News

Schoolchildren visiting parliament to get glass of milk

Published

1 year ago

November 9, 2022

editor

Committee on Parliamentary Business has decided to provide a free glass of milk to the school children who daily come to visit the Parliament.

Accordingly, the approval of the committee was given yesterday (08) to execute this proposal from next year subjected to a maximum of 500 children per day, the Secretary General of the Parliament Mr. Dhammika Dasanayake said.

He also said that it was decided to appoint a special committee consisting four members to further study and make recommendations regarding the establishment of three Standing Committees to be established.

Accordingly, the Committee on Banking and Financial Services, the Committee on Ways and Means, the Committee on Economic Stabilization are expected to be established as new standing committees.

Accordingly, the Minister of Foreign Affairs – Ali Sabry as well as Members of Parliament – (Dr.) Harsha de Silva, M. A. Sumanthiran and Sagara Kariyawasam were appointed to this special committee, the Secretary General said.

The Committee is bestowed with the task of analyzing whether the functions of the existing standing committees, namely the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) and the Committee on Public Finance overlap with these new standing committees and make necessary recommendations for reconsideration if necessary. This will be done by this committee.

Accordingly, it was agreed that the Committee on Parliamentary Business will meet next Friday and to take further steps related to these recommendations.

Furthermore, according to a request made by the Opposition regarding increasing time for the debate on the 2023 Appropriation Bill (Budget), it has been decided to extend the debate for the Committee stage by one and a half hours.

Accordingly, the Committee Stage of the Budget debate will be held from November 23rd to December 7th until 7:00 p.m. and the vote for the Third Reading is scheduled to be held on December 8th at 5:00 PM as previously decided.

News

Concessionary vehicle import permits granted to retired government & judicial officials

Published

3 hours ago

May 5, 2024

editor

Senior government and judicial officials who have retired on completion of 60 years of age and those who were sent on compulsory retirement without extension are eligible to obtain a vehicle import permit under concessionary rates of duty.

This was according to a circular issued by the Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government Ministry.

Officers who have retired on completion of 60 years of age during the period from extending the age of compulsory retirement to 65 years and reducing the age of compulsory retirement to 60 years introduced by the Ministry in 2022 are eligible for the permits subject to other requirements as set out in the regulations.

The decision to grant vehicle import permits for retired senior government officials came following a Cabinet decision on March 11.

Among the eligible officials are retired officials from Class I of an All Island Service or a Departmental Service, Special Grade of Government Registered and Assistant Medical Officers’ Service, Government Dental Surgeon in Grade I and retired senior judicial officers.

The circular dated April 25 was issued by Secretary to the Ministry Pradeep Yasarathne. The Secretary was unavailable for comment yesterday.

(sundaytimes.lk)
(Except for the headline, this story, originally published by sundaytimes.lk has not been edited by SLM staff)

News

SLC doubles test players’ payments to boost morale

Published

5 hours ago

May 5, 2024

editor

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has announced a significant increase in payments for Sri Lanka’s Test players, effectively doubling their compensation.

The decision, made by SLC, is aimed at fostering greater enthusiasm among Test players and emphasizing the importance of Test cricket, the governing body stated.

The increased payments will be implemented based on the match contracts of each player, in accordance with SLC guidelines.

As a result of this adjustment, the total payment for a Test player per international match will now amount to approximately USD 15,000, which is around Rs. 4,450,000.

News

India to cover tax costs for Sri Lanka-India passenger ferry service

Published

5 hours ago

May 5, 2024

editor

The Government of India has decided to bear the cost towards applicable taxes and other charges to the tune of over LKR 25 million per month for a period of one year for the passenger ferry service between Nagapattinam in India and Kankesanthurai (KKS).

The passenger ferry service, which was launched in October 2023 by the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), will tentatively resume on May 13, 2024. It will be operated by a private operator, IndSri Ferry Services, selected by SCI in consultation with the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL).

In order to make the service affordable and attractive for passengers, the Government of India has decided to bear the cost towards applicable taxes and other charges to the tune of over LKR 25 million per month for a period of one year.

Similarly, the GOSL has reduced the deviation tax currently charged from passengers leaving Sri Lanka by passenger vessels and ships.

It should be recalled that the Government of India has also extended a grant assistance of USD 63.65 million to the GOSL for the rehabilitation of the KKS Harbour, which was earlier envisaged to be undertaken under a Line of Credit.

(dailymirror.lk)
(Except for the headline, this story, originally published by dailymirror.lk has not been edited by SLM staff)