Business
India is no ‘big brother’ to Sri Lanka, H.C. Santosh Jha says in myth-busting speech

by Sanath Nanayakkare
India is referred to as a ‘big brother’ state for the South Asian region as it is the largest and most powerful country in South Asia.
However, the Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Santosh Jha delivering a speech in Colombo on April 21, busted this myth adequately.
Speaking at the official launch of the “Ramayana Trail – The Sacred Mission” Project organised by the Supreme Global Holdings Group at Hotel Taj Samudra, Colombo, the Indian High Commissioner said that ‘Ramayana Trail’ reaffirms his oft-repeated assertion that the two countries are civilisational twins sharing the same antiquity.
“From this it follows that we are not after all big or small sisters or brothers but one of the same age and antiquity with neither being small or big vis-a-vis each other,” he said, addressing the audience that comprised a delegation from India led by Swami Govind Dev Giriji.
Speaking further, the Indian HC said,” Your presence here confirms that the deep connection between the people of two countries goes back several centuries into antiquity. A time when people and ideas were moving across seamlessly and without the modern impositions that sometimes constrain and restrict easy travel and connections between our peoples. We were reminded of this connect recently by President Ranil Wickremesinghe who mentioned at the launch of the Universal Payments Interface or the UPI in Sri Lanka, which will allow Indian tourists to make payments in Indian rupees in Sri Lanka, there is evidence of the use of each other’s coins or ancient currencies in both India and Sri Lanka deep into our antiquity.”
“We all know today that the Ramayana trail stretches from India to Sri Lanka. That this is so was not so well known to many in our two countries even a decade or so ago despite references to this in our ancient epics such as Ramayana and Mahabharata. I myself discovered this first hand when I came to Sri Lanka in 2007 and worked at the Indian High Commission for three years.
‘’I had the pleasure of visiting these places in Sri Lanka multiple times during that period.”
“So far, in my present tenure too I have visited some of these places and more are part of my plans in the near future. I am, therefore, glad that today the idea of Ramayana trail has caught up the imagination of the people on both sides of the Palk Strait.”
“Promoting tourism is an important objective of both our countries. For Sri Lanka, in particular, it has been an important source of economic activity and promotion of Ramayana trail holds a significant promise.”
“I must also recall that our leaders have pledged to promote the Buddhist circuit and the Ramayana trail in both our countries in the Vision Document that was issued when our leaders – President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Prime Minister Narendra Modi – had their summit meeting in New Delhi in July 2023. I must add that this is the vision of our leaders that guides our actions today in all areas.”
“India already contributes more than 1/5th of the tourist arrivals into Sri Lanka. India is also the largest source of tourist traffic to Sri Lanka. Unlike others, Indian tourists also visit both Buddhist and Hindu places of worship. They are also attracted to historical sites existing across Sri Lanka. In that sense, they are more diversified in their choice of sites and places they visit in Sri Lanka. The economic value of attracting Indian tourists into Sri Lanka, therefore, is greater as the benefits of their travels go to a larger cross section of people dependent on tourism business and to those who are located in all the provinces in Sri Lanka.”
“In other words, Indian tourism has a larger regional spread in Sri Lanka and so its benefits too are similarly more dispersed and distributed. This is unlike other tourists, who are mostly interested in adventure and beach tourism and therefore their business benefits have more limited spread and distribution.”
“Our effort to establish the land bridge, on which we have begun our joint work, promises to further provide fillip to our ongoing efforts to promote tourism between our two countries. No doubt that it will be a game changer. It will, of course, bring many benefits to communities along the alignment of this connectivity but more specifically, it will make Ramayana and Buddhism tourism easier and more alluring to people on both sides. I must also add that the Ramayana trail also confirms the deep people-to-people connect and shared civilisational antiquity of India and Sri Lanka.”
“Our relationship is special and unique in this respect. For us, we have to cooperate as that is the only option. We must stand hand-in-hand with each other in good as well as difficult times. We cannot rest with just coming to assist one another episodically but must remain engaged at all times in all spheres.”
“Our commitment to one another has to be the greatest as there is no other relationship that is more vital, critical and natural as the one we have with each other. In fact, in modern political and economic systems, too, we are similar. We are democratic, open polities and societies and open market economies.”
“Our socio-economic profile as a low middle income country also entails that we can offer each other the benefits of our respective successful experiences, which no other society, economy or polity can do, especially those which are not governed by these democratic norms.”
Business
President AKD’s top level talks in Kuwait focus on bilateral cooperation

By Ifham Nizam
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Tuesday met with Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, the Prime Minister of Kuwait, to discuss Sri Lanka’s political and financial stability and explore avenues for enhanced bilateral cooperation.
The Island Financial Review reliably learns that discussions emphasized investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s tourism sector, reflecting the nation’s commitment to economic revitalization.
Officials close to President Dissanayake highlighted the significance of Kuwait’s support in securing the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan facility, which has been instrumental in Sri Lanka’s economic recovery efforts.
They noted that the President expressed his gratitude to the Kuwaiti leadership for their assistance during challenging times.
The meeting underscored the mutual interest in strengthening trade relations between Sri Lanka and Kuwait.
Both leaders acknowledged the potential for increased collaboration in various sectors, with a particular focus on tourism.
Sri Lanka’s current political and financial stability presents promising opportunities for Kuwaiti investors seeking to explore the island’s burgeoning tourism industry.
This engagement aligns with President Dissanayake’s broader strategy to bolster international partnerships and attract foreign investment to drive economic growth.
By fostering closer ties with nations like Kuwait, Sri Lanka aims to enhance its economic prospects and ensure sustainable development in the coming years.
The discussions with the Kuwaiti Prime Minister are expected to pave the way for future collaborations, contributing to the strengthening of bilateral relations and the realization of shared economic objectives, an official said.
Business
Nationwide blackout on Sunday was due to mafia or incompetency: activists

By Sanath Nanayakkare
Last Sunday’s nationwide power failure in Sri Lanka has sparked significant criticism and speculation, with activists and experts questioning the official explanations provided by the government and the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB).
The outage, which occurred on Sunday, February 9, 2024, has been attributed by Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody to a monkey colliding with the Panadura grid substation, causing a system imbalance. However, this explanation has been met with skepticism and outright dismissal by various stakeholders.
Malaka Wickramasinghe, Chairman of the Lanka Electricity Employees’ Federation, dismissed the notion (on February 12) that a minor technical failure or a simple short circuit could result in a nationwide blackout. He suggested that there might be an ulterior motive behind the outage, drawing parallels to past incidents where power failures were allegedly used for political leverage. Wickramasinghe pointed out that the government elected in 2015 faced similar issues in 2016, and the president elected in 2022 also encountered problems with power cuts early in his tenure. He emphasized the need for a thorough investigation, possibly involving the Defense Ministry, to uncover the true cause of the outage. Wickramasinghe also highlighted the economic damage caused by such outages and called for affected individuals to be compensated.
M.P.K. Wanigasinghe, Chairman of the National Consumers’ Front, criticized the current government for continuing the policies of the previous administration in the power sector, despite having rejected those policies when they came to power. This, he suggested, indicates a lack of genuine reform or improvement in the sector.
Nandana Udayakumara, Deputy Chairman of the Engineers’ Association, raised concerns about the CEB’s handling of renewable energy (RE) integration. He referenced a 2022 report by the CEB, which indicated that 2,600 megawatts of RE could be added to the grid without issues. However, only 1,400 megawatts have been added so far and the overloading has occurred too soon. Udayakumara suggested that the recent outage might reflect either a bias against renewable energy or incompetence among higher officials in the CEB.
The official explanation that a monkey caused the outage has been widely ridiculed, with many viewing it as an attempt to evade responsibility. The incident has underscored the fragility of Sri Lanka’s power infrastructure and the need for more robust systems and accountability. As the CEB works to restore full capacity to the national grid by February 14, the public and various stakeholders are calling for more transparency and effective solutions to prevent future outages.
Business
BOC launches ‘Rewardz Plus’ points-based reward scheme for credit cardholders

The Bank of Ceylon (BOC) recently introduced a points-based rewards scheme, ‘Rewardz Plus,’ aimed at providing added value to its credit cardholders while enhancing customer engagement and loyalty. The launching event of the service, which was held at BOC Head office, was graced by Kavinda De Zoysa Chairman, Russel Fonseka General Manager/ CEO, and corporate and executive management of BOC. Initially rolled out for credit cards, the scheme is designed to encourage increased usage and reward customers through a structured points accumulation and redemption system.
‘Rewardz Plus’ allows credit cardholders to earn points, based on their spending. Customers can redeem their accumulated points through a range of options available via the
rewardzplus.boc.lk.These options include purchasing e-vouchers from registered merchants and service providers, shopping online at selected stores, booking flights and hotels, and offsetting bills at participating merchants.
Speaking on the launch, Deputy General Manager (Product and Banking Development) Mr. Y A Jayathilake of Bank of Ceylon stated, ‘’Introducing ‘Rewardz Plus’ offers our credit cardholders an opportunity to get more value from their everyday spending. This initiative is designed to provide greater flexibility and convenience, allowing customers to redeem points across a variety of options, from travel to shopping and bill payments. We believe this program will encourage increased engagement with our credit card customers while recognizing and rewarding them.”
BOC has been rewarding its payment cards users by way of various programs such as Seasonal discounts and throughout the year discounts at supermarkets, hotels and restaurants. With the introduction of ‘ Rewardz Plus’ the credit card customers will be able to enjoy more benefits in addition to those discount programs.
For over 85 years, Bank of Ceylon has been a cornerstone of Sri Lanka’s financial landscape, connecting individuals and businesses to global opportunities. BOC’s extensive network with over 2,300 touch points spread across the nation, ensures that bank’s customers have convenient access to a wide range of financial services. Moreover BOC was ranked as the only Sri Lankan Bank among the Top 1000 World Banks 2024 and the Banker of the Year 2021,2023 and 2024 by The Banker Magazine UK, The Number 1 Banking Brand in Sri Lanka by Brand Finance Lanka. BOC also received the People’s Banking Services Brand of the year at the SLIM KANTAR Peoples Awards 2024.Internationally, Bank of Ceylon has established a strong presence in key locations such as a Subsidiary in London, UK; branches in Male and Hulhumalé in the Maldives; Chennai, India; and the Seychelles.
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