News

Discussion on draft bill to set up Parliament Budget Office

Published

1 year ago

November 10, 2022

editor

A special meeting attended by the Party leaders and members of the Committee on Parliamentary Business to discuss the draft bill for the establishment of the Budget Office of the Parliament was held today (10) in Parliament under the chairmanship of the Speaker – Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena and the participation of the Prime Minister – Dinesh Gunawardena.

The Members of Parliament who were present had a lengthy discussion on the draft bill related to the establishment of the budget office of the parliament. Also, it was decided to meet again in two weeks after further study of this bill.

Deputy Speaker – Ajith Rajapakse, Leader of the Opposition – Sajith Premadasa, Leader of the House, Minister – Susil Premajayantha, Chief Opposition Whip – Lakshman Kiriella, Ministers – Nimal Siripala de Silva, Mahinda Amaraweera, Ali Sabri, Douglas Devananda as well as Members of Parliament – Johnston Fernando, Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Gamini Lokage, Rohitha Abeygunawardena, Dayasiri Jayasekara, Kabir Hashim, Kumara Welgama, Sagara Kariyawasam, Shan Vijayalal de Silva, Wimal Weerawansa, Harsha De Silva, Weerasumana Weerasinghe, V. Radhakrishnan and A.L.M. Ataullah were present at the meeting.

News

China to back digital education transformation project

Published

1 hour ago

May 7, 2024

nipuni

The Chinese Government has pledged support for Sri Lanka’s digital education transformation project.

This project is expected to enhance general education by providing classrooms, data centres, and necessary equipment like tables, studio rooms, and conference rooms.

These resources will facilitate blended learning methods, and resource sharing, and enable teachers with special skills to engage students effectively.

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Education.

News

MoP fertilizer subsidies to farmer accounts from today

Published

1 hour ago

May 7, 2024

nipuni

The Department of Agriculture emphasizes that the application of Muriate of Potash (MoP) to paddy cultivation has been quantitatively reduced in the last few seasons.

According to the Department of Agriculture, it is mandatory to use MoP fertilizer to strengthen paddy pods as well as to improve the quality of paddy seeds.

But the use of MoP has decreased in the last ‘Maha’ season. Only 11,000 MT of MoP was used despite around 800,000 hectares being cultivated during the season.

Although the MoP requirement for the ‘Maha’ season is 30,000 MT, it appears that only one third was purchased by farmers.Therefore, in a bid to promote the use of MoP, it has been decided to credit the fertilizer subsidy money to the farmers’ accounts in this ‘Yala’ season.

The Department of Agricultural Development states that depositing subsidies will commence from today (May 07) with financial allocations scheduled to be given to the farmers who have finished planting paddy fields.

Authorities have assured that sufficient stocks of MoP are available in the country.