News
World Bank predicts shrinking of local economy by 4.3 per cent this year
Sri Lankan economy is projected to contract by 4.3 percent in 2023 as demand continues to be subdued, job and income losses intensify, and supply-side constraints adversely affect production, the World Bank announced on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka’s heightened fiscal, external, and financial imbalances and its fluid political situation pose significant uncertainty for the country’s economic outlook, said the World Bank in its twice-a-year update, underscoring the need to address the root causes of the country’s economic crisis and build a strong and resilient economy to prevent future crises.
“The economic crisis in Sri Lanka has had deep impacts with over half a million jobs lost and 2.7 million additional people falling into poverty between 2021 and 2022,” said Faris H. Hadad-Zervos, World Bank country director for Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
“The prolonged recovery from the scarring effects of this crisis in addition to a slow debt restructuring process, limited external financing support, and an uncertain global environment pose significant risks to the country’s economic growth,” the country director said.
The economy will continue to face significant challenges in 2023 and beyond, and a lower-level external trade equilibrium could have contagion effects on domestic trade, economic activity, jobs and incomes, according to the World Bank.
Strong and effective implementation of the government’s reform program, supported by financing from international partners, could boost confidence and attract fresh capital inflows that are key to improving job prospects and restoring livelihoods, said the World Bank.
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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M/s South Asian Technologies awarded contract to supply vehicle number plates
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Motor Vehicles (Driving License Levy) Regulations No. 3 of 2022 to be amended
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