News
British Lankan named 40 Under 40 by Boston Business Journal
By Sujeeva Nivunhella in London
Asini Wijewardane, Director of Uwill, was selected as one of the Boston Business Journal’s 40 under 40 honorees.
For the last 24 years, the journal has published a list of the top 40 business people under 40 to recognize and showcase the best young business professionals in Massachusetts, United States of America. Boston Business Journal is one of the most respected business publications that have won regional and national journalism awards in America.
Asini completed her two undergraduate degrees in the United Kingdom as she received a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Middlesex University and an LLB from the University of London. She also received an MBA from Babson College in the US and is currently reading for a Masters in Analytics from Harrisburg University of Science & Technology.
During her MBA, Asini was selected by Poets and Quants, a respected higher education media outlet, as one of the top 100 MBAs globally in 2019. Every year, Poets and Quants release a list of the Top 100 MBAs, across all universities globally including Oxford, Cambridge, and Yale.
In the UK, Asini created and led healthcare improvement programs, public affairs projects and user involvement strategies at Cancer Research UK and Breast Cancer UK.
When she moved to America, she served as an Associate Director of Business Development at medical device company UrSure where she developed the account management and communication strategies through the company’s 2020 acquisition.
She also worked at a nonprofit organisation focused on food insecurity, Three Squares New England, where she fundraised and worked on events strategy. Furthermore, she has been a co-founder to Unmute, a unique mental health counselling application that leverages artificial intelligence to pair patients with compatible therapists.
Her current venture, Uwill, is a teletherapy company that partners with colleges and universities across the USA. Students from Uwill’s partner colleges get to use Uwill to access free counselling and wellness services.
Asini comes from a gifted family as her parents and sister are all doctors. Currently, her parents are Consultants in Sri Lanka while her sister is a Consultant in the UK.
Asini hopes to use her skills to enable change for others. When questioned about her goals she replied, “my goals include setting up my own organization and nonprofit to provide foundational skills to social and arts organizations, in particular in Sri Lanka and Asia.”
In terms of the provisions of the Establishments Code on payment of festival advance to government officers, there’s a possibility of obtaining rupees 10,000/- as an advance for celebrating festivals of Theipongal, Ramazan, Sinhala and Hindu New Year, Wesak, Deepavali, and Christmas as well as for pilgrimages (Sri Paada pilgrimage and Hajj pilgrimage).
Provisions have been given to recover the said advance in 08 installments or if required earlier without interest. It has been proposed by the Budget 2026 to increase the said festival advance up to rupees 15,000/-.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the proposal submitted by the Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local governments to revise the relevant provisions so that the festival advance can be increased up to rupees 15,000/- .
As per the approval given by the cabinet meeting held on 02-06-2025, action is being taken at present to offer the underutilized lands/properties of the Sri Lanka State Plantation Corporation, the Janatha Etate Development Board, and the Elkaduwa Plantation Company which are under the Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure which have been identified under stage one to suitable investors.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Plantations and Community Infrastructure to provide following lands/properties on a lease basis to the suitable investors for optimal utilization following the prescribed procurement procedure.
• underutilized lands/properties identified under stage two owned by the Sri Lanka State Plantation Corporation, the Janatha Estate Development Board, and the Elkaduwa Plantation
Company,
• The Mawarala watte land and the Tea factory 40.48 hectares in extent, located in Matara District belonging to the Tea Shakthi Fund.
• The underutilized land of 1,541 hectares in extent of Kondachchi Estate is enjoyed by the Sri Lanka Cashew Corporation.
The drafting of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy has commenced with the objective of equitable distribution of the benefits of the fisheries industry and the sustainable management of fisheries and aquaculture. This policy has been updated from time to time according to current requirements. However, steps have not been taken to obtain the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers for that purpose.
According to the policy declaration of the present government, ‘Vistas of Prosperity and Splendor’ the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy has been redrafted, updating the aforementioned policy in line with the economic and development objectives of the government.
The recommendations of the Department of National Planning have been received for the drafted policy.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Marine
Resources to implement the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy, integrating it with other relevant policies.
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Festival advance for government officers to be increased
Providing underutilized lands/properties to suitable investors for optimal utilization.
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