The High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, Mr. Santosh Jha, called on the Speaker of the Parliament, Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne, at the Parliamentary premises on Jan. 06). The Secretary General of Parliament, Mrs. Kushani Rohanadeera also participated in the meeting.

During the meeting, High Commissioner Mr. Santosh Jha extended his New Year wishes to the Speaker and reaffirmed the strong bilateral relationship between India and Sri Lanka. He invited the Speaker to undertake an official visit to India, emphasizing the importance of fostering inter-parliamentary collaboration.

The High Commissioner also highlighted India’s plans to support the Parliament of Sri Lanka through training and capacity-building programs for the newly elected Members and Parliamentary staff. He expressed hope for the Speaker’s guidance in reviving the Sri Lanka – India Parliamentary Friendship Association in the Tenth Parliament.

Furthermore, High Commissioner emphasized the importance of fostering closer interactions between the Women Parliamentarians’ groups of the two Parliaments to strengthen collaboration and enhance the role of women in effective policy-making.

Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne, reflecting on the historical ties and cultural bonds between the two nations, expressed deep gratitude for India’s continuous support to Sri Lanka across various sectors.

The discussion between both parties focused on many important matters including economic development, digitalization and Regional Cooperation.

Four newly appointed Supreme Court Justices took their oaths of office before President Anura Kumara Disanayake this morning (12) at the Presidential Secretariat.

The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) has announced that a decision regarding the electricity tariff reduction for 2025 will be made before Friday (17).

The Alcohol and Drug Information Centre (ADIC) revealed that a 20% excise tax increase on alcohol last year led to a staggering reduction of 8.3 million litres in alcohol consumption while boosting government revenue by Rs. 11.6 billion.

The Vehicle Importers’ Association of Sri Lanka has warned that import taxes on vehicles, currently about 300%, could rise further, with some luxury vehicles potentially seeing tax rates as high as 600%.

Singapore and Japan break away from the group of six countries that shared top spot last year to secure gold and silver, respectively, on the 2025 Henley Passport Index, which ranks all the world’s 199 passports according to the number of destinations they can access visa-free, and is based on exclusive Timatic data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Senior Professor of Forensic Medicine at Karapitiya Hospital U.C.P Perera said it was a matter of serious concern that the fatalities in road accidents have been increasing at a large proportion every year and that 118,240 road accidents had occurred in Sri Lanka for the last five years up to December 2024 claiming 12,140 human lives.

In a bid to address the salt shortage, chairman of National Salt Limited Gayan Wellala said plans are underway to fully activate the saltern including one in Elephant Pass in the north by March, this year to increase production of salt in the country

The deadline for importing rice ended at midnight yesterday, with a total of 167,000 MT of rice imported to Sri Lanka since the government allowed the imports. The Sri Lanka Customs reported that this includes 66,000 MT of Red Raw Rice and 101,000 MT of Parboiled Rice.

The traders in several areas of the upcountry yesterday demonstrated demanding the supply of adequate stocks of Nadu and Red rice varieties in view of the Thai Pongal festive season. A number of Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim traders from Agarapathana, Manrasi and Dayagama in the Nuwara-Eliya District participated.

While issuing a special gazette notification, the government announced an excise duty percentage on all vehicles imported starting in February, following the resumption of vehicle imports after a five-year suspension.