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Prez champions digital infrastructure for Lanka’s economic renaissance
By Harischandra Gunaratna
President Ranil Wickremesinghe recently delivering the keynote address at the Digital Public Infrastructure Conference organized by the Indian High Commission in Colombo at the Taj Samudra Hotel, underscored the importance of digital infrastructure in modernizing agriculture, addressing multi-dimensional poverty and reforming the education system.
Wickremesinghe characterized the country’s economy as a ‘patchwork economy’ calling it a symphony of desperate elements stitched together.
Acknowledging the importance of digitization, the President highlighted the significance of discussions on the digital public economy whilst outlining the government’s plans to establish a new institutional framework to facilitate this transition, moving away from the existing structures such as IT Councils and focusing on creating a Digital Transformation Agency and AI Centre, allocated with a budget of one billion rupees. He said the agency would be building a robust economy, departing from the previous approaches which failed to yield the desired results.
The President expressed gratitude to the Indian government for its support, in advancing Sri Lanka’s digital economy, highlighting plants to collaborate with Indian institutions and leverage their expertise, particularly establishing a campus of the Chennai Indian Institute of Technology(IIT) and additionally planning to launch three universities, two of which will focus on technology.
Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Santosh Jha in his welcome address said India’s own journey stands as testimony to the power of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). The digital transformation in India over the last decade or so has been driven by these inter operable and open protocols of DPI.
The High Commissioner said that India’s DPI journey started with the basic need to provide direct access to public services and Government benefits to its citizen.
“This what gave birth to India’s Digital Identity Number AADHAAR- and the Unique Identification Authority of India in 2016. This became the foundational building block of DPI and the magic began.
At the heart of this magic is what we call India Stack: – government-backed APIs, or Application Programming Interfaces, upon which third parties can build software with access to government IDs, payment networks and data Jha said.
This digital infrastructure in inter operable and “stacked together – meaning that private private companies can build apps integrated with state services to provide consumers with seamless access to everything from welfare payments to loan applications and making investments, the High Commissioner stressed.
“Probably even the architects of of AADHAAR didn’t envisage that India was on path to finding a world-beating solution for building out and regulating the online commons that is more equitable than laissez-fare approach, more transparent and more innovative than some of the regulation-heavy models.” he said.
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Advisory for High Waves for the sea areas extending from Colombo to Pottuvil via Galle, Matara and Hambantota
Advisory for High Waves
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre Issued at 03.30 p.m. on 26 August 2026 Valid for the period until 03.30 p.m. 27 August 2026
An advisory for high waves has been issued for the sea areas extending from Colombo to Pottuvil via Galle, Matara and Hambantota and naval and fishing communities engaged in activities in the aforementioned sea areas, as well as coastal communities living in the aforementioned nearshore areas, are advised to remain vigilant in this regard
The swell waves (about 2.0 m – 3.0 m) height (This is not for land area) may increase in the sea areas off the coast extending from Colombo to Pottuvil via Galle, Matara and Hambantota. There is a possibility that near shore sea areas off the coast extending from Beruwala to Matara via Galle, may experience surges due to swell waves.
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We must create social awareness to ensure the physical and mental well-being of children with disabilities – PM
Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that, given their particular vulnerability children with disabilities require protection, and stressed the need to foster social awareness to protect them from negative social influences while promoting their physical and mental well-being. She emphasized the need to implement awareness programmes for parents, teachers and other members of society towards this end.
The Prime Minister made these remarks on Tuesday [August 25] while visiting and observing the National Institute of Special and Inclusive Education – Shishyodaya, located in Veniwelkola.
The purpose of the Prime Minister’s visit was to observe the institutional structure and gain an understanding of the areas that require further development.
The Prime Minister emphasized that a systematic mechanism should be established to transform the institution, which was established in 2019 outside the basic standards and plans for Inclusive Education, into an institution that provides quality education to children and fulfills the targeted objectives of inclusive education. She also proposed appointing a special committee to make the necessary recommendations in this regard.
The Prime Minister further stated that steps would be taken in coordination with the Ministry of Health to address the shortage of therapists and medical professionals required to provide clinical services to students at the institution. She also stressed that the maintenance of equipment and buildings should be carried out properly using the financial allocations provided for such purposes.
The Prime Minister further noted that finding sustainable solutions to the issues faced by the institution is essential, while immediate interventions should be made to address issues that can be resolved without delay. The welfare of the teachers serving at the institution was also discussed during the visit.
Member of Parliament Anura Panagoda, Chairman of the Homagama Pradeshiya Sabha Kasun Rathnayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education Nalaka Kaluwewa, ministry officials, parents and students were present.
[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Justice and National Integration Minister Harshana Nanayakkara said yesterday that the government would proceed with both the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, and the Judicature (Amendment) Bill, because the government could not achieve its goal by increasing the retirement ages of a section of the judges.
The Attorney-at-Law declared that the government would go ahead with both Bills, whatever the obstacles. The Minister was responding to The Island query whether the government would go ahead with the Judicature (Amendment) Bill that hadn’t been so far challenged in the Supreme Court, pending the decision on the controversial 22nd Amendment facing tough legal challenge.
Nanayakkara emphasised the importance of the enactment of both Bills. The 22nd Amendment seeks to increase the retirement ages of Supreme Court judges to 67 from 65 and Court of Appeal judges from 63 to 65. The Judicature (Amendment) Bill seeks to increase the retirement ages of the High Court judges to 63 from 61, and that of the District court judges and and Magistrates to 62.
Minister Nanayakkara said that the enactment of both Bills simultaneously would make a significant contribution to improve the overall situation, particularly dealing with a backlog of 1.1 million cases.
Joint Opposition and the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), too, acknowledged that petitions against the Judicature (Amendment) Bill were yet to be filed.
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