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Tag: Lanka

  • Lanka Gears Up for 2025 Election Battle

    Lanka Gears Up for 2025 Election Battle

    Last week, the cabinet of ministers approved a proposal to allocate 10 billion rupees for elections to be held in 2024…reports Asian Lite News

    Sri Lanka’s general election will be held in 2025 and the presidential election will be held within mandated period, the President’s Media Division (PMD) said on Tuesday.

    The Election Commission is responsible for holding elections and the government will be communicating with the commission as and when required, the PMD said in a statement, Xinhua news agency reported.

    Last week, the cabinet of ministers approved a proposal to allocate 10 billion rupees for elections to be held in 2024, the government’s information department said in a statement.

    According to the country’s constitution, the forthcoming presidential election should be held before October 17, 2024.

    ALSO READ: UPI arrival spurs tourism, economic growth in Lanka, Mauritius

  • UPI arrival spurs tourism, economic growth in Lanka, Mauritius

    UPI arrival spurs tourism, economic growth in Lanka, Mauritius

    Prabhu Ram, Head, Industry Intelligence Group at CMR, told that UPI’s debut in Sri Lanka and Mauritius marks a series of ongoing pivotal steps in making digital payments more pervasive globally…reports Asian Lite News

    The launch of Unified Payment Interface (UPI) services in Sri Lanka and Mauritius by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a significant step in establishing India’s global leadership in fintech and payments innovation, the industry said on Monday.

    PM Modi, along with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, inaugurated the launch of UPI, and also RuPay card services in Mauritius, via video conferencing.

    “UPI has truly revolutionised the way we pay every day in India. With this expansion, UPI will bring convenience and digital growth to these countries and open new opportunities for cross-border commerce and travel,” Upasana Taku, Co-founder and CFO, MobiKwik, told IANS.

    PM Modi underlined that fintech connectivity will further strengthen cross-border transactions and connections.

    “India’s UPI comes in a new role today — Uniting Partners with India,” he emphasised.

    Prabhu Ram, Head, Industry Intelligence Group at CMR, told that UPI’s debut in Sri Lanka and Mauritius marks a series of ongoing pivotal steps in making digital payments more pervasive globally.

    “UPI will facilitate commerce, foster great economic integration, boost cross-border travel, and simplify tourist experiences for Indian tourists,” he said.

    Speaking about the convenience and speed of UPI transactions, PM Modi informed that more than 100 billion transactions took place via UPI last year, worth Rs 2 lakh crores or 8 trillion Sri Lankan rupees or 1 trillion Mauritius rupees.

    The extension of RuPay card services in Mauritius will also enable Mauritian banks to issue cards based on RuPay mechanism in the country and facilitate usage of RuPay Card for settlements in India and Mauritius.

    UPI has facilitated over 40 per cent of India’s digital transactions, highlighting the country’s potential for embracing fintech innovations. The rapid expansion of fintech in India has created a significant need for skilled professionals, particularly in IT, engineering and sales.

    “Over 60 per cent of fintech firms seek proficient personnel to navigate this dynamic landscape. To meet these demands, apprenticeship programmes are vital in nurturing talent and bridging the skills gap,” said Dhriti Prasanna Mahanta, Vice President & Business Head, TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship.

    ALSO READ-Modi, Wickremesinghe, Jugnauth to launch UPI services in Lanka, Mauritius

  • Modi, Wickremesinghe, Jugnauth to launch UPI services in Lanka, Mauritius

    Modi, Wickremesinghe, Jugnauth to launch UPI services in Lanka, Mauritius

    The launch will enable the availability of UPI settlement services for Indian nationals travelling to Sri Lanka and Mauritius…reports Asian Lite News

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe and Prime Minister of Mauritius, Pravind Jugnauth will witness the launch of Unified Payment Interface (UPI) services in Sri Lanka and Mauritius, as well as, RuPay card services in Mauritius, on Monday 1 pm via video conferencing, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

    India has emerged as a leader in fintech innovation and digital public infrastructure. PM Modi has placed a strong emphasis on sharing our development experiences and innovation with partner countries.

    Given India’s robust cultural and people-to-people linkages with Sri Lanka and Mauritius, the launch will benefit a wide cross-section of people through a faster and seamless digital transaction experience and enhance digital connectivity between the countries, the MEA release also said.

    The launch will enable the availability of UPI settlement services for Indian nationals travelling to Sri Lanka and Mauritius, as well as, for Mauritian nationals travelling to India.

    The extension of RuPay card services in Mauritius will enable Mauritian banks to issue cards based on the RuPay mechanism in Mauritius and facilitate the usage of RuPay cards for settlements both in India and Mauritius, it added.

    Notably, during Wickremesinghe’s New Delhi visit in July 2023, India and Sri Lanka inked an agreement of UPI’s acceptance in the island country.

    Earlier that year, in February, PhonePe, Indian digital payments and financial technology company, launched support for cross-border UPI payments, under UPI International, allowing the apps’ users to use their Indian bank accounts to pay at merchant outlets in the UAE, Singapore, Mauritius, Nepal and Bhutan, The Bhutan Live reported.

    With this, PhonePe became the first in its category to integrate UPI International. UPI International, introduced by the cross-border arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI International Payments Limited), facilitates UPI transactions for the Indian diaspora abroad.

    Rahul Chari, CTO and co-founder of PhonePe, as quoted by The Bhutan Live, said, “UPI International is the first major step in letting the rest of the world experience UPI too. I am sure this launch will prove to be a game-changer and will completely transform the way Indians travelling overseas pay at merchant outlets abroad.”

    PhonePe is India’s largest UPI app by market size. The app raised USD 350 million in funding as part of its USD 1 billion fundraising ahead of an initial public offering (IPO).

    The UPI payment system has become hugely popular for retail digital payments in India, and its adoption is increasing at a rapid pace. It is India’s mobile-based fast payment system, which facilitates customers to make round-the-clock payments instantly using a virtual payment address (VPA) created by the customer. (ANI)

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

    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

    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

  • Lanka records over 200k tourist footfall in January

    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.

    ALSO READ: Sri Lankan leaders heap praise on Jaishankar

  • 1,500 Artistes Perform at Grand Pongal Festival in Trincomalee

    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

    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

    Lanka Announces Electricity Price Cut in 2024

    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

  • Sri Lankan Navy Detains 6 Indian Fishermen

    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)

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