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Minister of Finance Basil Rajapaksa, delivered his inaugural budget speech today (12). This is the 76th budget of an independent Sri Lanka and it is also the second budget of the incumbent Government.

Key takeaways from the Minister’s speech are detailed below:

Annual Warrant for State expenditure to be made a Quarterly Warrant in the future
Telephone expenditure in State institutions to be slashed by 25%
Construction of new office buildings for State institutions to be suspended for two years
Eligibility for MPs’ pensions to be extended to 10 years from the current 5 years
Radio/TV Broadcasting & Telecasting licences to be issued on an auction basis
Petrol allowance of Ministers & State officials will be reduced by 5 litres per month for an individual
The Special Commodity Levy to come into effect from 01 January 2022
Age limit for Govt. sector employees’ pension extended to 65 years
Rs. 15 million to be allocated for the development of their areas to each MP
Rs.600 Mn to 3-wheelers sector, Rs. 1,500 Mn for Private bus industry, Rs. 400 Mn for school vans & buses and Rs. 500 Mn to Event Management sector to be allocated to compensate for loss during pandemic
Rs.15,000 Mn allocated to provide relief packages to low income earning families
A one-time tax surcharge of 25% to be imposed on individuals or companies earning an annual taxable income of Rs. 2,000 Mn in financial year 2020/21
Rs.5 to be increased on the current retail price of each cigarette
Value added tax on financial services provided by commercial banks & financial institutions to be increased from 15% to 18%
All vehicles held up at SL Customs due to non-payment of taxes or other reasons to be released after charging such relevant taxes and fines
A levy to be imposed on motor vehicles meeting with accidents & such levy to be reimbursed through insurance.
Rs. 1,000 Mn allotted for senior citizens and people with special needs
Proposal to establish telecommunication network covering entire country
Govt. to extend retirement age of public servants to 65 years
Proposal to transfer Rs. 8.5 Bn that Perpetual Treasuries Limited earned in violation of the Code of Conduct at the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, to the Treasury.
Another Rs. 4 Bn allocated for every electorate in the country
MSME sector allocated Rs. 5 billion in relief
Additional Rs. 5000 Bn allocated to promote Organic Agriculture
Additional Rs. 15,000 Bn allocated to ensure access to clean drinking water
Rs. 500 Mn allocated to develop the renewable energy sector
Rs. 2000 Mn allocated for urban housing projects, Rs. 5000 Mn allocated for rural housing
Rs. 500 Mn allocated for the development of houses for people living in estate Line-Houses
Rs. 85,000 Mn will be allocated for rural community development
Rs. 3 Mn for every Grama Niladhari Division. A total of Rs. 42,053 Mn will be allocated for this purpose.
Read the Minister’s full speech by clicking the link courtesy Ada Derana – Finance Minister’s Full Budget Speech – 2022 by Ada Derana on Scribd.

The India- Sri Lanka Parliamentary Friendship Association for the 9th Parliament of Sri Lanka was established on Thursday at the Parliament complex under the patronage of the Speaker of Parliament, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana.

The High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, Gopal Baglay was the Guest of Honor.

The meeting was attended by more than 100 Members of Parliament and included several Ministers, State Ministers and MPs. Speakers at the meeting highlighted that this was the largest number of attendees they had seen for the establishment of a Parliamentary Friendship Association. This was highlighted as a testimony to the strength of India- Sri Lanka bilateral relationship.

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Chamal Rajapaksa, Minister of Irrigation and State Minister of National Security & Disaster Management and State Minister of Home Affairs was elected as the President of the Association. MPs Rauff Hakeem, M.A Sumanthiran and Dr. V. Radhakrishnan were elected as Vice- Presidents. Further, Anura Priyadharshana Yapa, MP and Jeevan Thondaman, State Minister for Estate Housing and Community Infrastructure were elected as the Secretary and Asst. Secretary respectively. Jagath Kumara Sumithraarachchi, MP, was elected as the Treasurer.

Speaking at the event, Foreign Minister Prof. G.L.Peiris highlighted the close civilizational ties between India and Sri Lanka. He also highlighted that the greatest gift of India to Sri Lanka was Buddhism and stressed the importance of people to people connect between the two countries.

In his remarks, High Commissioner Baglay congratulated the President and office bearers on their membership of the Association. He also expressed confidence that the establishment of the Association would reinvigorate Parliamentary exchanges and interactions between the two democracies. He added that this would further aid in strengthening the multi-faceted bilateral relationship between the two nations, especially in six areas including fostering sharing of democratic values, cooperation in combating common challenges, enhancing people-to-people connectivity, encouraging greater economic engagement, strengthening the cultural connect and sharing the fruits of development partnership.

The High Commissioner also read out excerpts from a message from Om Birla, Speaker of the Lok Sabha addressed to the Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka extending his heartiest congratulations on the occasion.

State Minister Vidura Wickremanayake during a study of ancient architecture in the Jaffna Peninsula has instructed the Department of Archeology to preserve the historic Manthiri Manai palace in Jaffna.

During a recent visit to Jaffna, the State Minister State has further instructed the relevant officials to look into any ownership issues and take necessary action.

Manthiri Manai palace, known in Sinhala as ‘Rajamanthri Maligaya’ is located in the Nallur Divisional Secretariat, Jaffna. This is one of the oldest buildings in the Jaffna district.

Considering these names, there are various theories as to whether this was the abode of a queen or queens or a palace of the Sankilian kings.

Today, the old architecture is somewhat preserved, and the main entrance is elegant and majestic.

The entrance has an ornamental gateway, a large arched porch and a tower. It is a two-storey structure with wooden carvings decorating the interior walls. At the entrance to the hall there is a beautiful wood carving and a lush lotus carving and a large classroom with entrance doors to the hall. The room to the left of the main entrance is slightly higher than the other rooms. The wooden beams used for this purpose can still be seen.

It has a well and a wash basin, a cellar, and a staircase leading down to underground rooms and secret tunnels. The kitchen and well were built to the right of the main entrance, and it appears that there were other rooms and parts connected to the outside of the building as well as to the outside through tunnels.

The entire building is constructed of Miocene limestone. The walls are plastered with lime mortar and there are various theories as to whether the main entrance and the interior tower decoration had a South Indian influence.

Many government officials were also present on the occasion.

The United National Party (UNP) took to the streets in Colombo on Friday to protest against the government’s mismanagement of the economy urging the government to reduce the rising cost of living and commodity prices.

Protesters marched to the Lipton Roundabout chanting slogans, displaying gas tanks as well as coconut and rice bags.

The march was followed by a protest rally with the participation of UNP leaders.

The Deputy Leader of the party Ruwan Wijewardene, General Secretary Palitha Range Bandara, Colombo Mayor Rosy Senanayake, former Minister Navin Dissanayake, Senior Vice President Sagala Ratnayake, President of the Government Nurses Association Saman Ratnapriya and other party members were also present.

Addressing the protest rally, the UNP leaders said that the budget had dealt another blow to the starving people.

Deputy Leader Ruwan Wijewardene said while the Minister of Finance presents the budget to Parliament, the people of the country are facing a huge food crisis.

“Due to the fertilizer crisis the farming community has fallen from pan to the fire. The economic problems faced by the people are infinite. Today we have joined the people in street battles against the most failed government in the history of Sri Lanka.”

The Deputy Leader said the UNP has never forgotten the people. “We stand for the issues of the people then, today and tomorrow.”

“In 2001 and 2015, the UNP inherited a collapsed economy. We are ready to solve the problems of today as we solved all of them then. They must now realize that this government has failed. I declare to you that today a revolution of a change has begun,” Wijewardene said.

Sri Lanka Friday reported 23 deaths due to COVID-19 after the figures were confirmed by the Director General of Health Services on Thursday, November 11.

Among the deaths reported today, 11 are of males and 12 of females. The majority of deaths – 21 – are of elderly people in the 60 years and above age group. A female below 30 years of age also succumbed to the disease.

According to the data reported by the Government Information Department, the total deaths due to Covid-19 since the pandemic began last year has now risen to 13,950.

Human rights groups in Sri Lanka are accusing the country’s Police of continuous and unrelenting acts of harassment against activists and politicians from minority communities. The most recent incident they say is the summoning of a Tamil politician in the Eastern province by the special police crime unit without the provision of a valid reason.

Sources said that the TELO Deputy Leader and former Provincial Councilor Indrakumar Presena was summoned to be present at the special police crime unit located at the Batticaloa SP Office at 10.00 am on November 11.

Presena is the third Batticaloa based provincial politician to be summoned by the Police within a week. He is also the Deputy Leader of Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO).

Earlier, Batticaloa Municipal Councilors Thuraisingam Mathan and Thyalakumar Gowri had been summoned by the Batticaloa HQ Police for questioning over their participation in a memorial held for war victims.

According to Prenena, two Police officers had visited his home on Vanniyar Street and handed over the summons.

The summons was not an official document, he said, adding that it didn’t have an official seal. The handwritten summons merely had the details of a Police officer’s official ID number, he noted.

Sources said that number of North and East based politicians, journalists and activists in recent times have been summoned for questioning by the Counter Terrorism Investigation Division (CITD), without providing proper details of the investigation taking place.