News
Indo-Lanka govt. level talks soon on fishing row: Fisheries Minister
Days ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Lanka, Minister of Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources, Ramalingam Chandrasekar has said that goverment level talks on the fishing dispute between Sri Lanka and India would be held soon in the presence of fishermen, Times of India said yesterday (31).
Minister Chandrasekar issued the statement on Sunday after a delegation of fishermen from Rameswaram held a meeting with him in Jaffna on Saturday evening.
The delegation, led by fishermen’s leader R Sahayam, appealed to the Minister to initiate talks between fishermen of the two countries. The last ministerial level talks on the dispute were held in 2016. Calling for a lasting solution to the problem, the delegation pleaded with the Minister to secure the release of Indian fishermen and their fishing craft held in the island nation’s custody.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to visit Sri Lanka on April 4, and the fishermen’s row is likely to be one of the issues that will figure in his meeting with his Sri Lankan counterpart.
Meanwhile, the delegation from Rameswaram met fishermen lodged in Sri Lankan prisons, and took stock of the fishing craft confiscated by the authorities on charges of poaching in Sri Lanka’s territorial waters.
The fishermen’s leaders had met their counterparts at Vavuniya on March 26 and discussed the issue. The Indian side sought time to bring trawling to a halt, but the Sri Lankan fishermen made it clear that trawling won’t be accepted in their waters, though they are ready for an amicable solution.
Reiterating this stand, leaders of the Northern Province Fisher People Unity, an umbrella forum of fishermen associations of the northern provinces of Sri Lanka, told reporters on Sunday that Indian trawlers should stop coming to Sri Lankan waters.
Else, their country’s law should find its course to stop it. They are determined that their people should fish in their waters independently and leave the marine resources for future generations, said forum spokesperson Annarasa Annalingam.
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Transport, Highways, and Urban Development to award the contract for printing and supplying vehicle number plates for the Department of Motor Traffic for a period of five (5) years to M/s South Asian Technologies based on the recommendations of the High-Level Standing Procurement Committee and the Procurement Appeal Board.
The National Lotteries board has been established subject to the Finance Act No. 11 of 1963. Having identified the requirement of amending that act which was imposed around 62 years to cater the current requirements of the lottery market, the Cabinet of Mnisters at their meeting held on 14.02.2017 granted approval to draft a new bill for the purpose.
Accordingly, the National Lotteries Board has recognized further amendments to be performed to the fundamental draft bill prepared by the Legal Draftsmen.
Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval for the
resolution furnished by the President in his office as the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to direct the Legal Draftsmen to finalize the formulation of the draft bill for the National Lotteries Board as soon as possible including the proposed new amendments as well.
The Werahara office of the Department of Motor Traffic performs issuance of temporary driving licenses in this country based on the driving licenses issued overseas, and measures have been initiated to render the service from a service window of the Department of Motor Traffic established at the Bandaranayake International Airport from 03.08.2025.
The fees charged for issuing temporary driving licenses have been published in Motor Vehicles (Driving License Levy) Regulations No. 3 of 2022 prepared under the provisions of the Motor Traffic (Authority 203) Act.
But, as the fee of Rupees 2,000/- charged for the service is not sufficient, the requirement of amending the regulations has been recognized.
The regulations for introducing the revised fees have been published in the government extraordinary gazette
notification No. 2463/04 dated 17.11.2025. Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the resolution furnished by the Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development to
submit the regulations to the Parliament for its concurrence.
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M/s South Asian Technologies awarded contract to supply vehicle number plates
A new act for National Lotteries Board to be introduced
Motor Vehicles (Driving License Levy) Regulations No. 3 of 2022 to be amended
Mrs. P. K. L. S. Panduwawala appointed to the post of Surveyor General
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