Colombo (LNW): India celebrates its 77th Independence Day today (15), and Sri Lanka joined hands with its neighbour country to share the joy of celebration, further strengthening the bilateral relations between the two nations.

The two nations will promote connectivity i.e. maritime connectivity, air connectivity, energy and power connectivity, trade, economic and financial connectivity, and people-to-people connectivity, and catalyse prosperity via India – Sri Lanka economic partnership vision, a statement by the High Commission of India said.

Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay’s Message:

Ayubowan, Vanakkam, Namaskar!

Warm greetings to all Indians in Sri Lanka and to my Sri Lankan brothers and sisters on the occasion of India’s 77th Independence Day.

As Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav culminates this year, India stands poised to bring in the Amrit Kaal – the next 25 years of a transformative growth story with a technology-driven and knowledge-based economy that will deliver prosperity for all.

Our policies of Neighbourhood First and SAGAR (Security And Growth for All in the Region) reect India’s commitment to prosperity for all – as we continue to stand with the people of Sri Lanka through their hour of need.

Now as Sri Lanka is poised to turn the corner, India-Sri Lanka friendship also heads towards new milestones. We complete 75 years of diplomatic relations this year, and are planning ahead for the next 25 years for forging a closer economic partnership.

Vision Statement ‘Promoting Connectivity, Catalysing Prosperity’ of our leaders is a long-term roadmap centred on enhancing connectivity in all its dimensions.

Various announcements and outcomes during the visit of President H.E Ranil Wickremesinghe to India in July 2023-related to energy, dairying, increased air and maritime connectivity, UPI linkage, and several others which bring the people of the two countries closer have lent signicant momentum to this vision.

Friends, the future will be technology-centric. As Sri Lanka embarks on its journey of DigiEcon 2030, we are working closely to share India’s experiences of inclusive growth steered by our Digital Public Infrastructure.

This year is also special as it marks 200 years of the arrival of Indian Origin Tamils in Sri Lanka. Government of India has announced a SLR 3 billion comprehensive grant package for overall welfare of the community. A similar package has been extended to the people of Eastern Province as well.

Building further on the foundations of civilisational connect, shared heritage and abiding bonds between our peoples, we enter the next phase of India-Sri Lanka ties with a joint vision for prosperity and progress of the people. I am condent that in the coming Amrit Kaal, India-Sri Lanka partnership is all set to grow in depth and breadth in equal measure!

Colombo (LNW): A gazette notification has been issued easing the import restrictions imposed on certain vehicles utilised for public transportation.

Accordingly, import restrictions imposed on buses, lorries, tankers and trucks will be relaxed by the gazette declared by the Ministry of Finance.

Meanwhile, a proposal submitted by President Ranil Wickremesinghe in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilisation and National Policies pertaining to the easing of import restrictions on several other items has also been approved by the Cabinet.

The above gazette has been issued in the backdrop where a number of economic analysts warned that relaxation of import restrictions will impact negatively on the exchange rates.

ANI: Wishing India on its 77th Independence Day, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Ali Sabry on Tuesday said, he is confident that bilateral ties will be “further strengthened” between the two nations.

“Warm Greetings, Foreign Minister @DrSJaishankar and the Government &
people of #India on the occasion of your Independence Day. I am confident that in the years ahead our bilateral ties will be further strengthened between our two nations India and Sri Lanka,” Sabry wrote on Twitter.

Nepal’s Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud also extended the wishes on the occasion.

“As India celebrates its 77th Independence Day, I would like to convey warm greetings and felicitations to H.E. @DrSJaishankar, External Affairs Minister of India. Wish Happy Independence Day to the people and Government of India!” he said.

The United States Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, attended the Independence Day celebration at the Red Fort here today and extended his greetings.

He also said that it is an “honour” to be present at the “iconic Red Fort.”
Earlier, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also extended his
wishes on India’s 77th Independence Day.

“On behalf of the United States of America, we send our warmest wishes to
the people of India as they commemorate 76 years of independence this August 15. On this momentous day, we reflect on the depth and breadth of our strategic partnership, and we celebrate the proud history of the Indian people, who are the key to the bright future we are building together,” Antony Blinken said in a
statement.

Blinken noted that the relationship between India and US has grown “deeper” and it has become “more expansive than ever.”

Calling India a “fastest-growing major economy,” Singapore High Commissioner Simon Wong also wished the countrymen on the 77th Independence Day.

“Happy 77th #IndependenceDay to our dearest friends! Frm ’s largest
democracy, to fastest growing major econ, tech epicentre & more – has
much to celebrate & aspire towards. is proud to be steadfast partner & look
fwd to scaling greater heights tgt!,” Wong said on Twitter.

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hoisted the tricolour at Red Fort in
the national capital and addressed the nation. He highlighted the
country’s development and said that decisions and the work done by the
country today will impact its future for the coming 1000 years.

Source: ANI

New Delhi (MINT): An India-Sri Lanka power line project that hopes to link power grids between the two countries is in advanced stages of negotiation. A detailed project report (DPR) has been completed and is being reviewed prior to formal approval. The proposed power line received a boost from president Ranil Wickremesinghe’s visit to India in July.

“We have decided that the work of connecting the electricity grids between the two countries will be expedited,” said Prime Minister Modi in a statement during Wicrekemsinghe’s visit.

Mint had reported in January this year that the public sector Power Grid Corporation of India had prepared a preliminary report for the project. Mint reported that the interconnection would take place through overhead power lines and not subsea cables.

Talks on establishing power grid connectivity have been on for over a decade now. In 2010, the two countries agreed to explore the feasibility of linking their grids through an undersea cable. The proposal was dropped due to cost concerns.

Power grid connectivity will serve several purposes. First, it will help crisis-hit Sri Lanka improve its energy security after the country saw widespread power shortages in 2022. These outages, along with the country’s raging economic crisis, contributed to the fall of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The project may also eventually allow Sri Lanka to sell power to India and earn vital foreign exchange in the long term.

“India today has a very robust power grid running from North to South and East to West of the country. In the future we would like to see the grid connected to neighbouring countries including Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and then expand that connection to South-east Asian countries, to emerge as a unified market,” said Ajay Tewari, additional secretary, ministry of power in December 2022.

India has been keen to explore the possibility of creating a South Asian market for the power trade. It has established power grid connectivity with neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan. According to media reports, India, Nepal and Bangladesh may have already finalised a draft text for a tripartite power trade agreement.

The project can also help India move ahead with its ‘One World One Sun One Grid’ (OSOWOG) programme under the International Solar Alliance.

Source: MINT

Colombo (LNW): The second term school holidays will begin on August 17, 2023 and will be applied to both government and government-approved schools, announced the Education Ministry.

The schools are scheduled to reopen on August 28, 2023.

By: Isuru Parakrama

Colombo (LNW): A proposal seeking compensation for crop damages occurred due to the prevailing drought condition will be presented to the Cabinet of Ministers next week, revealed Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera.

The government of Sri Lanka intends to provide compensation for the cultivation lands which at the moment are entirely or partially damaged due to the drought situation, the Minister pointed out, adding that he verbally presented facts pertaining to the matter to the Cabinet yesterday (14).

By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka Telecom has suffered a net loss of Rs. 2.1 billion at Group level in the second quarter of FY23 as against a profit of Rs. 1.96 billion a year ago.

At Company level the loss was Rs. 1 billion in comparison to a profit of Rs. 4.2 billion in 2Q of FY22.

For the first half, Group loss was Rs. 1.16 billion as against a profit of Rs. 4.6 billion. At Company level the loss was Rs. 401 million in comparison to a profit of Rs. 8.3 billion.

In a statement SLT said the 2Q loss was due to cost escalations and impairment of Long-Term Evolution (LTE) assets. SLT PLC staff costs account for 36.8% of Operating Costs.

The statement said while SLT PLC had 2.4% (Rs.400 million) revenue growth, Mobitel recorded 9.3% (Rs.1,066  million) de-growth during Q2 of FY23 compared to Q2 of FY22.

Group revenue, therefore, decreased by 2.8% (Rs.763 million) from Q2’22 to Q2 of FY23. SLT PLC revenue increase was driven by growth in Broadband, IPTV, and Enterprise revenue streams.

 However, such increase was slowed down due to decrease in International Transit revenue (90.3%, Rs. 614 million) during Q2 of FY23,

 SLT PLC revenue growth was primarily hindered due to delay in monetisation of fibre network and customer churn. 

Revenue de-growth in Mobitel was due to significant decline in subscriber base. Subscriber base contracted by 1 million from June 2022 to June 2023.

Group Opex increased by 15.1% (Rs. 2,513 million) in Q2 of FY23 compared to corresponding quarter in previous year. 

Group EBITDA dropped by 31.9% (Rs. 3,276 million) during Q2 of FY23 due to decrease in Mobitel EBITDA by 61.9% (Rs. 3,064 million). 

Accordingly, Group Operating Profit, PBT and PAT were also decreased by 92.7% (Rs. 3,121 million), 161.3% (Rs. 6,039 million) and 208.0% (Rs. 4,076 million) respectively. 

SLT Group’s revenue growth was stagnant for the 1st half of 2023 to record Rs. 52.7 million, a 0.4% degrowth compared to the same period last year. At a company level, SLT revenues grew by 6.4% to Rs. 34.6 billion for the 1st half of 2023.