News
Half a mn doses of Covishield vaccines made in India arriving in Colombo today
BY S VENKAT NARAYAN
Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, January 27:
A gift of half a million doses of Oxford-Astrazeneca’s Covishield vaccines manufactured in India will arrive in Colombo on Thursday by a special Air India flight. The vaccines are being sent under the Indian Government’s VaccineMaitri (VaccineFriendship).
The vaccines are packed in tailor-made boxes, and will be ceremonially handed over to Sri Lankan authorities by Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay at the Bandaranaiake International Airport, the High Commission said in a press release.
The consignment of COVISHIELD vaccines arrives in Sri Lanka on the auspicious Duruthu Poya Day. Baglay will pray at the sacred Gangaramaya Temple for the health and well-being of the people of Sri Lanka on the Day.
He will also seek the blessings of Ven. Dr. Kirinde Assaji Thero. As per the Buddhist traditions in India and Sri Lanka, the High Commissioner will offer meals to devotees at the Temple.
Incidentally, Baglay had first arrived in Sri Lanka to take up his assignment in the Vesak Week in May 2019 with 12.5 tons of medical supplies as gift by India to Sri Lanka for fighting COVID-19 pandemic.
Oxford-Astrazeneca’s COVISHIELD vaccine is manufactured by Serum Institute of India (SII) in Pune in Maharashtra state. This has been approved for emergency use by Government of Sri Lanka.
The gift from India is keeping in line with India’s continued support to Sri Lanka in fighting the COVID pandemic. Four consignments of medical supplies weighing around 25 tonnes were donated by India, which also organised online experience-sharing programmes for Sri Lankan medical professionals.
The two partners have also put up a joint front in the COVID-19 battle with India and Sri Lanka being the largest contributors to the COVID-19 Emergency Fund for SAARC. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had complimented Sri Lanka’s leadership on containing the pandemic.
Guided by ‘Neighbourhood First’ and SAGAR policies, India has so far gifted about five million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to neighbouring countries, and those in the Gulf and Indian Ocean since 20 January 2021.
Millions of doses of made-in-India COVID vaccines have also been exported to countries as far away as Latin America and West Asia, and will continue to reach those in the Caribbean and the Pacific too.
In September 2020, Prime Minister Modi told the UN that India’s vaccine capacity will be used to help all humanity fight the COVID pandemic. India, which is called the ‘Pharmacy of the World’, supplied essential medicines to fight COVID-19 to 150 countries, more than half of it as a gift.
A discussion with the Catholic Council was held on Thursday (21) afternoon at the Presidential Secretariat under the co-chairmanship of Minister of Science and Technology, Chrishantha Abeysena and Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake.
Discussions focused on administrative issues relating to Catholic schools taken over by the Government, the formulation of a structured teacher cadre system for Catholic religious education, the need to recruit Catholic nuns and priests into the teaching profession and the establishment of a mechanism to obtain the support of the Ministry of Education for the administration of Government-acquired Catholic schools.
It was also decided that discussions with the Catholic Council would be held three times annually, while Senior Additional Secretary to the President Roshan Gamage would serve as Secretary to the forum.
Expressing appreciation on behalf of the Catholic Council, His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith thanked President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and the Government for facilitating the discussion.
His Eminence further stated that the expectation was to ensure every student, without discrimination, is given the opportunity to learn his or her own religion and stressed the importance of resolving the prevailing issues within the education sector.
Also present at the occasion were Most Rev. Bishop Harold Anthony Perera, Most Rev. Bishop Christy Noel Emmanuel, Most Rev. Bishop Anton Ranjith, Most Rev. Bishop Wimal Siri Jayasuriya, other clergy representing the Catholic Council, Secretary to the Ministry of Education, Nalaka Kaluwewa and senior officials of the Ministry of Education.
(PMD)
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has decided to broaden the Women’s Emerging Nations Trophy, which was launched last year. Unlike the inaugural edition held in November 2025 that featured eight Associate teams, the second edition will comprise 10 teams, including five Test-playing nations. The tournament is scheduled to be held in November this year.
Italian Navy’s ITS GIOVANNI DELLE BANDE NERE, which arrived in Colombo (21 May 2026) on a replenishment visit, departed the island today (22 May).
The Sri Lanka Navy bade a customary farewell to the departing ship in compliance with naval traditions at the port of Colombo.
During her brief stay in Colombo, the Commanding Officer of the ship, Commander Antonio BUFIS called on the Commander Western Naval Area at the Western Naval Command Headquarters.
Catholic Council reconvenes after nine years
ICC to widen Women’s Emerging Nations Trophy
Italian Navy’s ITS GIOVANNI DELLE BANDE NERE departs following replenishment visit
PM meets Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations
Tennessee execution called off after failed lethal injection
Landslide early warnings issued to the Districts of Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Kegalle, Nuwara Eliya and Ratnapura
‘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
-
Features6 days agoSri Lankan Airlines Airbus Scandal and the Death of Kapila Chandrasena and my Brother Rajeewa
-
News7 days agoLanka’s eligibility to draw next IMF tranche of USD 700 mn hinges on ‘restoration of cost-recovery pricing for electricity and fuel’
-
News6 days agoKapila Chandrasena case: GN phone records under court scrutiny
-
News6 days agoRupee slide rekindles 2022 crisis fears as inflation risks mount
-
Features3 days agoOctopus, Leech, and Snake: How Sri Lanka’s banks feast while the nation starves
-
Business6 days agoExpansion of PayPal services in Sri Lanka officially announced
-
News2 days agoSteps underway to safeguard Sri Lanka’s maritime heritage
-
News6 days agoCourt orders further arrests in alleged USD 42 Mn NDB fraud case