News
UGC Chief receives ‘The Order of the Rising Sun’ twice
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Senior Professor Sampath Amaratunga, Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC) has received the prestigious Japanese title ‘The Order of the Rising Sun’ twice.
The academic received the title the highest order conferred by the Government of Japan in the name of His Majesty the Emperor, on 14 Oct. 2021 from the then Japanese Ambassador in Colombo Akira Sugiyama at his official residence.
For the second time, the UGC Chief received the same title from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at Dharmavijayaloka Vihara in Rukmale in Pannipitiya at an event organised on 22 January, 2022.
The Presidential Media Division said that President Rajapaksa after receiving the award
from W.K.H. Wegapitiya, Chairman of University of Sri Jayewardenepura Alumni Association and Japanese Ambassador Mizukoshi Hideaki presented it to Senior Professor Sampath Amaratunga.
Prof. Amaratunga poses for a photograph with President Rajapaksa
Prof. Sunil Ariyaratne delivered the keynote address on the occasion.
‘The Order of the Rising Sun’ is conferred by His Majesty on individuals who have made distinguished achievements in international relations, promotion of Japanese culture et al.
The Japanese embassy announced Senior Prof. Amaratunga and Manoj Fernando, Executive Vice President of the Sri Lanka Baseball/Softball Association (SLBSA) received the award.
The Chancellor of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Most Ven. Ittapana Dhammalankara Thera has presented a memento to Japanese Ambassador Mizukoshi Hideaki.
W.K.H. Wegapitiya and Prof. Sudantha Liyanage, Vice Chancellor of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, presented a memento to the President. The members of Maha Sangha, MP S.B. Dissanayake, Chancellors and Vice Chancellors of the Universities, and alumni of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura were also present.
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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