News
Raigam Tele’es announces 2024 Season: Celebrating excellence in Lankan TV
The Raigam Tele’es Secretariat last week announced the launch of the 2024 edition of Sri Lanka’s most prestigious television awards, marking its 21st year of celebrating excellence in the local television industry.
Making the announcement during a press conference in Colombo, Dr. Ravi Liyanage, Chairman of the Raigam Group of Companies, said that Raigam Tele’es 2024 will honour exceptional television content aired throughout the year, recognizing both established and emerging talents across various categories.
Launched in 2005, Raigam Tele’es has evolved into a cornerstone of the Sri Lankan entertainment industry. Over the years, it has become the leading television awards event in the country, recognizing outstanding achievements in television production, acting, and technical excellence. Dr. Liyanage emphasized that Raigam Tele’es has become more than just an award ceremony; it serves as a catalyst for growth and recognition within the television industry, offering a platform to celebrate artistic talent, inspire future content creators, and promote creativity.
The festival is known for its rigorous selection process, managed by a respected panel of judges, including Buddadasa Galappatty, Prof. Ajantha Hapuarachchi, Prof. Rohini Paranawithana, Dr. Hansamala Ritigahapola, Jayanath Gunawardhena, Ranga Dassanayake, Saman Wickremarachchi, Sudath Dewapriya, and BH Abdul Hameed. Public participation is crucial in determining the winners in the Most Popular and Most Viewed categories, with the Most Popular awards decided through an SMS poll, and the Most Viewed awards based on nationwide research.
For 2024, Raigam Tele’es will introduce a Nomination Evening, a glamorous, Oscar-style event to recognize all nominees before the final awards ceremony. This tradition, introduced by Raigam Tele’es, ensures that all nominees are celebrated and provided with valuable insurance benefits, including one-year hospitalization and life insurance coverage.
Raigam Tele’es will present awards in a variety of categories, including Tele-Drama Excellence, Television Media Excellence, Most Popular Actor, Actress, and Tele-drama. Additional awards will be given for the Most Viewed Tele-Drama, Television Program, and News Bulletin, along with special Awards of Appreciation for veterans and influential figures in the industry. Additionally, the Raigam-Sampath Yuthukama CSR initiative provides financial and medical support to physically impaired artists.
The festival is supported by key partners, including Sampath Bank, Dialog Television, Allianz Insurance Lanka Ltd., and Dankotuwa Porcelain PLC. Applications for the 2024 season are now open, and television channels, creators, and artists can submit their entries through the official Raigam Tele’es Secretariat. The submission deadline is January 15, 2025. For more details or to submit entries, visit the official Raigam Tele’es website at www.raigamtelees.lk or contact the Secretariat at 074 4061 508 / 074 4062 254.
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Transport, Highways, and Urban Development to award the contract for printing and supplying vehicle number plates for the Department of Motor Traffic for a period of five (5) years to M/s South Asian Technologies based on the recommendations of the High-Level Standing Procurement Committee and the Procurement Appeal Board.
The National Lotteries board has been established subject to the Finance Act No. 11 of 1963. Having identified the requirement of amending that act which was imposed around 62 years to cater the current requirements of the lottery market, the Cabinet of Mnisters at their meeting held on 14.02.2017 granted approval to draft a new bill for the purpose.
Accordingly, the National Lotteries Board has recognized further amendments to be performed to the fundamental draft bill prepared by the Legal Draftsmen.
Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval for the
resolution furnished by the President in his office as the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to direct the Legal Draftsmen to finalize the formulation of the draft bill for the National Lotteries Board as soon as possible including the proposed new amendments as well.
The Werahara office of the Department of Motor Traffic performs issuance of temporary driving licenses in this country based on the driving licenses issued overseas, and measures have been initiated to render the service from a service window of the Department of Motor Traffic established at the Bandaranayake International Airport from 03.08.2025.
The fees charged for issuing temporary driving licenses have been published in Motor Vehicles (Driving License Levy) Regulations No. 3 of 2022 prepared under the provisions of the Motor Traffic (Authority 203) Act.
But, as the fee of Rupees 2,000/- charged for the service is not sufficient, the requirement of amending the regulations has been recognized.
The regulations for introducing the revised fees have been published in the government extraordinary gazette
notification No. 2463/04 dated 17.11.2025. Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the resolution furnished by the Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development to
submit the regulations to the Parliament for its concurrence.
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