News
Modi congratulates Gotabaya on completing one year in office
BY S VENKAT NARAYAN
Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, November 23: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has congratulated Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on the first anniversary of assumption of office.
Modi noted that the India-Sri Lanka relationship has expanded into new areas and was strengthened in the past one year.
In his letter, he underlined that the strong collaboration between the two countries in the midst of challenges posed by COVID-19 pandemic symbolized the friendly ties between the two peoples.
Modi reiterated India’s commitment to support Sri Lanka’s fight against the COVID 19 pandemic as well as in Sri Lanka’s development priorities. He also expressed confidence that under the decisive leadership of President Rajapaksa, full potential of the bilateral relationship will be realized.
He wished the President success in the tenure ahead and looked forward to continued close cooperation.
The congratulatory letter is in continuation of regular interactions between India and Sri
Lanka at the leadership level, which has resulted into significant strides in the field of
development cooperation, trade and economic ties, people to people contacts despite
the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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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