Blueprint issue 3_March 2021_3rd Week By MCND

www.mcnd.gov.lk PUBLISHED BY

Issue 03 | March 2021 | Third Week

No tax increase for the next 5 years Dr P B Jayasundara, Secretary to the President sSpeaking at Colombo development symposium in Colombo confirmed that Sri Lanka’s taxes will not be increased for the next 5 years. Income tax will remain at the gazette rates and VAT will be at 8%.

Sri Lanka - Bangladesh

ink six MoU’s As a result of the State visit

by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and bilateral discussions with Sheikh Hasina, the Bangladeshi Prime Minister, six important Memoranda of Understanding were entered into

covering a wide range of areas including economic matters, trade, investment, technology, agriculture and fisheries in addition to further strengthening bilateral diplomatic relations.

Some of the interesting possibilities that can be accrued from this visit are the initiating of discussions towards the signing of a Free Trade Agreement between the two South Asian States.

Another area which was suggested by Sheikh Hasina was opening up Bangladeshi universities to Sri Lankan students.

Agreements also covered cooperation in Trade and in Tourism, Youth Development, Agricultural Research, Technical Education, vocational training, training of Bangladeshi nurses and healthcare workers and co-operation between think tanks of the two countries namely the Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and strategic Studies and the Bangladesh Institute for International and Strategic studies.

Jaffna development on track A meeting to discuss the development work of the Northern province was held recently in the presence of Minister of Mass Media Keheliya Rambukwella and Director of the Media Centre for National Development Milinda Rajapaksa. Governor of the

Northern province Mrs. G.S.M Charles praised the minister of the ongoing development work. It was also mentioned that over 171 000 have been given jobs by this government since coming into power.

ckudOH wud;HdxYh ntF[d Clf mikr;R Ministry of Mass Media

Digital dialogue on country’s

macroeconomic policies

raised by the automobile industry regarding vehicle imports. He stresses that there is no blanket rule to completely halt imports permanently. “This is purely a tool to manage the outflow of forex and not burden the economy in the current economic climate.”

The ministry of Finance has rejected reports of a blanket ban on imports of tyres to the country.

Secretary to the Ministry of Finance S.R Attygalle confirmed that no such decision has been taken.

When forex leaves the country, the subsequent depreciation of the rupee inhibits the capacity to import Essential commodities.

“Tires with rim specs -12/13/14 inch rim sizes are not imported as they are locally produced in Sri Lanka.

All other tire sizes are imported according to demand.” He said.

digital dialogue hosted by the Media Centre for National Development.

Attygalle was speaking at the

He

also

addressed

concerns

President pledges to make country

poverty free

Based on data that suggests Sri Lanka has enough brand new cars already in the country to cater for a year’s worth of demand, this decision was taken.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa pledged to make Sri Lanka poverty free at a gathering held in the Nuwara Eliya district held under the “Discussion with the village programme”.

He expressed that uplifting the agricultural sector would result in a considerable improvement in the lifestyles of rural people, as 75% of them are currently engaged in cultivation. At a national level this would be significant given that 35% of the total population is engaged in agrarian occupations.

Another 100,000 families from the lowest income groups have been selected and have qualified for a program that provides employment opportunities. 35,000 jobs have already been allocated for them at this initial stage and another 100,000 employment opportunities will follow.

Middle income housing units to be completed in 2 years.

Dr Nalaka Godahewa , State Minister of Urban development, Coast Conservation, Waste Disposal and Sanitation inspected the ongoing low income housing project in Bloemendhal and the Middle Income projects in Peliyagoda, Bloemendhal and Orugodawatta.

(UDA) has commenced the construction of 3,000 of these units and the applications for them will be available in a few weeks..

The minister made these statements during an interview organised and hosted by the Media Centre for National Development

2 | Blueprint - Documenting Development Weekly by www.mcnd.gov.lk

Creation of new

Sri Lanka- China

currency swap

Sri Lanka has entered into a 10 billion Yuan currency swap (US$ 1.5 billion). The Central Bank of Sri Lanka announced that it had entered into an agreement with the People’s Bank of China for a bilateral, currency swap. This would significantly promote

Irrigation Minister clarified

technology parks bilateral trade and investment and facilitate other economic interactions between the 2 countries.

China is Sri Lanka’s most important source of imports, amounting to US$3.6 billion in 2020 (22% of total imports).

Gin- Nilwala project

In response to some of the speculation posted on certain social media platforms regarding the construction of two tanks in the Sinharaja forest, to carry water to Hambantota, Irrigation Minister Chamal Rajapaksa set the record straight on those projects.

The Minister stressed the commitment of the Government to provide drinking water to the general population as well as ensuring irrigation water to about half a million farmers in the Hambantota and Monaragala districts and also part of the Matara district.

Macktiles promises

High Quality Sri Lankan Tiles Macktiles, the youngest player in the Sri Lankan tile industry, has taken the initiative to expand further by establishing manufacturing facilities to cater to the local demand. This initiates an industrial expansion drive in keeping with the Government’s initiative to develop Sri Lankan industries.

The Company has invested in a state-ofthe-Art plant from the Italian manufacturing giant of the world’s No 1 tile manufacturing supplier, SACMI and systems.

“Once our new plant is installed, we will be able to supply state of the art highest quality porcelain

and ceramic tiles of International quality. Our tiles will be an equivalent to designer tiles that were imported from Italy and Spain in the past”, said Head of the manufacturing plant Ranjith Munamalpe.

“Moreover, we are honored to be a part of His Excellency President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Saubhagyaye Dekma initiative that’s been endorsed by Hon. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and Hon. Basil Rajapaksa, Chairman of the Presidential Task Force for Economical Revival & Poverty Alleviation, the backbones of the initiative.”

The Government will implement the establishment of 5 new technology parks in the country at identified sites in Galle, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Kurunegala, with the objective of creating a technology driven economy.

This will open up new sectors in the economy with the export of technologically advanced products and services, resulting in increased earnings.

Cultivation of 100,000 acres of

fallow land commences

Minister of Agriculture Mahindananda Aluthgamage stated that steps will be taken to initiate the cultivation of 100,000 acres of fallow paddy lands in Sri Lanka. This will commence with 28,000 acres in March 2021 for the Yala season. It is estimated that as a consequence of that move, this Yala season’s harvest will increase by an additional 35,000 metric tons of paddy.

Blueprint - Documenting Development Weekly by www.mcnd.gov.lk | 3

“clean and conserve all rivers” Under the “Surakimu Ganga” national programme President Gotabaya Rajapaksa pledged to conserve all rivers in the country.

The President further stated that LKR 23 billion has been allocated to clean up all rivers to ensure a high quality of water.

Additional funds would be made available for this purpose,

National Environment Act to be amended

after 20 years

The Ministry of Environment has taken steps to amend the National Environment Act which has remained unchanged for 20 years.

According to the Minster of environment Mahinda Amaraweera, the powers of the existing National Environment Act are not sufficient to ensure environmental protection.

Sri Lanka export earnings up

by 2.25% despite challenges

- president says

if necessary. The President reminded the audience of the far reaching consequences of the improvements he had introduced in the past, transforming Colombo into a clean, green city with improved sanitation whilst offering protection to natural habitats like wetlands.

Combating climate change

the right way Combating climate change is an inclusive and participatory dialogue that requires all stakeholders’ involvement. This is the first of many steps to unite all sectors invested in this to rally around and forge ahead with initiatives to make resilient Sri Lankan communities and ecosystems. These sentiments

were echoed at the National Dialogue on Risk Management associated with Climate Change hosted by SLYCANTrust in association with the MCND. The forum centered around finance instruments used to combat climate change as a part of Risk Management in Sri Lanka.

A very positive statistic was the 2.25% growth in export earnings recorded by Sri Lanka for the month of February 2021, when compared to February 2020. This is even more remarkable since this is the highest export earnings figure for the month of February in the past 5 years, according to the

export Development Board (EDB).

ckudOH wud;HdxYh ntF[d Clf mikr;R

Ministry of Mass Media

This growth was recorded as a result of increased international demand for electronic components and rubber gloves from markets including the Netherlands, China, Canada and Spain.

Ministry of Mass Media 163,Asi Disi Medura, Kirulapone Mawatha, Polhengoda, Colombo 05. Sri Lanka

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