Sri Lanka Administrative Service Exam cheat sheet

Sri Lanka's executive presidency dates from the 1978 Constitution (Second Republican Constitution), replacing the Westminster-style 1972 and Soulbury-era arrangements.

The President is Head of State, Head of the Executive and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces; the Prime Minister heads the Cabinet of Ministers under Article 43.

Sri Lanka has 9 provinces and 25 districts; the provincial councils were created by the 13th Amendment (1987) following the Indo-Lanka Accord.

National symbols: 'Sri Lanka Matha' is the national anthem, the Ceylon blue sapphire is a gem icon, and the national flower is the blue water lily (Nil Manel).

Sri Lanka joined the United Nations in 1955, is a founding member of SAARC (1985), a member of the Commonwealth, BIMSTEC, and the Colombo Plan.

Key economic indicators to track: GDP growth, inflation (CCPI/NCPI), unemployment rate, foreign reserves, debt-to-GDP ratio, and the trade balance.

The Rupee is issued by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka; monetary policy is set by the Monetary Board, and the CBSL targets inflation under a flexible inflation-targeting framework.

Recent constitutional developments: the 19th Amendment (2015) curtailed presidential powers; the 20th Amendment (2020) restored them; the 21st Amendment (2022) re-introduced checks including the Constitutional Council.

Article 18 of the Constitution recognises Sinhala and Tamil as official languages; Article 19 protects the language rights of minorities; English is the link language under Article 18(3).

The Official Languages Commission (Article 21) oversees implementation of the official languages policy across all government institutions.

Sinhala is an Indo-Aryan language written in the Sinhala script; Tamil is a Dravidian language written in Tamil script; both are official languages of Sri Lanka.

In Sinhala, verb-final SOV order is standard; Tamil also follows SOV; English follows SVO - a common translation error is retaining source word order.

Formal register: Sinhala uses 'ඔබ' / 'ඔබතුමා' for formal address; Tamil uses 'நீங்கள்' / 'தாங்கள்'; English uses 'you' with title-based honorifics.

Government circulars must be issued in both Sinhala and Tamil; English translations are provided for administrative convenience and are not legally authoritative unless specified.

Technical terms should remain in English where no standardised Sinhala/Tamil equivalent exists; the Official Languages Department publishes glossaries.

Translation accuracy criteria: fidelity to meaning, grammatical correctness, register consistency, and cultural appropriateness; paraphrasing is not translation.

Administrative law controls the exercise of public power through judicial review of legality, rationality and procedural propriety (the Wednesbury principles).

Natural justice comprises audi alteram partem (hear the other side) and nemo judex in causa sua (no one should be judge in their own cause).

The doctrine of ultra vires: a public authority may only act within powers conferred by statute; actions beyond those powers are void.

Delegatus non potest delegare: a delegate cannot further delegate discretionary powers unless the statute expressly permits it.

The Ombudsman (Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration) investigates maladministration; the Auditor General audits public accounts under Article 153.

The Public Service Commission (Article 54) makes appointments, promotions and disciplinary decisions for the public service, subject to the Constitutional Council.

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal, the Court of Appeal (Article 140 writ jurisdiction) and the Supreme Court (Article 126 fundamental rights) are key review bodies.

Merit-based recruitment, tenure security and political neutrality are core Weberian principles reflected in the Establishments Code and the Public Service Commission.

The Constitution of 1978 established a unitary state with an executive President, a unicameral Parliament of 225 members, and an independent judiciary.

Article 1: Sri Lanka is a unitary state; Article 2: sovereignty is vested in the People and exercised through Parliament, the President and the judiciary.

Article 4: sovereignty includes legislative, executive and judicial power; Article 3 vests sovereignty in the People.

Article 12 guarantees equality before the law and non-discrimination; Article 13 protects freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention and punishment; Article 14 lists fundamental freedoms.

Article 126 allows any person to petition the Supreme Court for relief for infringement of fundamental rights; time limit is one month from the infringement.

Article 140: the Court of Appeal has writ jurisdiction (certiorari, mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto, habeas corpus).

Amendments: 13th (1987, provincial councils and Tamil as official language), 17th (2001, Constitutional Council), 18th (2010, removed term limits), 19th (2015), 20th (2020), 21st (2022).

The 13th Amendment devolved limited powers to Provincial Councils; land and police powers remain reserved to the Centre in practice.

Good governance principles: accountability, transparency, rule of law, responsiveness, effectiveness, efficiency, participation and equity.

The policy cycle: agenda setting → formulation → adoption → implementation → monitoring → evaluation → termination or revision.

Sri Lanka's development plans include the Mahinda Chintana (2006), the Vision 2025 framework, and the Sustainable Development Goals alignment (2030 Agenda).

The Cabinet of Ministers, the Cabinet Sub-Committees, and the Ministry of Finance coordinate policy; the Department of National Planning formulates the public investment programme.

Public participation mechanisms: public consultations, social audit, Citizen's Charter, Right to Information Act No. 12 of 2016.

The Right to Information Act empowers citizens to obtain information from public authorities within 14 days, with appeals to the RTI Commission.

E-government initiatives: Lanka Government Network (LGN), e-Population Register, and the Government Information Centre (1919).

Policy evaluation uses indicators such as outcome achievement, cost-effectiveness, equity impact and sustainability; logical framework analysis (LFA) is standard.

GDP = C + I + G + (X − M); real GDP adjusts for inflation using a base year; nominal GDP does not.

Inflation measured by CCPI (Colombo Consumer Price Index) and NCPI (National Consumer Price Index); core inflation excludes food and energy.

Fiscal deficit = Total government expenditure − Total government revenue; expressed as % of GDP for comparability.

Public debt sustainability indicators: debt-to-GDP ratio, debt service ratio, primary balance, and interest-to-revenue ratio.

The budget cycle: preparation (Ministry of Finance), approval (Parliament), execution (line ministries), audit (Auditor General), and oversight (COPA/COPE).

Monetary policy tools of the Central Bank: policy rates (standing deposit facility, standing lending facility), open market operations, reserve requirements, and moral suasion.

Taxes: direct (income tax, corporate tax) and indirect (VAT, NBT, excise, customs); the Inland Revenue Act No. 24 of 2017 governs income tax.

Balance of payments = current account + capital account + financial account; a deficit is financed by reserves or borrowing.

Rostow's stages of growth: traditional society → preconditions for take-off → take-off → drive to maturity → age of high mass consumption.

Human Development Index (HDI) = geometric mean of life expectancy, education (mean and expected years of schooling), and GNI per capita indices.

Sustainable Development Goals: 17 goals, 169 targets, adopted in 2015 with a 2030 deadline; SDG 1 is no poverty, SDG 16 is peace, justice and strong institutions.

Dependency theory (Prebisch, Frank) argues that peripheral economies are structurally disadvantaged by core-periphery trade relations.

Amartya Sen's capability approach defines development as expansion of freedoms and capabilities, not merely income growth.

The Gini coefficient measures income inequality (0 = perfect equality, 1 = perfect inequality); the Lorenz curve illustrates distribution.

Sri Lanka's demographic transition: low fertility, ageing population, high life expectancy (~76 years); the dependency ratio is rising.

Key sectors: agriculture (~7% of GDP), industry (~26%), services (~57%); the economy depends on textiles, tea, tourism and remittances.

Project life cycle: initiation → planning → execution → monitoring and control → closure.

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) decomposes deliverables into manageable work packages; it is deliverable-oriented, not activity-oriented.

Critical Path Method (CPM): the critical path is the longest path through the network; float = late start − early start.

PERT uses three estimates: optimistic (O), most likely (M), pessimistic (P); expected time = (O + 4M + P) / 6.

Earned Value Management: EV = % complete × BAC; CPI = EV / AC; SPI = EV / PV; CPI < 1 means over budget.

Logical Framework Approach (LFA): inputs → activities → outputs → outcomes → impact, with assumptions and indicators at each level.

Risk management process: identify → analyse (probability × impact) → plan response (avoid, mitigate, transfer, accept) → monitor.

Monitoring vs evaluation: monitoring is continuous tracking of progress; evaluation is periodic assessment of relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability.

Anuradhapura (4th century BCE–11th century CE) was the first ancient capital; Polonnaruwa succeeded it (11th–13th century CE).

King Devanampiya Tissa (3rd century BCE) received Buddhism from Mahinda Thera, establishing the Sinhalese Buddhist civilisation.

The Sigiriya rock fortress was built by King Kashyapa I (5th century CE); it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Kandyan Kingdom (1592–1815) fell to the British under the Kandyan Convention of 1815, ending Sinhalese independence.

Portuguese (1505–1658), Dutch (1658–1796) and British (1796–1948) colonial periods shaped Sri Lanka's legal and administrative systems.

Independence was gained on 4 February 1948; the country became a republic in 1972 and adopted the name 'Sri Lanka'.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites include Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya, Dambulla, Kandy, Galle Fort, Sinharaja Forest and Horton Plains.

Cultural heritage: the Kandyan dance tradition, the Esala Perahera, the Sinhala and Tamil New Year (Avurudu), and the Pali Canon preserved in the Tripitaka.

Percentage change = (New − Old) / Old × 100%; successive percentage changes multiply: (1 + a)(1 + b) − 1.

Simple interest = P × R × T / 100; compound interest = P[(1 + R/100)^T − 1].

Profit percentage = (SP − CP) / CP × 100; loss percentage = (CP − SP) / CP × 100.

Average speed = total distance / total time; for equal distances at speeds a and b, average speed = 2ab / (a + b).

Ratio and proportion: if a : b = c : d then ad = bc; work problems use the rate formula: work = rate × time.

Permutations: nPr = n! / (n − r)!; combinations: nCr = n! / [r!(n − r)!].

Syllogism rules: in a valid categorical syllogism, the middle term must be distributed at least once; two negative premises yield no conclusion.

Number series and coding-decoding questions rely on pattern recognition: arithmetic, geometric, alternating, or letter-position shifts.

The interview panel assesses administrative aptitude, communication, integrity, leadership, and knowledge of current affairs.

Structured interview scoring typically uses a rubric: content knowledge, clarity of expression, analytical reasoning, and ethical judgement.

Candidates should be prepared to discuss their own district, DS division, and current development challenges with specific data.

Ethical scenarios test the application of the Establishments Code, financial regulations, and the principle of public accountability.

The 'STAR' method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) structures behavioural answers with concrete evidence.

Knowledge of the Constitution, fundamental rights, and the role of the public service is a common interview theme.

Communication assessment includes active listening, concise expression, and the ability to handle challenging or hypothetical questions.

Awareness of current national issues - economy, reconciliation, climate change, digital governance - is expected at the officer level.