural Development Department of the Uva Provincial Council and supported by the Strengthening Governance Programme of The Asia Foundation with financial sponsorship from the Australian Government.

Prof. Choudhury served as a panel member (Vocational and Skill Development Education) at the Policy Clinic on Rural Development on November 26 and as the panel chair for the Community Mobilisation and Rural Transformation/Rural Development Track at the National Conference on Rural Development on November 27.

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These programmes, part of the National Summit on Rural Development 2025 (NSRD 2025) and the National Conference on Rural Development (NCRD 2025), brought together national policymakers, scholars, development practitioners, and provincial-level institutions to advance evidence-based rural development strategies in Sri Lanka.

During the engagements, Prof. Choudhury made scholarly and policy contributions, particularly in advising on the formulation of the Rural Development Policy for Uva Province, with a focus on community mobilisation, inclusive governance, and rural transformation.

He also contributed to strengthening the analytical and participatory components of the provincial policy planning process, bringing comparative insights from India’s rural development experience, community-based institutions, and rural governance frameworks, and providing expert guidance during panel discussions to shape knowledge-driven practices for rural development in Sri Lanka.