It has been recognized that there is potential to develop selected places within. the Pelawatte Sugar Factory, owned by  Lanka Sugar (Private) Company Limited, as locations of tourist attraction.

Hence, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship
Development to call for expressions of interest following the prescribed procurement guidelines to identify suitable investors and to invite project proposals from eligible investors to develop the selected locations under Public-Private Partnership method.

The Cabinet of Ministers approved the  decision of the Food Policy and Security Committee to maintain the minimum purchasing price of 1 kg of Nadu paddy of prescribed standard at Rs. 120 and to increase the minimum purchasing price of 1 kg of Samba from Rs. 125 to Rs. 130 and the minimum purchasing price of Kiri Samba from Rs. 132 to Rs. 140.

The NPP government has issued a new extraordinary gazette renewing and extending Sri Lanka’s long-standing ban on the LTTE and several Tamil diaspora organisations and individuals, continuing to designate them as “terrorists”.

The gazette, published recently, replaces a previous gazette issued in May 2025 and reaffirmed the proscription of a wide range of Tamil political and advocacy bodies operating around the world, alongside dozens of named individuals. The government alleged both the organisations and individuals listed are involved in “terrorism-related activities”.

The organisations blacklisted by the Sri Lankan government include:

• Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)

• Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO)

• Tamil Coordinating Committee (TCC)

• World Tamil Movement (WTM)

• Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE)

• World Tamil Relief Fund (WTRF)

• National Council of Canadian Tamils (NCCT)

• Tamil Youth Organisation (TYO)

While the majority of the designations mirror those contained in the May 2025 gazette, the latest document updates identification details and addresses for a number of individuals and introduces at least one additional organisation to the list. All entries have been reissued under new reference numbers for 2026, though the underlying allegations and framing remain unchanged.

Successive governemnts have maintained a sweeping proscription regime against Tamil diaspora groups and individuals. A ban can make it a criminal offence for Sri Lankan citizens to maintain contact with these organisations or their members, severely restricting political engagement and stifling links between the diaspora and the Tamil homeland.

The original mass listings were introduced in 2014 under the administration of Mahinda Rajapaksa. Despite repeated outcry, subsequent governments have continued to uphold and renew the proscription regime, even after the Rajapaksas were voted out of power.