Business
Dialog rewards winners of Govi Mithuru Nidanaya Competition

Winners of the first phase of the island-wide Govi Mithuru Nidanaya competition being presented with their prizes from Dialog Axiata PLC
As part of the well-established revolutionary agri-tech service ‘Govi Mithuru’, Dialog Axiata PLC (“Dialog”), Sri Lanka’s premier connectivity provider, generously rewarded subscribers of the Govi Mithuru service in the island wide ‘Govi Mithuru Nidanaya Competition’.
The year-long ‘Govi Mithuru Nidanaya Competition’ rewards urban and rural farming communities with grand prizes and aims at uplifting their economies and livelihood. The first phase saw a grand prize of gold coins gifted to 35 lucky winners along with admission to an agriculture training programme conducted by the Department of Agriculture, and 24 runners-up were awarded sewing machines. The on-going second phase will also see similar prizes worth 30 lakhs being disturbed to participants, including a grand prize of a Honda Dio Bike and admission to the Department of Agriculture’s training programme to 35 lucky winners. 60 runners-up will be rewarded with mobile phones. Both phase one and two will also award a consolation prize of Rs. 500 to the 10,000 draw entrants.
Sri Lanka’s primary mobile agricultural information service, Govi Mithuru has registered over 600,000 users and helps maximize crop security and yield for farmers across the island. Under the patronage of the Department of Agriculture, the Govi Mithuru voice service enabled farmers and users in the country to receive direct access to professional guidance in the sector. Offering advice on 25 crop groups, including Home Gardening, the service is accessible to anyone using a basic feature phone.
A one-stop hub of updated, timely information, the Govi Mithuru mobile app is an extension of the original service, designed to deliver tailored formats of information according to the user’s requirements. Customers are charged Rs. 1 (plus tax) per crop per day for the voice service, and Rs. 2 (plus tax) subscription per day for unlimited access to all crops for the mobile app, with no cost on data charges for Dialog Mobile users. The Govi Mithuru app can be downloaded directly via the Google Play Store and voice service can be accessed by dialling 616.
Business
Share investors worried over Wealth and Heritage tax

By Hiran H Senewiratne
CSE trading kicked off on a positive note yesterday but the momentum could not be sustained for long owing to investor worries that the government is planning domestic debt restructuring involving the imposition of a wealth and heritage tax on citizens, market sources said.
Amid those developments both indices moved downwards. The All -Share Price Index went down by 131 points and S and P SL-20 declined by 46.8 points. Turnover stood at Rs 3.4 billion with four crossings. Those crossings were reported in Agalawattte Plantations, which crossed 45.3 million shares to the tune of Rs 1.5 billion, its shares traded at Rs 35, CTC 420,000 shares crossed for Rs 269 million and its shares traded at Rs 640, Cargills 100,000 shares crossed to the tune of Rs 24.5 million; its shares traded at Rs 245 and Hayleys 300,000 shares crossed for Rs 24 million; its shares traded at Rs 80.
In the retail market top seven companies that mainly contributed to the turnover were, SLT Rs 234 million (two million shares traded), Hayleys RS 121 million (1.5 million shares traded), Lanka IOC Rs 106 million (115,000 shares traded), Softlogic Capital Rs 69 million (5.6 million shares traded), CTC Rs 65.3 million (101,000 shares traded), Sampath Bank RS 54.7 million (one million shares traded) and Commercial Bank RS 52.5 million (801,000 shares traded).During the day 164 million share volumes changed hands in 20000 transactions.
Business
Brandix ‘RightToRead’ initiative gains momentum enriching Sri Lanka students and transforming learning

Inspired by the challenge to provide Sri Lankan children with better access to learning materials and the transformative power to read and comprehend English, Brandix launched the ‘RightToRead’ project in 2018 in collaboration with the Ministry of Education.
Accordingly, Brandix introduced the ‘ReadToMe’ English learning tool, created by English Helper – India, to improve reading and comprehension skills of Sri Lankan students. Last Monday, Julie Chung, the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, visited Susamayawardhana Vidyalaya in Borella, to observe progress of the project and experience how children and educators in Sri Lanka engage with educational technology.
Brandix Lanka Limited, Director, Ajit Johnpillai, said: “Education is the most powerful tool to enrich communities and futures, and Brandix is committed to build a strong foundation for transformational learning for students across Sri Lanka. The progress we have made with RiteToRead over the past two years is promising, and the potential for change in the education sector harnessing such digital technologies is immeasurable. Brandix will continue its commitment to deliver Inspired Solutions for the people of Sri Lanka.”
Business
Dialog TV Boosts Resilience and Capacity with Norsat Satellite Earth Station

Hytera, a leading global provider of professional communications technologies and solutions, is proud to announce the successful deployment of a new backup satellite station for Dialog TV, Sri Lanka’s No.1 satellite Pay TV service provider. The project was fulfilled in 2022 by Hytera and its subsidiary specialized in Satellite Communications (SatCom), Norsat International Inc. The new station enhances the resilience and capacity of Dialog TV’s existing system and ensures continuity of service in the event of damage due to natural disasters.
Dialog TV provides coverage over the entirety of Sri Lanka through the Intelsat 38 Ku-band satellite. As the business expanded, it opted for a backup solution to support its existing satellite station and to strengthen the network’s disaster tolerance.
Hytera and Norsat provided an end-to-end satellite earth station solution that includes the installation, integration, and setup of satellite antennas, a transmission and receiving system, a new network management system (NMS), and a carrier monitoring system (CMS). The NMS makes routine work easier and simpler for on-duty staff, as equipment status, parameter monitoring and configuration, and remote control of the devices can be viewed and accomplished via a single interface. The CMS monitors the carrier spectrum status of satellite signals in real-time and ensures stable signal transmission and receiving.
“We are excited to have been able to work with Dialog TV on this important project,” said Kevin Sun, Sales Director for Hytera South Asia, “Our ability to seamlessly integrate our new equipment and software with Dialog TV’s existing systems has helped to ensure a stable and reliable service for their millions of customers across Sri Lanka.”
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