High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka – Mr. Santosh Jha met the inaugural batch of 24 participants who will be leaving for India later this week, for a Capacity-Building Program at India’s Parliamentary Research and Training Institute for Democracies (PRIDE) in New Delhi.

The delegation led by Deputy Speaker – Dr. Rizvie Salih, consisting of 20 Members of Parliament representing various political parties and 4 officials of the Sri Lankan Parliament, including the Secretary General, was received by the High Commissioner at India House today.

The programme will span across a week from 26-30 May 2025. It will include components of sharing of best practices across legislative and budgetary processes, system of Parliamentary Committees and other related matters between the two democracies. While in India, participants will also have the opportunity to experience the richness of Indian art and culture, as well as witness the transformation underway in the Indian economy through site visits and suitable interactions, particularly across digital, IT, energy and urban mobility spheres.

 This programme is being conducted pursuant to the announcement made by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi during his recent visit to Sri Lanka in April 2025, offering 700 customised training slots annually for Sri Lankan professionals. 

These will span across sectors from entrepreneurship to sports, media and cinema. 

These 700 slots were announced in addition to the 1500 slots available for training of Sri Lankan civil servants over a period of five years, under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the National Centre for Good Governance of India (NCGG) and Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration (SLIDA) signed in December 2024.

Opposition MP Mujibur Rahman yesterday (May 21) alleged in Parliament that all imported salt stocks have been handed over to a leading private salt distributor.

The MP further alleged that a director of the said distributing company is also a director of Puttalam Salt Ltd.

“For the past 06 months, all salt imports were done through the State Trading Corporation (STC). But where did that salt go? No permission was given for private sector imports either. So if the salt the government brought in didn’t enter the local market, where did it end up?” he questioned.

He went on to allege that the salt brought in at Rs.24 per kg could be sold to the public at around Rs.100/kg after including all additional costs.

“But now salt is being sold at Rs.350 – 400 per kg in the market. The salt imported by the government has been given to one private company, which is crushed and sold at higher prices. There is a director at Puttalam Salt Ltd who is also the chairman of a private company. He is the one behind this salt stock takeover.”

Rahuman further said that this mirrors the issues in the rice market, where the government is seen to be supporting businesses rather than the public:

“In addition to the rice mafia, now we have a salt mafia. And the government is also backing the companies.”

Public consultations regarding the proposed electricity tariff revision for this year are set to begin tomorrow (23) and will continue until June 5 at the provincial level.

The first public hearing will be held in the Sabaragamuwa Province, at the auditorium of the Ratnapura District Secretariat, where members of the public will have the opportunity to share their views and concerns about the proposed electricity tariff changes.

According to Jayanath Herath, Director of Communications at the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), further details regarding the public consultation in the Sabaragamuwa Province can be obtained by calling 076 3224610.

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has proposed an 18.3% increase in electricity tariffs, compared to current rates.

However, the CEB notes that the new proposed rate is still 5.4% lower than the tariff implemented in January this year.

The PUCSL will gather public feedback from across the country during this consultation period before making a final decision on the proposed revision.

(News1st)

(Except for the headline, this story, originally published by News1st has not been edited by SLM staff)