News

Consumer Sentiment Index down

Published

4 years ago

2022/05/12

Institute for Health Policy’s (IHP) Index of Consumer Sentiment fell three points to five, in April, with all indices down since March.

IHP’s Dr Ravi Rannan Eliya said that IHP’s Index of Consumer Sentiment (ICS), a measure of how the public views their personal economic situation and the wider national economy, had fallen by three points in April to 5, closer to its floor of zero, and reaching its lowest level since IHP began tracking it.

The current declining trend started in mid-February with the start of power cuts and increasing impact of foreign exchange shortages, plateaued from mid-March, before consumer sentiment started to decline again from early April, around the time of the resignation of the Cabinet, he said.

The Index of Current Conditions (ICC), a broad measure of perceptions about current conditions, fell three points to 7. The Index of Consumer Expectations (ICE), a measure of perceptions about the future, fell a further four points to reach 4.

Consumer pessimism is now universal, across all segments, the IHP has said in a press release. Until February 2022, consumer confidence had been higher in the youth (ages 18–29 years) than older adults, largely because the youth continued to be significantly less pessimistic about the future (tracked by the ICE which looks at future expectations), but this future optimism of the youth has now collapsed, with consumer sentiment similar across all age groups.

Dr Rannan-Eliya, the lead investigator for the survey, said that the public is resigned to the likelihood that the situation will get worse in the coming months and years.

“The public appears resigned to the likelihood that economic conditions will worsen. All three forward looking measures (household situation in next 12 months, country situation in next 12 months and in five years) are now below 10, and worse than the measures tracking current and recent conditions. With the measure tracking public views of the country’s situation in five years’ time at a new low of 3, he added that more than 95% of Sri Lankans think the country’s economy will be in worse condition five years’ time than now,” he said.

Adapting standard questions used globally to track consumer sentiment, Sri Lanka Opinion Tracker Survey (SLOTS) has been tracking consumer sentiment daily since September 2021, he said.

“Three separate indices are currently tracked on a weekly and daily basis, covering views about current conditions, expectations about future conditions, and views about buying major household items. Data are obtained from phone interviews of a national sample of respondents, with the results adjusted to ensure they are representative of the Sri Lankan population in all provinces and at all income levels,” he said. (RK)

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News

SAARC journalists meet in New Delhi

Published

2 hours ago

2026/02/6

Priyan

President of SJF Sri Lanka Chapter Rahul Samantha Hettiarachchi hands over a memento to Dr Alok Kumar Mishra Joint Secretary of the Association of Indian Universities

Members of the South Asian Journalists Forum have gathered at the University of New Delhi for a two day conference themed ‘Peace and Co-operation’.

Journalists from Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and India are attending the conference hosted by the University of Delhi in collaboration with the India Chapter of SJF, and will deliberate on how the media can act as a catalyst for regional stability and mutual coexsistence.

A tree plantation campaign was also held at the Ghandi Bhawan premises of the University to mark the event and symbolize growing regional ties.

The Sri Lanka delegation is led by President of SJF’s Sri Lanka Chapter Rahul Samantha Hettiarachchi.

News

Governor of Gujarat met with Sri Lanka PM to discuss exposition of Devnimori Relics

Published

4 hours ago

2026/02/6

Priyan

The Governor of the of Gujarat, Acharya Devvrat, along with the Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat, Harsh Sanghvi, met with Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya on Thursdy [February 05] at the Parliamentary Complex to discuss the arrangements related to the exposition of the Devnimori Sacred Relics of Lord Buddha, which have been brought to Sri Lanka under the patronage of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Government of India.

These sacred relics of Lord Buddha were discovered during archaeological excavations conducted in the 1960s at the historic Devnimori site in Gujarat, the home state of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Until now, these relics had never been taken outside India. As a result of discussions held between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to Sri Lanka, the people of Sri Lanka have been granted this rare opportunity to venerate these sacred relics.

The exposition of the relics is being held for a period of seven days, from February 05 to February 11, at the Gangaramaya Temple in Hunupitiya, Colombo. Discussions were held between both parties regarding the arrangements related to this event.

The discussion was attended by Samar Nanda, Joint Secretary of the Indian Ministry of Culture; Dr. Satyanjal Pandey, Acting High Commissioner of India in Sri Lanka; Abhijit Halder, Director General of the International Buddhist Confederation; along with several others.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]

News

INS GHARIAL makes port call in Colombo

Published

11 hours ago

2026/02/6

Priyan

The Indian Naval Ship (INS) GHARIAL made a port call in Colombo for operational turnarounds on 04 Feb 26. The Sri Lanka Navy welcomed the visiting ship in compliance with naval traditions.

Commanded by Commander Gaurav Tewari, INS GHARIAL is a vessel with a length of 124.8 meters.

During this visit, ten (10) Bailey Bridges, brought by ship, through the coordination of the High Commission of India in Sri Lanka, will be handed over to the Disaster Management Center. These bridges will provide temporary transportation links while bridges damaged across the island by adverse weather conditions are repaired.

The crew’s itinerary features scheduled goodwill activities with the Sri Lanka Navy, alongside visits to several tourist attractions across the island.