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IIT’s third offshore campus likely to be set up in Lanka

The institute had last year announced the setting up of an offshore campus in Tanzania’s Zanzibar with Preeti Aghalyam being appointed the director-in-charge who also became the first woman IIT Director…reports Asian Lite News

The third offshore campus of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) is likely to be set up in Sri Lanka, according to sources.

The proposal for an IIT in Sri Lanka was announced last November in the 2024 Budget unveiled by Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who also serves as the finance minister.

According to sources, the Sri Lankan government is in touch with IIT Madras for the ambitious project. “A high-level delegation had recently visited the Chennai campus to discuss the future roadmap. The talks are on and the campus is likely to come up in Kandy,” a source said.

“The delegation also visited the Research Park at the campus and interacted with officials about possible areas of engagement,” the source added.

The Indian government had announced that opportunities for admission to the IITs in India will be provided to meritorious Sri Lankan students from the 2017-18 academic sessions onwards. If the plan for the Sri Lanka campus comes through, it will be IIT Madras’ second international campus.

The institute had last year announced the setting up of an offshore campus in Tanzania’s Zanzibar with Preeti Aghalyam being appointed the director-in-charge who also became the first woman IIT Director.

An MoU, signed last July between India and Tanzania, was the final procedural step that paved the way for the opening of the campus. The institute began functioning in November last year from a temporary campus and is offering two full-time academic programmes — a four-year Bachelor of Science in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence and a two-year Master of Technology in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence.

IIT Delhi followed the league and signed a formal agreement with the UAE government to set up a campus in Abu Dhabi. The initial Master’s course at the IIT Delhi-Abu Dhabi campus will focus on energy transition and sustainability, reflecting a shared vision between India and the UAE to leverage knowledge for mutual prosperity and global well-being.

The UK is also keen on welcoming an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) to set up an offshore campus in the country and some UK universities are already in talks with IITs to explore the possibility. Several IITs have been receiving requests from the Middle East and South Asian countries to set up their campuses.

The central government had created a 17-member committee to facilitate the process of opening IIT campuses in foreign locations where students from different nations can study technical education.

The committee headed by IIT Council standing committee chairperson Dr K Radhakrishnan had submitted its recommendations in 2022.

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Lanka Unveils Bold FTA Plans with India

President Wickremesinghe detailed his plans to forge FTAs with number of countries…reports Asian Lite News

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Wednesday announced that steps have been taken to enhance free trade agreement (FTA) with India.

He also announced that plans are underway to pursue FTAs with China, Indonesia and Bangladesh in the future.

Presenting the policy statement of the government during the Parliament session, President Wickremesinghe detailed his plans to forge FTAs with number of countries and establishing a new network of economic relationships that can help the debt-stricken island’s products’ entry into foreign markets.

“We will join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). We will connect with the common system of trade variations in the European Union,” President Wickremesinghe said.

He said that with India’s support, Sri Lanka plans to transform the country’s Eastern port district Trincomalee to a multi-faceted regional hub which will in turn shift the 46 per cent of the country’s economy centered in the Western Province to other parts of the country.

Wickremesinghe’s announcement on FTAs with the regional countries follows Saturday’s major trade pact signed with Thailand Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin who was in Colombo as the chief guest on country’s 76th Independence Day celebration.

The FTA covering trade in goods, investment and custom procedures is expected to boost two-way trade from $352 million in 2022 up to $1.5 billion between Sri Lanka and Thailand.

President Wickremesinghe said in September, 2023, Sri Lanka’s total debt burden was $91 billion but the economy was recovering with inflation reducing to 6.4 per cent from 50.6 per cent compared to last year.

He said the foreign reserve that hit zero in 2022 has increased to $4.4 billion by the end of December, 2023.

Wickremesinghe took over presidency in July 2022 from his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa who fled the country following public outrage over severe economic crisis.

The island nation with 21 million population declared bankruptcy in April, 2022.

India was the first nation to help crisis-hit country by providing more than $4billion financial assistance including much needed food, medicine and fuel. India also helped Sri Lanka to get the IMF’s $2.9 billion bailout out package in 2023.

ALSO READ: Lanka records over 200k tourist footfall in January

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Lanka records over 200k tourist footfall in January

The South Asian country aims to attract two million tourists in 2024….reports Asian Lite News

Over 2,00,000 tourists have arrived in Sri Lanka in January this year, official data showed.

As per Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, 201,687 tourists, from India, Russia, Germany, the US, Britain, Australia and China have visited the country in January, Xinhua news agency reported.

The South Asian country aims to attract two million tourists in 2024.

It received 1,487,303 tourists in 2023, an increase of 106.6 per cent from 2022, according to official data.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka recorded $1.8 billion tourism revenue till November last year, 78.3 per cent up from the corresponding period previous year, as per Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) data.

The revenue earned from tourism increased to 205.3 million dollars in November 2023, which is over twice the revenue in November 2022, according to the latest data.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry told parliament that the tourist arrivals would spike this year with more airlines coming into the country, Xinhua news agency reported.

Sri Lanka welcomed 151,496 international tourists in November, the highest monthly number of visitors it received in 2023, official data showed.

Sri Lanka’s cumulative tourist arrivals for the first 11 months of the year stand at 1.27 million, according to the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority.

Tourism is one of Sri Lanka’s top foreign revenue generators. In late November, the government waived visa fees for nationals from China, India, Indonesia, Russia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Japan to boost tourism in the coming season.

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1,500 Artistes Perform at Grand Pongal Festival in Trincomalee

The celebration is being done under the leadership of Sri Lankan Eastern Province Governor Senthil Thondaman….reports Asian Lite News

A grand Pongal festival was organised in Sri Lanka’s Trincomalee city on Monday.

Around 1500 performers took part in the festivities and delivered an enthralling cultural dance performance.

The celebration is being done under the leadership of Sri Lankan Eastern Province Governor Senthil Thondaman.

Earlier on January 6, Sri Lanka hosted its first Jallikattu in Triconmalee with the country’s Eastern Province Governor Senthil Thondaman and Malaysia’s member of parliament Saravanan Murugan flagging off the event.

Thonadaman who hails from Tamil Nadu’s Sivagangai district and in charge of organising the event said that Pongal is one of the popular festivals celebrated by the Tamil community worldwide. A week-long Pongal festival has been planned with the community set to hold the Jallikattu and Rekla race today, he said.

Thonadaman and Malaysia’s member of parliament Saravanan Murugan flagged off the Jallikattu event at the ground in the Sampur area of Trincomalee. More than 200 bulls and more than 100 bull tamers will participate in the Jallikattu competition.

Jallikattu is a popular bull-embracing sport traditionally played in Tamil Nadu during the Pongal harvest festival in the second week of January.

Thondaman said, “Jallikattu, Mattu Pongal continues as a part of Pongal festival. We are starting the Pongal festival with 1008 Pongal pots and 1500 Bharatnatyam dancers.”

Over 1,000 trained bulls will be released from a closed space called ‘vadi vassal’, one after the another, and the bull tamers will be on the ground in an attempt to grab the hump of the bull and hold on to it to win the award.

Only one person is allowed to attempt it at a time. The traditional sport is practised annually and is quite popular in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu, especially in Madurai.

In the age-old practice, a bull is released into a crowd of people and participants of the event try to grab the large hump on the bull’s back, attempting to bring the bull to stop.

Due to the risk of injury, both to the participants and the bull, the animal rights organizations had called for a ban to the sport.

In 2014, the Supreme Court of India imposed a ban on Jallikattu but in 2017, the Tamil Nadu government passed an ordinance to allow Jallikattu, introducing regulations to ensure the safety of both participants and bulls.

However, after long protests by the people against the ban, the Supreme Court in India , in May 2023, upheld the Tamil Nadu government’s law allowing the bull-taming sport ‘Jallikattu’ in the State.

A five-judge Constitution bench of Justices KM Joseph, Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy and CT Ravikumar heard a batch of petitions challenging Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra governments’ laws allowing the bull-taming sport ‘Jallikattu’ and bullock cart races.

The Tamil Nadu government had defended the event of “Jallikattu” and told the apex court that sporting events can also be a cultural event and there is no cruelty on the bulls in “Jallikattu”. (ANI)

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Lanka Launches Urgent Measles Vaccination Drive to Tackle Outbreak

The supplementary measles immunization activity (SIA) will be implemented in two phases with the joint aid of the WHO and Unicef…reports Asian Lite News

With an aim to control the ongoing measles outbreak in Sri Lanka, the island nation will begin a special vaccination drive from Saturday to curb the spread of the disease.

In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) had declared Sri Lanka as a country that eliminated measles, interrupting transmission of the indigenous virus that causes the killer childhood disease.

However, more than 700 case have been reported in the island nation since May last year.

The supplementary measles immunization activity (SIA) will be implemented in two phases with the joint aid of the WHO and Unicef.

The drive will target 6 to 9 month-old infants in nine identified districts, including capital Colombo and Northern Province’s Jaffna, where measles cases have been reported.

The children in this age group wll be given an additional dose of MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine despite past history of clinical measles, according to the Health Ministry’s Epidemiology Unit.

The second phase, which will begin on January 20, will target children of other age groups across the country.

“Supplementary Immunization of MMR vaccination should be considered as an additional vaccination dose and due routine MMR vaccination should be given to all children who have received SIA-MMR vaccination, on completion of 9 months and 3 years of age,” the Health Ministry stated.

“Unicef, as well as WHO, has been closely associated partners with the Ministry of Health for many years in the implementation of the national immunization programme, which is a success story in Sri Lanka. However, even with a high immunization coverage, measles outbreaks can occur among unvaccinated children, especially when there are outbreaks in the region. While the numbers are small with the recent measles outbreak, it is important to take it seriously,” the Unicef Representative in Sri Lanka, Christian Skoog warined.

“The cases reported so far have been mild, and no deaths have been reported. However, measles can be a major childhood disease, which can and must be prevented,” says Alaka Singh, the WHO Representative to Sri Lanka.

The MMR vaccine was introduced into Sri Lanka’s immunization program in 1984.

In 2001, a second dose of the vaccine was introduced to improve population level immunity and in 2019, the WHO declared Sri Lanka as a country free of measles.

However, a significant drop in global immunization coverage from 2020 to 2022 impacted many countries in the region, which has led to a rise in measles cases once again, including in Sri Lanka, according to the Unicef.

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Lanka Announces Electricity Price Cut in 2024

Kanchana Wijesekera

Sri Lanka is now producing more than 60 per cent of its electricity through hydropower…reports Asian Lite News

 The Sri Lankan government will reduce the price of electricity during the next tariff revision in January 2024, Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera told journalists.

Addressing a press briefing at the Presidential Media Center, Wijesekera said on Tuesday that the state-owned electricity producer, Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), is producing electricity mostly using hydropower.

He added that there was a tariff hike in October because they were generating electricity using thermal power at that point, and thermal power was very expensive, Xinhua news agency reported.

The weather was dry then, but in the past few months, Sri Lanka has received a lot of rain, he said.

Rainfall is expected to continue for two more weeks, and they will decide on the tariff reduction based on the CEB balance sheet in December, the Minister added.

Sri Lanka is now producing more than 60 per cent of its electricity through hydropower, according to the CEB data.

ALSO READ: Sri Lankan Navy Detains 6 Indian Fishermen

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Sri Lankan Navy Detains 6 Indian Fishermen

The detained fishermen were brought to the Kankasanthurai harbour, and they will be handed over to the Mailadi Fisheries Inspector for further legal action, the Navy stated…reports Asian Lite News

As many as six Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu, who were fishing in international waters, were detained by the Sri Lankan Navy along with their trawler, near the Kankesanthurai area in Sri Lanka.

According to the Sri Lankan Navy, the fishermen were allegedly involved in ‘illegal poaching’ and were detained off the Kovilan Lighthouse in Kareinagar after a special operation on Wednesday.

“The Navy continues to conduct regular patrols and operations in Sri Lankan waters to curb illegal fishing practices by foreign fishing trawlers, taking into account the consequences of these practices on the livelihood of local fishermen and marine resources of the country,” the release stated.

The six fishermen belonged to the Pudukkottai district in Tamil Nadu. Out of the six, five fishermen have been identified, namely; Naresh (27), Anandababu (25), Ajay (24), Nandakumar (28) and Ajith (26). The sixth person has still not been identified.

The detained fishermen were brought to the Kankasanthurai harbour, and they will be handed over to the Mailadi Fisheries Inspector for further legal action, the Navy stated.

This episode has come just on the heels of another similar incident, where 25 fishermen — 12 from Tamil Nadu and 13 from Puducherry — were detained by the Sri Lankan Navy off Point Pedro town in Sri Lanka.

Last month, 27 Indian fishermen were released by the Sri Lankan authorities. They returned to the Chennai airport on separate days in sets of 12 and 15.

Earlier in October, a total of 64 fishermen who belong to Rameshwaram and Mandapam were arrested in three separate arrests by the Sri Lankan navy, allegedly for cross-border fishing along with their boats and fishing nets.

A total of 33 Indian trawlers and 220 Indian fishermen have been apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy in 2023 till now, it had earlier said in a statement.

Notably, the arrests of Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy has been a concerning issue for both Tamil Nadu government as well as the BJP-led central government.

In October, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin wrote to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, highlighting the issue of repeated arrests of Tamil Nadu fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy and reiterated the demand to protect the traditional fishing rights of Tamil Nadu fishermen in the Palk Bay region.

After the recent detention of 12 fishermen, Tamil Nadu BJP President Annamalai also wrote to EAM Jaishankar and requested Jaishankar, seeking his intervention in the repatriation of 16 fishermen.

The issue was also discussed during the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe during the latter’s visit to July this year.

“Today we also discussed the issues related to the livelihood of fishermen. We agree that we should proceed with a humane approach in this matter,” the official statement by PM Modi after the meeting read. (ANI)

ALSO READ-Lanka to Set Up Commission for Strengthening National Unity

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Lanka to Set Up Commission for Strengthening National Unity

The Sri Lankan government has decided to establish an independent Commission for Truth, Unity and Reconciliation…reports Asian Lite News

The Sri Lankan government will be establishing an independent commission to develop legislation for strengthening and safeguarding ‘national unity’ through truth, transitional justice, and social cohesion, Colombo Gazette reported.

The island nation has established an interim secretariat for truth and reconciliation and its key objective is to look into the reconciliation efforts of the country’s past conflicts.

The Interim Secretariat for Truth and Reconciliation Mechanism (ISTRM) is working to build the necessary legal and policy framework, operational procedures and guidelines for the Commission, Colombo Gazette reported.

The Sri Lankan government has decided to establish an independent Commission for Truth, Unity and Reconciliation.

“The proposed commission will be established through an Act of Parliament, currently in the drafting process as a concept paper in consultation with relevant stakeholders. The concept paper, used to prepare the final draft of the Bill for Parliament, will soon be available for comments to ensure an inclusive process in developing legislation that strengthens and safeguards national unity through truth, transitional justice, reconciliation, reparation and social cohesion,” the statement read.

According to the Colombo Gazette, a key objective of this process is to establish the truth regarding post-conflict grievances of Sri Lankan citizens, facilitating reconciliation, reparation and sustainable peace.

The proposed Commission acknowledges every Sri Lankan’s inalienable right to ascertain the truth, a pivotal aspect for individuals and communities to heal from past conflicts.

Additionally, the Commission also aims to ensure and strengthen national unity, peace, the rule of law, coexistence, equality, tolerance, respect for diversity and reconciliation among the Sri Lankan people.

This commitment extends to preventing any “recurrence of disharmony and future conflict” between the multi-ethnic and diverse communities.

The Commission is expected to review, consider and facilitate the implementation of recommendations made by past Commissions related to Sri Lanka’s post-conflict reconciliation efforts, including the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), Colombo Gazette reported.

Findings from the Consultation Task Force on Reconciliation Mechanisms, established in 2006 by the Government of Sri Lanka, will also be considered.

“The Sri Lankan government is committed to ensuring that the proposed independent Commission acts impartially, free from any political influence. With a victim-centric ethos, the proposed Commission will be a sanctuary for voices to be heard, pain to be acknowledged and dignity to be reclaimed, providing closure to victims and paving the path for national unity and social cohesion,” the statement read.

Pending the enactment of the proposed new law, the Government has initiated the establishment of an interim body, the Interim Secretariat for Truth and Reconciliation Mechanism (ISTRM).

The ISTRM is working to build the necessary legal and policy framework, operational procedures and guidelines for the Commission. The objective of the ISTRM is to lay the foundation for a home-grown solution for truth, reconciliation and national unity.

The interim body is currently engaging with the public and stakeholders to ensure the Commission is built with their participation and consultation, shaping this transformative mechanism and ultimately paving the way for sustainable peace and national unity, Colombo Gazette reported. (ANI)

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Stalin Urges Centre to Help Indian Fishermen Held in Lanka

The apprehended fishermen were brought to the Kankasanthurai harbour and they will be handed over to the Mailadi Fisheries Inspector for further legal action…reports Asian Lite News

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has called upon the central government to expedite the return of Indian fishermen recently detained in Sri Lanka. Expressing concern over the increasing incidents of attacks on fishermen, Stalin emphasized the detrimental impact on the lives and safety of these individuals.

In a letter to Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, the Chief Minister urged the government to instruct the Indian mission in Sri Lanka to take swift action in repatriating the apprehended fishermen along with their boats.

Recently, Tamil Nadu BJP President Annamalai wrote a letter to the Dr S Jaishankar, highlighting the recent incident involving the arrest of 12 Tamil fishermen from Nagapattinam by the Sri Lankan navy.

He requested Jaishankar, seeking his intervention in the repatriation of 16 fishermen detained by the Sri Lankan navy. “On behalf of @BJP4TamilNadu, we request the kind intervention of our Hon EAM Thiru @DrSJaishankar avl for the immediate repatriation of 12 Tamil fishermen arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy and for the release of their fishing vessel,” posted Annamalai on X.

25 Indian fishermen, who were fishing in international waters, were detained by the Sri Lankan Navy along with their two trawlers, off Point Pedro town in Sri Lanka.

According to the Sri Lankan Navy, the fishermen were allegedly involved in ‘illegal poaching’ and were detained after a special operation on Saturday night.

Twelve Tamil fishermen from Nagapattinam were reportedly captured on December 9 by the Sri Lankan navy.

“We bring to your kind attention the arrest of 12 Tamil fishermen from Nagapattinam by the Sri Lankan Navy on December 9, and their fishing boat bearing registration number IND-TN-06-MM-7675 was also apprehended. We request the kind intervention of our External Affairs Ministry for the early repatriation of the detainees and the release of their fishing boat,” Annamalai said in the letter.

The apprehended fishermen were brought to the Kankasanthurai harbour and they will be handed over to the Mailadi Fisheries Inspector for further legal action.

The relatives of the fishermen have expressed their concern about the incident and have requested both central and state governments to rescue them and their two lifeboats.

Last month, 27 Indian fishermen were released by the Sri Lankan authorities. They returned to the Chennai airport on separate days in sets of 12 and 15.

Notably, the arrests of Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy has been a concerning issue for both Tamil Nadu government as well as the BJP-led central government. (with inputs from ANI)

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Lanka Gears Up for FAO Conference

Sri Lankan,india flag.

Sri Lanka demonstrates the country’s dedication to the growth of sustainable agriculture…reports Asian Lite News

Sri Lanka will host the 37th session of the Asia Pacific Regional Conference (APRC) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in February, 2024.

The conference will enable ministers of agriculture and high officials from 46 member countries across the Asia Pacific region to discuss challenges and priorities related to food and agriculture, promoting regional coherence, Xinhua news agency reported quoting FAO as saying.

Sri Lanka Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said the gathering will provide a vital platform for regional collaboration, benefitting the agricultural landscape, fisheries sector and environment of Sri Lanka, as well as participating member countries.

According to the FAO, by hosting the event, Sri Lanka demonstrates the country’s dedication to the growth of sustainable agriculture, not just at home but across the region, and showcases its commitment to being partner in sustainable agricultural development.

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