News

Price of rice and curry hits two-year-high for average family

Published

5 years ago

2021/12/10

By Sanath Nanayakkare

The cost of a meal consisting of rice, vegetables and meat or fish, consumed at an average Sri Lankan household, hit a two-year high in November 2021, a food price tracker for Sri Lanka has shown.

Advocata’s ‘Bath Curry Indicator (BCI), a simple tool that tracks the prices of common food items that go into a rice and curry dish in Sri Lanka, shows that the cost of a meal increased by 13.5% from October to November 2021.

“Since 2019, retail prices have increased by 44%. This means that an average family, which spends Rs. 960 weekly on the BCI basket of food items in November 2019, now has to pay Rs 1,390 for the same basket of goods just two years later,” the researcher said.

“The food items whose prices increased the most in the past month alone were tomatoes (206%), beans (33%) and green chilli (23%),” the Advocata study has revealed.

The BCI tracks the weekly retail prices in the Colombo market of the most commonly consumed food ingredients that might be used in a typical rice and curry meal. Information about the prices are collected from the ‘Weekly Indicators’ that the Central Bank publishes.

Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said on Saturday that there had been an uptick in inflation and it would taper off as supply side disruptions and global commodity prices eased in the coming months.

SJB MP Harsha de Silva said on Monday that there was a correlation between inflation and the money supply. The government followed the Modern Monetary Theory and printed money at such a rate that it devalued the currency and spiked inflation.

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News

Establishment of the National Higher Performance Centre

Published

3 mins ago

2026/10/20

Priyan

The Cabinet of Ministers approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports to establish the proposed National Higher Performance Centre for atletes.

News

State patronage for the cremation ceremony of the late deputy prelate (Anu Nayaka Thero) of the Sri Laka Ramangya Maha Nikaya, Gatambe Rajopawanramadhipatha, Siri Chandawimala Wanshalankara, Chandrakeerthi Sri Amarawansha, Sadhdharmawageeshwara, Shasanashobhanna Most Venerable Keppetiyagoda Siriwimalabhidhana Thero

Published

14 mins ago

2026/10/20

Priyan

The cremation ceremony of the late Deputy Prelate (Anu Nayaka Thero) of Sri Laka Ramangya Maha Nikaya,
Gatambe Rajopawanramadhipatha, Siri Chandawimala Wanshalankara, Chandrakeerthi Sri Amarawansha,
Sadhdharmawageeshwara, Shasanashobhanna Most Venerable Keppetiyagoda Siriwimalabhidhana Thero who passed away on 18.10.2026 is scheduled to be held at the Gatambe Urban Council playground on 21.10.2026.

The Cabinet of Ministers approved the joint resolution furnished by the Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Governments and the Minister of Buddha Shasana, Religions and Cultural Activities to conduct the cremation ceremony with state patronage.

News

Implementation of Suraksha Student Insurance Program for the Year 2026/2027

Published

21 mins ago

2026/10/20

Priyan

The Suraksha Student Insurance Program has been initiated with the primary objective of the creation of the necessary environment for the students who encounter various obstacles due to various health issues to overcome barriers and continue their education without any interruption.

The students studying in government schools, government approved private schools, Pirivenas and Assisted special schools are eligible to obtain the benefits under this program.

The Cabinet of Ministers, decided to grant their approval for the resolution furnished by the Prime Minister, in her capacity as the Minister of Education, Higher Education, and Vocational Education, to revise and implement the currently enforced agreement regarding the aforementioned Suraksha Student Insurance Program between the Ministry of Education, Higher Education, and Vocational Education and Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation for the period from 01-09-2026 to 31-08-2027,
with the inclusion of the following new benefits as well.

• Providing the opportunity to claim benefits up to Rs. 75,000/- for repairing hearing accessories and for the service charges incurred thereof.

• Providing the opportunity to claim benefits up to Rs.20,000/-for the students who are taking medicines in long term for the diseases such as for chronic kidney diseases and Chronic
Inflammatory Arthritis.

• Providing the opportunity to claim benefits up to Rs.20,000/- for the expenses incurred for the tests Malignancy Screening Test for Skin Cancer, Post-transplant Lymphoproliferative Disorder (PTLD), Screening Test for Osteoporosis, Screening Test for Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and HIV.

• Revising ‘Cancer Treatment’ under the critical illness category to ‘Cancer Treatment and related Testing’, and covering expenses incurred for major surgeries required for hip, shoulder, and knee joint replacements due to sudden accidents, as well as PET Scans, under the critical illness category.

• Providing the opportunity to claim an amount of Rs. 100,000/- under the accidental category for student fatalities occurring due to sudden accidents during activities organized by institutions under the Ministry of Education, Higher Education, and Vocational Education, and conducted under the supervision of educational authorities (such as educational terms/excursions and sports meets, etc.) either within or outside the school.