The Indian Housing Project, under which 46,000 houses are to be constructed or repaired in the Northern and Eastern Provinces and 4,000 houses constructed in the Central and Uva Provinces, is nearing completion in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. As on December 31, 2015, a total of 43,800 houses have been completed. In 2015, 13,827 new houses were constructed in the Northern Province, and 2,051 in the Eastern Province. In addition, 502 damaged houses were repaired in the Northern Province. Only 2,200 houses remain to be constructed or repaired in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, which is expected to be completed during the next few months.

In June 2010, the Government of India announced that it would construct 50,000 houses in Sri Lanka as part of post-conflict rehabilitation efforts. The project is being implemented as full-grant assistance amounting to USD 270 million (approximately SLR 30 billion) from the Government of India, making it one of the largest grant assistance projects ever undertaken by India overseas. Under the pilot phase of the project, which was completed in July 2012, the Government of India entrusted an agency to construct 1,000 houses in the Northern Province.

An innovative owner-driven model is being pursued to implement the second phase to construct 45,000 houses in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, wherein the Government of India arranges technical support and financial assistance for the owner-beneficiaries to undertake the construction, and repair of their houses themselves. Financial assistance of SLR 550,000 per beneficiary (SLR 250,000 in case of repair cases) is released in stages, and transferred directly into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries by the High Commission of India. The project is being implemented in close consultation with the Government of Sri Lanka and other stakeholders, and the highest standards of objectivity and transparency are being followed, both for beneficiary selection and payment mechanism.

The third phase, to construct 4,000 houses in the Central and Uva Provinces through an innovative community-driven approach, will be launched very shortly.

While refuting claims by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe that his government had allocated funds required to increase public sector salaries, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that no such funds had been allocated.

A Fundamental Rights petition has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking an order preventing Ranjan Ramanayake from contesting the parliamentary election scheduled for November 14.

Claiming that Sri Lanka has come a long way in terms of undertaking reforms which have led to some hard won gains, the International Monetary Fund (IMF)said they could move fast towards the third review which will come up soon.

The Election Commission has decided to mark the voters' index fingers for this year's general elections, Commissioner General Saman Ratnayake announced. He said the elections are scheduled for November 14, 2024.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is set to hold a series of meetings with the High Commissioners of South Africa and New Zealand, along with the Ambassadors of Iran and Myanmar, as well as a delegation from the European Union today (25) at the Presidential Secretariat.

Three suspects have been arrested in connection with the security threats to Israeli nationals in the Arugam Bay area, Public Security Minister Vijitha Herath said.

Sri Lanka should get its foreign policy right in the wake of the escalating Middle East crisis, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Mujibur Rahman said today.

The Canadian government has issued a travel advisory urging travellers to exercise a high degree of caution in Sri Lanka due to demonstrations, the threat of terrorist attacks and crime, particularly in the Arugam Bay area.

Sri Lankan security forces have been alerted to a potential attack on Israelis in the Arugam Bay area by Indian intelligence agencies. According to intelligence information, the threat is believed to be targeted at foreign nationals.

Former Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara asked why the government did not take action to beef up security for foreign tourists in advance if it had received information on a possible threat on October 7, according to the statement made by Acting Chief of Police.