The Department of Meteorology has issued a warning for a significant increase in thunderstorm activity in Sri Lanka today. Showers or thundershowers are likely at several places over most parts of the island after 2.00 p.m., with heavy showers above 100 mm expected in parts of Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, North-Western, and Southern provinces.
The warning also indicates that showers or thundershowers may occur in the Eastern province and in Mullaitivu and Hambantota districts during the morning. The general public is advised to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.
The sea areas around the island will also experience an increase in thunderstorm activity. Showers or thundershowers will occur at several places in the sea areas around the island. The winds in the sea area will be south-easterly, and the wind speed will be 20-30 kmph. The sea areas around the island will be slight to moderate, but temporarily strong gusty winds and very rough seas can be expected during thundershowers.
This warning is a result of the current weather conditions and is intended to provide the public with the necessary information to ensure their safety. It is recommended that individuals stay indoors during thunderstorms, avoid using electronic devices that are connected to power sources, and stay away from tall trees or open fields.
The Department of Meteorology regularly issues weather warnings to ensure the safety and well-being of the public, and it is crucial that individuals pay attention to these warnings and take the necessary precautions.
A workshop on Indian cinema was inaugurated at the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre in Colombo on 28 April 2023. Hon Arundika Fernando, State Minister of Urban Development and Housing was present on the occasion. Mr. Vinod K Jacob, Deputy High Commissioner participated in the inauguration and welcomed the delegation led by the highly decorated director, actor, screenwriter and lyricist from Kannada cinema, Dr. Nagathihalli Chandrashekaran to the workshop.
2. Speaking on the occasion, Deputy High Commissioner noted, “At a time when India and Sri Lanka are celebrating 75 years of diplomatic relations, it is indeed timely that we are having this workshop.” Wishing that the workshop would contribute to deepening people to people ties, he highlighted six main observations during the course of his speech.
3. First, every year, more than 2000 films are made in India. In 2011, the total number of cinema tickets sold were 3.5 billion. The history of Indian cinema is more than 100 years old. The pioneering filmmaker was Dadasaheb Phalke, who is known as the father of Indian cinema, gave India the first full length silent feature film titled RAJA HARISHCHANDRA on 3 May 1913. Through this long journey, Indian cinema has enriched Indian society and vice versa. The movies have tackled issues like nationalism, women’s and children’s rights, caste, religion, class and the like.
4. Second, looking at the more than 100-year-old journey of Indian cinema and how we responded to the restrictions of Covid 19, there are some interesting trends. The fact that RRR’s Naatu Naatu won the Best Original track at the latest Academy Awards is a testimony to the ability of Indian cinema to innovate. He quoted a report which estimated that Hindi theater-going universe shrank by 21.5 per cent compared to pre-pandemic levels. In contrast, most South Indian languages have shown stability or growth, with Kannada gaining the most at 25%, from 1.16 crore to 1.45 crore.
5. Third, it is important to recognize that commercial success is an essential element of the progress of the Indian cinema. Equally, this is a fluid concept. Among the earliest examples in this regard is the success of the 1951 movie AWARA which set a record in terms of collection, was overtaken in 1952 itself with collections for the movie AAN. This year, the movie PATHAAN has set fresh records. However, related to this is the aspect of success in terms of creative content which cannot only be measured by collections. Convergence of these two aspects namely the commercial and the creative depends in large measure on the audience.
6. Fourth, Kannada cinema has come a long way since the first talkie SATI SULOCHANA in the 1930s. Its output has been prolific and contributed to the vitality of Indian cinema and indeed Indian society. The KGF series is fresh in everyone’s minds but the workshop will educate about the versatility of Kannada cinema.
7. Fifthly, the ecosystem that enables Indian cinema flows from the freedom of speech and expression which is a fundamental right in the Indian constitution. The Cinematograph Act of 1952 is the main piece of legislation in this regard. As is normal in any other jurisdiction, there are structures and mechanisms that govern censorship, copyright and piracy including digital piracy.
8. Finally, the Government and people of India have stood by the people of Sri Lanka and have given support to the tune of USD 4 billion. This has been in line with the Government’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy. It is important that Sri Lankan friends appreciate that such a policy can be successful only if the people of India support these initiatives. The Indian people continue to stand in solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka.
The prediction is more optimistic than the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which forecast a contraction in 2023 of around 3% and growth of 1.5% next year.
The central bank’s report also outlined how headline inflation reached almost 70% in September as prices of fresh fruit, wheat and eggs more than doubled.
At the same time the cost of transportation and essential utilities such as electricity and water rose even faster.
Defaults happen when governments are unable to meet some or all of their debt payments to creditors.
This damaged its reputation with lenders, making it even harder to borrow money on the international markets.
“The Sri Lankan economy faced its most onerous year in its post-independence history,” the report said.
An “unsustainable” economic model “steered the country towards a multifaceted disaster,” it added.
Sri Lanka owes about $7bn (£5.7bn) to China and around $1bn to India. In February, both countries agreed to restructure their loans, giving Sri Lanka more time to repay them.
COLOMBO, April 26 (Reuters) – Sri Lanka is trying to reduce its overall debt by $17 billion through restructuring, its president told the parliament on Wednesday as he sought support of opposition parties for a nearly $3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe also said the country would discuss debt restructuring with India and the Paris Club of creditors on one platform and with China separately.
Caught in its worst financial crisis since independence from Britain in 1948, the island nation of 22 million people secured an IMF loan last month.
Sri Lanka owes $7.1 billion to bilateral creditors, according to official government data, with $3 billion owed to China, $2.4 billion to the Paris Club and $1.6 billion to India.
Wickremesinghe said no final decision had been taken yet on domestic debt restructuring.
He added that the country needs to accelerate growth to 6% or higher by 2028 or 2029 to repay debt and develop.
Sri Lanka is yet to finalise the debt restructuring plan which was expected to be handed over to the IMF, creditors and bondholders by the end of April, a senior finance Ministry source said, adding that the government is in touch with the IMF regarding the matter.
“We are still finalising the plan, it requires a lot of serious discussions. The (restructuring) programme may get delayed a few days or a week,” the source said, declining to be named as they were not authorised to speak to media.
Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday that Sri Lanka had pushed back release of debt restructuring plan to middle of May.
Sri Lanka will likely have another year of economic contraction in 2023, ratings agency S&P said on Wednesday but noted that conditions in the country were beginning to stabilise.
It affirmed Sri Lanka’s long-term and short-term foreign currency sovereign credit ratings as ‘SD/SD’, meaning selective default, and retained outlook on the long-term local currency rating as negative.
Reporting by Asiri Fernando; Writing by Shivam Patel; Editing by Himani Sarkar
In a significant development, the Sri Lankan parliament has passed the resolution for the implementation of the arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The resolution, which received 120 votes in favor and 25 against, is a crucial step towards strengthening Sri Lanka’s economic stability and achieving sustainable growth.
The IMF’s EFF program aims to support countries that are facing balance of payment difficulties and require financial assistance to address their macroeconomic imbalances. Sri Lanka had requested the IMF’s assistance in May 2020 to address the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and the structural challenges facing the country’s economy.
The EFF program for Sri Lanka is worth approximately $1.5 billion and will be disbursed in six tranches over the next three years. The program’s main objectives are to support Sri Lanka’s macroeconomic stability, improve public finances, and promote structural reforms to enhance the country’s economic resilience.
Russian Ambassador in SL – Levan Dzhagaryan says sanctions imposed by the US on SL’s former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda are totally unacceptable: previously, US State Dept announced that Karannagoda, the current Governor of North Western Province, and his family are banned from entering the US over “violation of human rights”: SL Govt has also expressed grave concerns about the US action.
Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe says the Govt will delay the tabling of the Anti-Terrorism Act in Parliament until broader consensus is reached.
NPP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake claims there’s a connection between the IMF loan and the CB Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe’s decision to default on foreign debt: also says the decision to default had been taken even though money had been allocated from the budget: labels decision as “conspiratorial”: similar allegations against Governor Weerasinghe have been made by several MPs: reports show pipeline of inflows at the time of the sudden default announcement was a massive USD 10.7 billion.
Shares at the CSE fall further: investors await more clarity on local debt restructuring: ASPI falls below 9000 to 8983.
Dept of Census & Statistics says the Overall Rate of Inflation, as measured by CCPI dropped to 35.3% in Apr’23, compared to 50.3% in Mar’23: analysts allege the Census Dept arbitrarily changed it’s base for the calculation of the CCPI from Feb’23 onwards to reflect and report a lower CCPI.
CB Annual Report 2022 states “stunting” and “wasting” among children under 5 years had increased to 9.2% and 10.1% in 2022, from 7.4% and 8.2% in 202
SriLankan Airlines Chairman Ashok Pathirage says “privatization” of the airline would help as long as the right partner is found: Airline’s CEO Richard Nuttall says there is a need to reactivate the fleet and replace the aircraft with expiring leases.
Committee on Parliamentary Business decide to take the Sri Lanka Central Bank Bill for debate (second reading) on 11th May.
Parliament approves Sri Lanka’s Agreement with the IMF with 120 voting for and 25 against: 80 MPs abstain: strong IMF & Default proponent Harsha de Silva, and SJB MPs walk out at voting time: former President Mahinda Rajapaksa votes for: MPs G L Pieris, Wimal Weerawansa, Vasudeva Nanayakkara vote against: Namal Rajapaksa not present.
SL win 2nd Cricket Test against Ireland by an innings & 10 runs: SL – 704/3d (Kusal Mendis 245, Nishan Madushka 205, Dimuth Karunaratne 115, Angelo Mathews 100*) IRE – 492 & 202: SL win series 2-0: Prabath Jayasuriya becomes fastest in the world to take 50 Test wickets as a spinner and fastest SL bowler to take 50 Test wickets.
Colombo (LNW): Minister of Labor and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara stated that steps will be taken to prepare the new integrated labor law to avoid the complexities of the existing labor law.
Accordingly, at the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Labor and Foreign Employment affairs held in Parliament recently, the Minister also said that taking opinions and suggestions of all relevant parties including the public will be started from May 2 to formulate this integrated labor law.
The minister further pointed out that the country’s industrial law, which is currently scattered and complex, is expected to be converted into an integrated labor law, and it is an essential step to encourage local and foreign investors.
Thus, the new consolidated law will facilitate the settlement of disputes between employers and employees. The Minister also said that these new laws will facilitate the convenient start and running of business activities, especially for investors coming to Sri Lanka.
The attention of the committee was also paid to businesses that are not registered in the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF).
The Minister pointed out that only 80,000 business companies are registered in the Employees Provident Fund. The MPs stressed that immediate action should be taken against unregistered companies.
Accordingly, it was decided to inform all divisional secretaries and local government commissioners in writing to send information about businesses registered in different parts of the island to the Ministry of Labor.
Also, the Minister instructed the Department of Labor and the Employees’ Provident Fund to submit a plan of possible future actions against such companies within a month.
The Minister instructed the Foreign Employment Bureau to implement a program to educate people about foreign employment. He also mentioned that no special quota has been given to the Members of Parliament regarding the sending of workers to the foreign employments.
The head of the Foreign Employment Bureau said that nearly 90,000 people, including 26,000 unskilled workers and over 60,000 skilled workers, have been sent for foreign jobs recently.
Meanwhile, MP Yadamini Gunawardena expressed his gratitude on behalf of the Sri Lanka-Romania Parliamentary Friendship Association for the step taken to establish a Sri Lanka Embassy in Romania to solve the problems of Sri Lankans in Romania.
Colombo (LNW):The USAID’s Sri Lanka Energy Project and the Asia Development Bank (ADB) have collaborated to launch the Sri Lanka National Chapter WePOWER to promote the advancement of women working in the country’s local energy sector.
The national chapter is affiliated with the regional South Asia WePOWER Network.In addition to promoting women in energy, this World Bank initiative also increases women’s participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education, the US Embassy in Colombo said in a statement.
The launch featured a panel discussion and engaged power sector stakeholders including utilities, academia, and professional networks to raise awareness about the national chapter WePOWER and to encourage high-level officials’ support to ensure its sustainability and success.
Recent World Bank statistics show women represent only about 13 percent of Sri Lanka’s power sector employment, the embassy said further.
“The power sector in Sri Lanka will greatly benefit from workplace diversity and increased participation by women, including in leadership positions,” said Christopher Powers, Director of the USAID’s (US Agency for International Development) Economic Growth Office.
“The launch of the WePOWER national chapter in Sri Lanka is a timely and exciting development for the country, as well as for its energy sector,” said ADB Country Director Chen Chen.
He noted that Sri Lanka may capitalize on the trend in its economic recovery course. With more women joining the energy sector, we will create a more diverse and better equipped workforce to address the global and local challenges.”
Among its first efforts, Sri Lanka WePOWER plans to conduct training in gender equality and social inclusion and a workshop in May to develop an action plan to create and monitor gender activities with targets and goals under its five pillars: STEM education, recruitment, development, retention, and policy and institutional change.
USAID’s Sri Lanka Energy Program is helping Sri Lanka transform its power sector into a market-based, secure, reliable, and sustainable system by mobilizing investment to deploy advanced technologies, increase flexibility, and enhance competitiveness.
The U.S. commitment to help build a power sector for tomorrow is one of many elements of America’s long, strong, and enduring partnership in Sri Lanka, a partnership that has been the foundation of 75 years of close relations and effective work together.
Hon. Lasantha Alagiyawanna, Chair of the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA), has instructed the Department of Police to provide a proposed information technology (IT) program within a month. The directive came during a meeting held on April 26, where the Sri Lanka Police was summoned to examine the Auditor General’s report and current performance for the years 2019, 2020, and 2021.
The meeting, attended by senior police officials, also addressed other issues such as the lack of female police officers, expired tear gas, language skills of police officers, police promotions, and crime control.
During the meeting, it was highlighted that a recommendation made in 2016 to establish an IT system for the Sri Lanka Police has not been implemented. The Inspector General of Police stated that a new pilot project is being implemented in Hatton and Nuwara Eliya Police Stations, and steps will be taken to introduce IT systems in segments due to the difficulty of setting up a single system.
The Committee Chair emphasized the importance of integrating the motor transport department and other institutions to obtain relevant information immediately and instructed the Sri Lanka Police to submit a report on the current and proposed IT program within a month.
The meeting also revealed that there are 2419 female police constable vacancies, and efforts are being made to complete them by 2023. The Inspector General of Police stated that reforms have been initiated to provide opportunities for women in higher positions, including the post of Inspector General of Police.
The Committee also instructed the disposal of expired tear gas across all police stations in Sri Lanka and called for a report on measures taken to control public riots, including tear gas. The need to improve the language skills of police officers was also emphasized.
The Annual Report of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) 2022 was presented by Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe to the Minister of Finance Economic Stabilization and National Policies, President Ranil Wickremesinghe at the Ministry of Finance today (27).Presented as the 73rd Annual Report of the CBSL, this report consists of four main parts.
Accordingly, the first part consists of 08 chapters and 30 sub-chapters explaining the state of the economic affairs of the year, while the second part consists of a collection of gazettes and circulars related to various policy measures taken by the Government and the CBSL. The third part of this report explains the departments of the CBSL and their related roles and the fourth part includes a list of laws and ordinances related to the banking system connected to the Government and the CBSL.
In accordance with Section 35 of the Monetary Law Act, the Monetary Board of the CBSL is required to produce an annual report on the economic conditions and the policies taken for that year and submit it to the Minister of Finance within four months after the end of the relevant year.
Secretary of the Ministry of Finance Mr Mahinda Siriwardana, Director of the Economic Research Department of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Dr. P.K.G.Harishchandra, Additional Directors of Economic Research Dr. Mrs. S. Jegajeevan and Dr. L. R. C. Pathberiya participated in this event.
The official announcement issued by the CBSL in this regard is shown in Annexure 01 below.
