Sri Lanka Administrative Service Exam flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Executive Presidency

A system where the President is both Head of State and Head of Government, exercising executive power directly, as established by Sri Lanka's 1978 Constitution.

13th Amendment

The 1987 constitutional amendment that created Provincial Councils, made Tamil an official language, and devolved limited powers following the Indo-Lanka Accord.

21st Amendment

The 2022 amendment that restored the Constitutional Council, strengthened parliamentary oversight of appointments, and curtailed some presidential powers.

Audi alteram partem

A principle of natural justice meaning 'hear the other side'; no person should be condemned without being given a fair opportunity to be heard.

Ultra vires

Latin for 'beyond the powers'; an administrative act is void if it exceeds the authority conferred by statute on the public body.

Writ of certiorari

A Court of Appeal order quashing a decision of an inferior tribunal or public authority for error of law or excess of jurisdiction, under Article 140.

Article 126

The constitutional provision allowing any person to petition the Supreme Court directly for relief where a fundamental right has been infringed, within one month.

Official Languages Policy

The policy under Articles 18 and 19 making Sinhala and Tamil official languages and English the link language across government institutions.

Link language

English, designated under Article 18(3) of the Constitution, used for communication between Sinhala and Tamil speakers in official administration.

SOV word order

The subject-object-verb sentence structure typical of Sinhala and Tamil, contrasting with English SVO order and a frequent translation pitfall.

Right to Information Act

The 2016 law empowering citizens to request information from public authorities, with a 14-day response deadline and appeal to the RTI Commission.

Policy cycle

The sequence of agenda setting, formulation, adoption, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and revision that structures public policy making.

Good governance

A governance framework emphasising accountability, transparency, rule of law, responsiveness, effectiveness, participation and equity in public institutions.

Gini coefficient

A measure of income inequality ranging from 0 (perfect equality) to 1 (perfect inequality), derived from the Lorenz curve.

Human Development Index

A composite index combining life expectancy, education (mean and expected years of schooling) and GNI per capita, expressed as a geometric mean.

Fiscal deficit

The gap between total government expenditure and total government revenue in a given year, usually expressed as a percentage of GDP.

Primary balance

Government revenue minus expenditure excluding interest payments; a key indicator of whether current revenue covers non-interest spending.

Monetary Board

The governing body of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka responsible for monetary policy, currency issue and banking supervision.

PERT expected time

A weighted estimate calculated as (Optimistic + 4 × Most Likely + Pessimistic) / 6, used in project scheduling under uncertainty.

Critical path

The longest sequence of dependent activities in a project network, determining the minimum project duration and having zero float.

Earned Value Management

A project control technique comparing planned value, earned value and actual cost to compute cost performance (CPI) and schedule performance (SPI) indices.

Logical Framework Approach

A planning tool linking inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes and impact with indicators and assumptions at each level of a project.

Work Breakdown Structure

A deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of project scope into manageable work packages for planning and control.

Anuradhapura kingdom

Sri Lanka's first ancient capital, flourishing from the 4th century BCE to the 11th century CE and a centre of Buddhist civilisation and irrigation engineering.

Kandyan Convention 1815

The treaty by which the Kandyan Kingdom ceded sovereignty to the British, ending the last independent Sinhalese kingdom in Sri Lanka.

Sigiriya

A 5th-century CE rock fortress built by King Kashyapa I, renowned for its frescoes, mirror wall and water gardens, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Compound interest formula

The amount A = P(1 + R/100)^T, where P is principal, R the annual rate and T the time in years; interest is A − P.

Average speed formula

Total distance divided by total time; for equal distances at speeds a and b, average speed equals 2ab/(a + b).

nCr formula

The number of combinations of n items taken r at a time, calculated as n! divided by r!(n − r)!, where order does not matter.

STAR method

A structured interview technique answering behavioural questions by describing the Situation, Task, Action taken, and Result achieved.

Public Service Commission

The constitutional body under Article 54 that appoints, promotes and disciplines public officers, subject to Constitutional Council oversight.

Delegatus non potest delegare

A maxim meaning a delegate cannot further delegate discretionary authority unless the enabling statute expressly authorises such sub-delegation.