Rajasthan Chief Secretary V. Srinivas is set to represent the state at a major international governance platform next week, with a scheduled presidential address at the 51st annual conference of the European Group for Public Administration in Rome on August 25, 2026. The event is being held at the Sapienza University of Rome, and the state says Srinivas will present India's perspective on public administration and governance there.
The significance lies in institutional visibility rather than foreign travel. Rajasthan's top administrative office is being represented at a global forum where public-governance ideas, policy practice and administrative innovation are being discussed across countries.
Quick Highlights
- V. Srinivas is scheduled to deliver the presidential address on August 25, 2026.
- The EGPA 2026 conference is being held in Rome from August 24 to August 27, 2026.
- The venue is Sapienza University of Rome.
- The release says more than 600 participants are expected and around 900 research papers have been received from over 70 countries.
- The conference theme is "Public Governance for the Common Good: Human Intelligence Serving the Global Community."
- Srinivas is also scheduled to join the EGPA steering committee, permanent study groups, the Transatlantic Dialogue and the Mediterranean Dialogue during the Rome visit.
Why the Rome conference matters
The annual EGPA conference is described in the release as one of the major international gatherings in the field of public administration. That matters because these forums are not just ceremonial speaking venues. They bring together academics, policy practitioners and researchers to compare how governments are handling service delivery, governance design and public-sector reform.
This year's numbers underline the scale of the event. Officials said the 2026 conference is expecting 600-plus participants, while about 900 papers have been submitted from more than 70 countries. The programme also includes panels, workshops and permanent study group sessions, meaning the Rome visit is positioned as a working engagement rather than a single speech stop.
| Date | Scheduled event |
|---|---|
| August 24-27, 2026 | EGPA 2026 annual conference at Sapienza University of Rome |
| August 25, 2026 | Presidential address by V. Srinivas |
| August 24-28, 2026 | Meetings and sessions involving the EGPA steering committee, permanent study groups, Transatlantic Dialogue and Mediterranean Dialogue |
| August 29, 2026 | Scheduled courtesy call in Vatican City with members of the IIAS Council of Administration |
What makes this visit notable for Rajasthan
The release links the Rome programme to Srinivas' dual role as Rajasthan Chief Secretary and President of the International Institute of Administrative Sciences. It also says he became the first Indian elected to lead IIAS in June 2025, which gives the Rome appearance a wider institutional context beyond the state government alone.
It is also being presented as the second consecutive EGPA annual conference at which he will deliver a presidential address. The release points back to August 2025, when he addressed the group's 50th anniversary conference in Glasgow. That continuity matters because it suggests Rajasthan's top administrative office is not appearing at the forum as a one-off guest slot, but through an ongoing leadership role inside a larger international network.
The theme and the policy message
The stated theme for the 2026 edition is "Public Governance for the Common Good: Human Intelligence Serving the Global Community." That framing fits closely with wider debates around service delivery, public systems, institutional reform and coordination across governments.
While the release does not outline the full text of Srinivas' address, it does make clear that the Rome discussions will cover public administration, governance and public policy alongside innovation and international cooperation. In practical terms, that means the visit is being positioned as both a representational assignment and a policy-learning opportunity.
What happens next
The immediate timeline is clear. The conference begins on Sunday, August 24, 2026, and Srinivas' presidential address is scheduled for Tuesday, August 25, 2026. Additional committee and dialogue sessions continue through August 28, followed by a scheduled Vatican City courtesy call on August 29.
The more useful question is what follows after the international appearance. If the visit helps strengthen Rajasthan's profile in global public-governance conversations and feeds practical administrative learning back into state systems, the impact will matter more than the travel itinerary itself. For now, the release marks the Rome address as a notable upcoming moment for the Chief Secretary's office and for Rajasthan's representation on an international governance stage.
