Latest News
Cabinet approves proposed public service salary revisions
The Cabinet of Ministers has granted approval to the proposal furnished by the President in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policies to grant policy approval to the following proposals recommended in the report recomending salary revisions in all sectors of the public service and implement the relevant proposals by including them in the budget of 2025.
• Categorization of all designations in the entire public service into 04 levels, and grouping them into sub – categories of recruitment, based on Sri Lanka Qualifications Framework (SLQF) and the National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) as well as the relevant role, responsibility of the
employment and the considering the ability to attract and sustain especially skilled employees in special employments.
• Following appropriate selection methodologies based on Sri Lanka Qualifications Framework, national vocational qualification as fundamental recruitment qualification even for primary service
categories as per service requirement
• Recruitments to be made to all other service categories through formal competitive examinations and interviewing methods.
• Accordingly, revising the existing approved service minutes appropriately soon
• Payment of a monthly cost of living allowance of rupees 25,000/- for all the government employees (subject to revising once in every 03 years) considering the year 2025 as the base year, consolidate various adjustments and allowances already added.
• The minimum initial monthly salary of the government service to be escalated from a minimum percentage of 24%, while taking the gross salary as rupees 55,000/- with cost of living allowance and adjust and calculate the initial salary of all other designations accordingly.
• Implementation of this new salary and allowance methodology for all government institutions excluding trading state companies and banks
• Taking measures to limit the total staff of the public sector by 2030 as one million (1,000,000) or lesser.
• Introduction of e – governance from the electronic systems accordingly in every sector in the entire public service within 03 years through digitalization and automation and pioneering the public investment for that
• Implementation of a medical insurance scheme that awards a more attractive benefits with a monthly minimum contribution of rupees 1,000/- including for all employees and pensioners of the government sector with effect from January 2025.
• Obtaining services following precise methodologies to maximize the efficiency to minimize the government cost through methods such as outsourcing as far as possible.
• Implementation of the restructuring programme for state departments / corporations / statutory institutions by initializing them as Public Liability Companies listed in the stock market.
• Performing a precise work study, taking actions in the year 2025 to scientifically study on the entire state sector staffs and services.
• Accordingly, all public employees should be furnished with performance indicators and the salary increments should be awarded based on their progress.
• Awarding the claimed salary increments for government officers retired prior to the year 2020 and clearing their relevant salary anomalies by revising their pension
• From January 2025, pensioners to be given 50% of the cost of living allowance given to the public employees engaged in active service.
• Subject to management of this expenditure within the existing tax policy itself, implementation of this method of salary and implementation of the proposed method of salary with effect from
01.01.2025 considering the state finance space as well.
[Approval of the Cabinet of Ministers has been granted at their meeting held on 27.05.2024 to appoint a specialist committee to submit a report comprised of recommendations for implementing proposals for
revision of salaries in all sectors of the public service from the budget 2025, subsequent to reviewing salaries, wages and other remunerations of the State sector.
Accordingly, the specialist committee appointed headed by former Secretary to the President, Udaya Senevirathne has held discussions with
public officers and major trade unions in the public sector and has submitted an interim report subsequent to analyzing the relevant information]
[Cricbuzz]
Why did David Miller refuse a single off the penultimate delivery with Delhi Capitals needing 2 off 2? It’ll be spoken of for a while, but not inside the Gujarat Titans change room. Because Prasidh Krishna bowled a nerveless slower bouncer off the final delivery that Miller missed, and Jos Buttler then nailed a direct hit with an underarm throw from behind the stumps to run out Kuldeep Yadav, clinching a dramatic first win for GT in IPL 2026.
Despite being adjudged run out on the field, Miller wasn’t in the mood to concede defeat, and reviewed the final ball for a possible wide. But when replays confirmed what he had perhaps known, he was crestfallen. Equally distraught in the dugout was K L Rahul, whose 52-ball 92 set the game up for DC but for one run.
It was GT’s first win of the tournament and the first loss for DC after starting the campaign with two wins in a row.
Thirty-six needed off 12. A bruised finger that didn’t make it easy for him to grip the bat had forced Miller to retire hurt with DC needing 81 off 42. But when Tristan Stubbs was run-out in the 17th over, Miller returned hoping to play second fiddle to Rahul. Instead, he was now expected to deliver a box-office hit with Rahul nicking behind off a full Mohammed Siraj delivery two balls later.
Miller nearly delivered what was expected, as he went 6, 4, 6 off Siraj, repeatedly peppering the short leg-side boundary. At the other end, Vipraj Nigam also ramped four off a short delivery to bring the equation down to a manageable 13 off the final over.
Prasidh was tasked to bowl the final over. His three overs prior to that had been walloped for 41; Rahul, his state mate, had climbed into him earlier in the night. But all that would’ve been forgiven if Prasidh delivered a gun final over. That GT could only have four fielders out due to a slow over rate added to his challenge. And he nearly succumbed.
Nigam made room and swung cleanly to hit the first ball to the long-off fence, but a rush of blood had him swipe the second delivery to Shubman Gill at mid-off. With DC now needing nine off four, Kuldeep gently deflected his first ball to deep third to leave the chase in Miller’s hands.
With the equation down to 8 off 3, Prasidh bowled a slot-ball that Miller walloped over long-off. But with two needed, Miller inexplicably refused a single to take it all upon himself to finish the deal. He couldn’t connect on the final ball, and Prasidh belted a roar. GT had pulled one from under DC’s rug in dramatic circumstances.
After scores of 1 and 0 in his first two games, Rahul announced himself with a 29-ball half-century that was as pleasing as they come for large parts. It was also one that didn’t have the baggage of him playing run-accumulator, like he has tended to in the past while opening the batting. This Rahul was fun, free and fearless and he helped DC overcome a few roadblocks along the way, like when they lost two wickets in two deliveries to Rashid Khan at the halfway mark.
Rahul was particularly menacing against the fast bowlers, and it began with a wristy flick that he sent way back over deep square off Kagiso Rabada. The early jitters out of the way – if he even had some inkling of them – he batted like a man possessed, fearlessly climbing into length balls from Prasidh over cover, and slapping disdainfully over point.
He is good, but where is the Rashid of old, they asked. Turns out he hadn’t gone anywhere. After he conceded just nine in his first two with DC rampant, he returned to dismiss Nitish Rana in his dramatic third over, the 10th of the innings. Having been given out lbw earlier, only for Rana to overturn the decision through DRS, he was out a few balls later when he miscued a googly to Sai Sudharsan at long-off. This was Rana’s third sub-20 score of the season.
This brought the in-form Sameer Rizvi to the middle, and he lasted all of one delivery as Rashid snuck through his inside-edge with a ripping googly to briefly elicit jitters in the DC camp. This is when Miller entered, before briefly exiting with seven overs left. But in the same over, when Rashid had Axar Patel slice one to Glenn Phillips running back from cover, GT started to have an opening.
On any other night, Rashid’s spell would have cracked open the game. The fact that DC were still in it despite these wickets was down to Rahul. It needed the skilful Siraj to dismiss him with DC needing 45 off three overs. By then, the pressure was telling.
That GT were eventually able to get over the line was down to their run cushion, made possible thanks to half-centuries from Jos Buttler, Gill and Washington Sundar. Buttler looked unshackled, hitting four sixes off his first 15 deliveries en route a bruising half-century, while Gill played himself in and then allayed fears of neck spasms during his takedown of Kuldeep with the slog sweep. Then Washington, promoted to No. 4, struck his maiden IPL fifty to shore up the innings.
Even so, GT managed just 49 off the last five. On another day, this may have proved to be costly. It didn’t on Wednesday, and for that, they have Rashid to thank.
Brief scores:
Gujarat Titans 210 for 4 in 20 overs (Sai Sudarshan 12, Shubman Gill 70, Jos Buttler 52, Washington Sundar 55, Glenn Phillips 14*; Mukesh Kumar 2-55, Lungi Ngidi 1-24, Kuldeep Yadav 1-42 ) beat Delhi Capitals 209 for 8 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 41, KL Rahul 92, David Miller 41*, Vipraj Nigam 12; Mohammed Siraj 1-42, Rashid Khan 3-17, Prasidh Krishna 2-52) by one run
[Cricinfo]
PSL 2026: Iftikhar’s all-round show seals last-ball win for Zalmi
BCCI curbs movement of benched IPL players in latest rules
Prasidh trumps Miller in last-ball finish as Gujarat Titans clinch thriller
Greece to ban social media for under-15s from next year
Showers will occur at a few places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy, Nuwara-Eliya and Mannar districts after 2.00 p.m.
Sun directly overhead Chilaw, Bingiriya, Halmillawewa, Panduwasnuwara, Gokarella, Kawudupelella, Koppaveli and Kirankulam about 12:12 noon. today (09)
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
Features5 days agoRanjith Siyambalapitiya turns custodian of a rare living collection
-
News5 days agoGlobal ‘Walk for Peace’ to be held in Lanka
-
News3 days agoLankan-origin actress Subashini found dead in India
-
Features5 days agoBeyond the Blue Skies: A Tribute to Captain Elmo Jayawardena
-
Opinion7 days agoHidden truth of Sri Lanka’s debt story: The untold narrative behind the report
-
Features5 days agoAspects of Ceylon/Sri Lanka Foreign Relations – 1948 to 1976
-
Features7 days agoThe Ramadan War
-
Editorial6 days agoBrouhaha over a book