The Ministry of Education has introduced a series of new technological measures aimed at improving the procurement, warehouse management, distribution and inventory control of school textbooks.
The new initiatives were outlined during a recent meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Public Accounts (COPA), which reviewed the Auditor General’s reports for 2021 and 2024 on the Department of Educational Publications and assessed its current performance.
Officials informed the committee that, from 2024, the Ministry has implemented a computerised data management system to obtain real-time information from schools on student enrolment, available textbook stocks and reusable textbooks.
The Ministry has also launched a networked system for textbook sales outlets, introduced secure access through username and password authentication, implemented structured quality assurance mechanisms, and begun upgrading the e-Thaksalawa platform with artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
According to ministry officials, the new measures are expected to reduce errors and financial irregularities while improving transparency, accountability and efficiency throughout the textbook supply process.
During the meeting, COPA also reviewed several longstanding issues relating to textbook printing, distribution and financial management. These included the accumulation of excess textbook stocks and increased transportation costs resulting from inaccurate estimates of textbook requirements in previous years.
The committee was further informed that authorities have so far been unable to trace the printing company and its directors involved in a court case concerning an alleged Rs. 212 million financial irregularity related to school textbook printing in 2002.
However, investigations into the matter are currently being conducted by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), while disciplinary action has already been taken against the officials found responsible.
COPA also highlighted delays in legal proceedings to recover compensation from a printing company that failed to deliver textbooks within the agreed timeframe in 2006.
A new study following the MSC ELSA 3 spill has found widespread plastic pollution along Sri Lanka western coast, but warns that the absence of pre-spill baseline data makes it impossible to determine how much contamination resulted from the incident. Researchers urge long-term monitoring and improved source-tracking to distinguish new pollution from legacy and other plastic contamination.
By: A Special Correspondent
July 03, Colombo (LNW): A new scientific assessment of plastic pellet contamination along Sri Lanka’s western coastline has revealed widespread nurdle pollution following the MSC ELSA 3 maritime incident, but researchers caution that a lack of historical baseline data makes it difficult to determine how much of the contamination can be directly attributed to the latest spill.
The study, presented at the 1st International Conference on Marine Science and Sustainability 2026, examined nine beaches along the western coast over a 13-week period between July and September 2025. Researchers documented substantial quantities of plastic nurdles—small pre-production plastic pellets used in manufacturing—across all surveyed locations. However, the findings also underscore a broader scientific challenge facing marine pollution assessments in Sri Lanka, distinguishing new contamination from the lingering impacts of previous pollution events.
The MSC ELSA 3 incident occurred in May 2025 and resulted in extensive shoreline accumulation of plastic pellets. In response, researchers from the Ocean University of Sri Lanka initiated a monitoring programme to measure nurdle abundance, evaluate spatial and temporal patterns, and assess the physical condition of recovered pellets.
Their surveys found significant variation among sites. Some beaches recorded only around 15 pellets during standardised searches, while others yielded more than 3,000 nurdles within the same sampling period. Weekly totals across all locations fluctuated dramatically, ranging from 2,085 pellets to more than 15,000, with notable peaks occurring in late July and late August.
At first glance, such findings could be interpreted as evidence of substantial contamination linked to the MSC ELSA 3 spill. Yet the researchers themselves stop short of making such a direct attribution.
A central limitation identified in the study is the absence of comprehensive baseline data for Sri Lanka’s western coastline. Without detailed information on nurdle abundance before the MSC ELSA 3 incident, scientists cannot confidently determine how much contamination was already present in coastal sediments and beach deposits.
This gap is particularly important because Sri Lanka has experienced previous plastic pellet spill incidents, including the X-Press Pearl incident, yet no comprehensive baseline data was collected prior to that event or during the period between the X-Press Pearl and MSC ELSA 3 incidents.
The new study explicitly notes that residual pellets from earlier spill events may remain buried within coastal sediments and can be periodically reintroduced to beaches through natural coastal processes such as wave action, currents, and sediment transport. However, in the absence of baseline data and source-specific identification, it is not possible to determine whether these legacy pellets originated from the X-Press Pearl spill or other sources. Consequently, some of the pellets observed during the 2025 surveys may not have originated from MSC ELSA 3 at all.
This distinction is more than a technical detail. Determining the source of contamination has important implications for environmental damage assessments, cleanup responsibilities and potential compensation claims. Without reliable baseline measurements or chemical fingerprinting capable of distinguishing pellets from different spill events, establishing causation becomes extremely difficult.
The researchers also point to the dynamic nature of Sri Lanka’s coastal environment as a complicating factor. Waves, tides, currents and the formation of wrack lines continuously redistribute floating and buried debris. Pellets deposited during one incident may be transported, buried, exposed and redistributed again over periods of months or in theory even years.
The study’s findings support this interpretation. The observed spikes and declines in pellet abundance did not follow a simple pattern of gradual reduction after the spill. Instead, counts fluctuated significantly from week to week, suggesting ongoing redistribution rather than a single pulse of contamination. Such variability indicates that local coastal currents may play a signification role in determining where and when pellets accumulate.
Researchers also found that more than 90 per cent of recovered pellets were white or transparent, with only small numbers of yellowed pellets and negligible quantities of charred material. While these observations provide useful information about the physical characteristics of the contamination, they do not offer a definitive method for distinguishing between pellets released by different maritime incidents.
Rather than presenting conclusive evidence about the origins of the nurdles, the study is an important reminder of the challenges involved in assessing marine plastic pollution after multiple spill events. The authors describe their work as a preliminary assessment and emphasise the need for long-term monitoring to better understand the fate and transport of plastic pellets in Sri Lankan waters.
Their findings also highlight the importance of urgently establishing robust baseline datasets before future incidents occur. Without pre-spill reference conditions, scientists are often forced to evaluate environmental impacts using incomplete information, making it close to impossible to separate new contamination from historical pollution.
More broadly, the findings should be viewed within the context of Sri Lanka’s wider plastic pollution challenge. Numerous studies have identified land-based domestic sources—including inadequately managed municipal waste, open dumping, littering and river carried pollution—as the dominant contributors to plastic debris entering the country’s coastal and marine environments. The MSC ELSA 3 spill undoubtedly introduced additional plastic pellets to the environment, but determining its precise contribution relative to pre-existing pollution and legacy contamination from earlier events will require sustained monitoring and more sophisticated source-tracking techniques.
References: Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Marine Science and Sustainability 2026 | 8th and 9th of June 2026 | Centre for Environmental Studies & Sustainable Development (CESSD); Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA); The Open University of sri Lanka (OUSL); Ministry of Environment.
The appointment of Duminda Hulangamuwa as Chairman of the Board of Investment has revived an important policy question confronting Sri Lanka’s investment landscape: Should the country reform the existing BOI or replace it with an entirely new investment promotion architecture?
The answer could shape Sri Lanka’s ability to compete for foreign direct investment over the next decade.
Upon assuming office yesterday, Hulangamuwa promised to restore the BOI’s authority and transform it into a true one-stop investment agency capable of supporting the Government’s drive to increase exports and reduce the country’s chronic trade deficit.
The commitment is ambitious, but it also reopens unresolved institutional debates.
Successive governments have acknowledged that the BOI, once considered one of South Asia’s pioneering investment promotion agencies, no longer exercises the powers necessary to function as a genuine single-window authority. Over time, responsibility for approvals has become dispersed among numerous ministries, regulators and statutory bodies, forcing investors to negotiate multiple institutions before projects can commence.
Recognising these shortcomings, the previous administration had initiated discussions on establishing new investment commissions that would replace or fundamentally restructure the existing system. The proposed model aimed to create specialised agencies with greater autonomy, faster approval mechanisms and internationally benchmarked governance standards.
With Hulangamuwa now taking charge of the existing BOI, the future of those proposals remains uncertain.
Will the Government continue with legislative reforms creating entirely new investment institutions, or will it attempt to modernise the existing BOI from within?
Officials have yet to indicate which direction policymakers intend to pursue.
Hulangamuwa’s professional background suggests he is well positioned to understand both the policy and operational dimensions of the challenge.
A chartered accountant with over 40 years’ experience in taxation, finance and public policy, he recently retired as Country Managing Partner of EY Sri Lanka and Maldives. He also serves as Senior Economic Adviser to the President, representing Sri Lanka in engagements with the IMF and World Bank, while continuing as Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.
These roles place him at the intersection of government policy and private sector expectations.
However, experienced investors argue that leadership alone cannot overcome structural deficiencies embedded in legislation that has failed to keep pace with modern investment competition.
Countries competing aggressively for global capital increasingly offer integrated digital approvals, statutory timelines, coordinated regulatory clearances and dedicated investor aftercare services. Sri Lanka’s institutional arrangements remain comparatively fragmented.
If Hulangamuwa succeeds in restoring the BOI’s authority through administrative reforms backed by political support, calls for establishing new investment commissions may gradually lose momentum.
Conversely, if bureaucratic bottlenecks persist despite new leadership, pressure could quickly return for Parliament to revisit broader structural reforms abandoned following the change of government.
The new chairman therefore assumes office with expectations extending well beyond investment promotion. His tenure may ultimately determine whether Sri Lanka modernises its existing investment agency or concludes that only a completely new institutional framework can deliver the investment climate the economy urgently requires.
The government’s decision to digitize the Central Bank’s Banking Supervision Department signals an acknowledgement that traditional regulatory methods are struggling to keep pace with an increasingly digital banking industry. Yet the announcement also highlights deeper concerns surrounding oversight, accountability and operational efficiency within Sri Lanka’s financial system.
Cabinet has approved the procurement of a technology solution to modernize the department responsible for supervising licensed commercial and specialized banks. The project will be supported technically by the Asian Development Bank following a comprehensive needs assessment.
Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said many supervisory functions continue to rely on physical record management despite the department handling extensive documentation generated through its interactions with banks and other stakeholders.
For financial sector observers, this reliance on paper-based systems illustrates a wider challenge facing regulators.
Modern banking produces enormous quantities of compliance reports, financial disclosures, inspection findings and correspondence. Managing these records manually increases the risk of delays, inconsistent record-keeping and slower regulatory responses when warning signs emerge.
Digital supervisory platforms have become standard among many regulators worldwide because they improve efficiency through electronic document management, automated workflows, searchable databases and enhanced monitoring capabilities.
The timing of Sri Lanka’s initiative is significant. The banking sector has periodically faced criticism over governance standards, regulatory lapses, internal control weaknesses and concerns about transparency. While banks remain subject to existing regulatory requirements, experts have argued that stronger technological tools could improve supervisory effectiveness and enable regulators to identify emerging risks earlier.
An integrated digital platform could also enhance accountability by creating permanent electronic audit trails that record document movements, approvals and supervisory actions. Such systems can reduce opportunities for missing records or undocumented administrative decisions while strengthening institutional memory.
Nevertheless, experts caution against viewing digitization as a complete solution.
Technology cannot replace independent regulation, consistent enforcement or sound governance. Effective supervision depends equally on experienced regulators, strong legal frameworks, political independence and a willingness to act promptly when problems are detected.
Questions also remain regarding procurement transparency, data protection, cybersecurity resilience and staff training. Large-scale public sector digital projects often face implementation challenges unless accompanied by clear governance structures and sustained investment.
The Central Bank’s modernization programme therefore represents both an opportunity and a test. If implemented effectively, it could significantly strengthen supervisory efficiency, improve regulatory responsiveness and reinforce confidence in Sri Lanka’s banking system. If poorly executed, however, it risks becoming another technology project that changes systems without addressing the institutional weaknesses that have long concerned financial sector observers.
The coming months will reveal whether this initiative delivers genuine regulatory transformation or merely digitizes existing processes without fundamentally improving oversight.
Sri Lanka has regained its status as an upper middle-income country after the World Bank revised its annual income classification, marking a major milestone in the country’s economic recovery following its worst financial crisis in decades. The reclassification comes alongside the World Bank’s approval of a US$150 million financing package designed to accelerate structural reforms, improve competitiveness, and stimulate investment-driven growth.
The country’s return to the upper middle-income category follows a strong economic rebound, with real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expanding by 5 percent in 2025 after years of contraction triggered by the economic collapse. According to the World Bank, the improvement reflects stronger macroeconomic performance, rising national income per capita, and greater economic stability achieved through difficult policy adjustments.
The World Bank reviews country income classifications every year using Gross National Income (GNI) per capita calculated under its Atlas methodology. Countries are grouped into four income levels low, lower middle, upper middle, and high income with thresholds adjusted annually to reflect global inflation. Sri Lanka’s latest upgrade indicates that average income levels have recovered sufficiently to cross the upper middle-income benchmark.
However, development experts caution that the revised classification should not be interpreted as proof that all economic challenges have been resolved. The World Bank itself notes that income classifications are intended primarily for operational and analytical purposes and do not provide a complete picture of a country’s development, poverty levels, or social welfare.
The US$150 million financing approved by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors represents the first phase of the Sri Lanka Reforms for Growth, Resilience and Openness Development Policy Operation (REGROW DPO). The programme succeeds the earlier RESET reform initiative, shifting attention from economic stabilisation towards sustainable long-term growth.
The new reform package focuses on reducing trade barriers, creating a more attractive investment climate, strengthening financial sector resilience, and improving governance. Additional reforms target greater participation of women in the workforce, stronger management of state-owned enterprises, and increased competition in the power sector to improve efficiency while lowering energy costs.
World Bank Group Country Manager for Sri Lanka, Gevorg Sargsyan, said the country has made significant progress in restoring macroeconomic stability but stressed that continued reforms are essential to attract private investment, expand exports, and generate quality employment opportunities.
The World Bank has maintained a development partnership with Sri Lanka for more than seven decades. It currently finances 13 active development projects worth over US$1.5 billion covering education, healthcare, agriculture, transport, energy, and social protection. Meanwhile, the International Finance Corporation has committed nearly US$1.8 billion in financing for Sri Lanka’s private sector between 2021 and 2026, reflecting continued international confidence in the country’s long-term recovery prospects.
Whether Sri Lanka can sustain this renewed momentum will largely depend on the government’s ability to fully implement the promised reforms while ensuring that economic gains translate into broader improvements in living standards.
Behind Sri Lanka’s ambitious plan to restore tea production lies a structural crisis that industry leaders say can no longer be ignored the collapse in productivity among the country’s tea smallholders.
Although Regional Plantation Companies continue investing in replanting programmes and value-added exports, the future of the industry ultimately depends on more than 480,000 smallholder farmers who collectively produce about 75 percent of Sri Lanka’s tea crop.
The Tea Exporters Association (TEA) has warned President Anura Kumara Dissanayake that unless urgent action is taken to revive smallholder productivity, the country will struggle to increase exports despite having sufficient processing capacity.
The industry’s numbers reveal the scale of the problem. National tea production has fallen from 340 million kilograms in 2013 to just 261 million kilograms in 2025. Yet annual export earnings have remained broadly unchanged at around US$1.5 billion, largely because reduced production has offset gains from stronger prices.
According to the association, current green leaf productivity averages only about 150 kilograms per acre each month just one quarter of the estimated potential of 600 kilograms. Industry leaders attribute much of this decline to years of policy disruptions, including the glyphosate ban and wider agrochemical restrictions that severely affected plantation management.
Another challenge lies beneath the fields themselves. Many smallholdings contain fewer than 3,000 tea bushes per acre, well below the recommended density of approximately 5,000 plants needed for optimum yields.
To reverse the decline, the Tea Exporters Association has proposed a nationwide infilling programme supported through Government grants, concessional loans, local banks and international financial institutions. The estimated one-time cost is around Rs.200 per plant.
Industry estimates suggest the investment could generate substantial long-term returns. After approximately two years, improved productivity could increase annual farmer income by more than Rs.450 per plant. Over the productive life of a tea bush, each additional plant could contribute over Rs.850 in foreign exchange earnings based on current market prices.
The association also stressed that exporters possess capacity to handle approximately 400 million kilograms of tea annually, highlighting that the industry’s biggest constraint is not processing capability but insufficient raw material.
During a meeting held on 26 June, President Dissanayake reportedly expressed support for targeted assistance to smallholders, recognising tea’s critical role in Sri Lanka’s export economy and broader economic recovery strategy.
Industry observers believe that while production may recover modestly to between 290 and 300 million kilograms this year with the support of fertiliser subsidies and ongoing replanting, sustainable long-term growth will ultimately depend on restoring productivity among the country’s smallholder farmers.
Without addressing that structural weakness, Sri Lanka’s tea industry may continue operating well below its full economic potential despite growing global demand for premium Ceylon tea.
Health Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa says the Government aims to reduce waiting times for cardiac catheterisation procedures from around one year to one month by expanding Sri Lanka’s network of cardiac catheterisation laboratories (cath labs).
Speaking at the commissioning of two new cath labs and a renovated Cardiology Day Case Unit at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka on Thursday (02), the Minister said the number of operational cath labs in the state health sector will increase from 10 to 26 over the coming years.
He also announced that construction of a 16-storey National Cardiac Treatment Centre at the National Hospital is expected to begin this year. The Rs. 12 billion facility is scheduled to be completed by September 2029.
The two new cath labs at the National Hospital, built at a cost of more than Rs. 600 million under the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-funded Health System Enhancement Project, are part of a Rs. 1.2 billion programme that added four new cath labs to the state hospital network this week. Similar facilities were recently commissioned at the Jaffna Teaching Hospital and the Colombo South Teaching Hospital in Kalubowila.
The Minister said the National Hospital now operates three cath labs, increasing its treatment capacity to up to 45 patients per day and helping to significantly reduce waiting lists for cardiac procedures.
Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Gamini Galappatthy said around 30 patients are added to the cardiac waiting list each day. He noted that the two new cath labs are expected to reduce the current waiting period from about one year to approximately three months.
The new laboratories are equipped with artificial intelligence-powered real-time imaging technology, designed to improve diagnostic accuracy while reducing radiation exposure during procedures.
The public can now make payments using credit and debit cards at all Divisional Secretariat Offices in the Colombo District, marking a major milestone in the government’s digitalisation drive.
The new facility was officially launched at the Thimbirigasyaya Divisional Secretariat under the patronage of Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, who ceremonially inaugurated POS machines at the Registrar’s Division and the Vehicle Revenue Licence Division.
The Prime Minister also witnessed the symbolic issuance of a birth certificate and a vehicle revenue licence using the new payment system.
Implemented under the guidance of the Colombo District Secretariat, with financial and technical support from the Bank of Ceylon (BOC), the initiative covers all 13 Divisional Secretariat Offices in the district. The system enables secure card payments for fee-based public services, reducing reliance on cash.
Prime Minister Amarasuriya said modernising Sri Lanka’s public sector in line with global digital transformation is a key government priority. She noted that the new system will help citizens access government services more efficiently through faster transactions, reduced fraud risks and greater transparency in revenue collection.
According to the government, the new POS payment system offers several benefits, including the convenience of cashless payments, quicker transaction processing, shorter waiting times, improved accountability through accurate revenue recording and greater adoption of digital payment technologies.
The Government has issued an Extraordinary Gazette Notification introducing amendments to the food colour-code labelling regulations for sugar-containing liquid food products.
The amendments were issued by Health and Mass Media Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa under Section 32 of the Food Act, No. 26 of 1980, and published in the Extraordinary Gazette dated June 23.
Under the revised regulations, new requirements have been introduced for the design and display of the red, amber and green colour-coded logos that indicate the sugar content of beverages.
The amendments also introduce an alternative logo for use on glass bottles where printing space is limited.
In addition, the regulations define “business-to-business food products” as products that are not sold directly to consumers, but are intended for further food processing, preparation or resale.
Under the updated rules:
Red label: More than 8.0g of sugar per 100ml
Amber label: Between 2.5g and 8.0g of sugar per 100ml
Green label: Less than 2.5g of sugar per 100ml
The revised regulations are aimed at improving consumer awareness of sugar content in beverages through clearer and more consistent colour-coded labelling.
Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena has warned that a country can be destroyed not only by natural disasters, but also by a weak or ineffective judiciary.
Addressing newly recruited Magistrates at the Sri Lanka Judges’ Institute on Wednesday (July 1), the Chief Justice said the consequences of a bad judiciary could be devastating.
“A country can be devastated and destroyed not only by a natural disaster. A country can also be destroyed by a bad judiciary, in less amount of time. If that happens, no international donor or no international help will recover the country. Because the cause is such, the reasons are such, the devastation is so high.”
Speaking on the legal profession, he stressed that lawyers are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the highest professional standards.
He noted that only individuals with good character, competence and knowledge are eligible to be enrolled as Attorneys-at-Law, adding that maintaining those standards is a continuing responsibility throughout their careers.
The Chief Justice also highlighted the judiciary’s constitutional role, explaining that the sovereignty of the people consists of executive power, legislative power, judicial power and the franchise.
Addressing the newly appointed Magistrates, he reminded them that judicial authority is derived from the people.
“We are the third, the judicial power. You, as judges, exercise the judicial power of the people. You don’t bring that power from your home. Nor do we give you that power. It is not the Judicial Service Commission that gives you power. The people give you that power, for the benefit of the people. That has to be borne in mind,” he said.
