News
‘SL can save Rs. 3Bn annually if people use e-payment platforms for their transactions’
by Priyan de Silva
Sri Lanka can save three billion rupees spent annually to print currency notes if the public use e-payment systems for their transactions, parliamentarian Chandima Weerakkody said.
He was the guest-of-honour at a ceremony in Galle on Saturday to promote the Central Bank’s ‘Mulu Ratatama ‘LANKAQR’, an integrated payment system initiative in the Southern province.
“With Rs. 3 billion saved, we can develop the East Container Terminal as well as the West Container Terminal of the Colombo port”, he noted.
He said the IT literacy rate in Sri Lanka was high and over 190,000 businesses registering with LANKAQR within a period of six months proved this point.
“We are seeing what we preached on political platforms now turning into reality”.
Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Professor W. D. Lakshman, Chairman and CEO of Hatton National Bank PLC, Jonathan Alles, Chairman and CEO of SDB Bank, Thilak Piyadigama and top government and financial sector officials participated in the promotion.
It has been reported that former Inspector General of Police (IGP) C.D. Wickramaratne has been found dead at his residence in Athurugiriya this morning (17)
it is suspected that he may have taken his own life.
A heated argument broke out between Jaffna District MP Archchuna Ramanathan and Fisheries Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar during the Kilinochchi District Coordination Committee meeting held yesterday (16).
A video footage of the incident shows the MP and the Minister engaging in a heated verbal exchange, following which a physical confrontation appeared to develop when the Minister attempted to grab files reportedly in the possession of MP Ramanathan.
“If you lay a hand on me, I’ll lay a hand on you too… got it?” Ramanathan is heard telling the Minister during the exchange.
Police and officials present at the meeting intervened to prevent the situation from escalating further.
The circumstances that led to the confrontation were not immediately clear.
Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith has filed an intervening petition before the Court of Appeal in connection with a petition filed by former head of the State Intelligence Service, Major General (Retired) Suresh Sallay, challenging his arrest and detention under the Prevention of Terrorism Act over investigations into the Easter Sunday terror attacks.
The Cardinal has sought permission from the court to make submissions in relation to Sallay’s petition and requested that it be dismissed.
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