ACTION PLAN

1. Increase foreign currency bank deposits by USD5 billion in the next 5 years.
   1. Issue a 10-year residence visa for foreign citizens who would deposit USD100,000 in banks for 10 years in Sri Lanka.
   2. If this scheme is initiated, Sri Lanka can generate USD5 billion of foreign currency deposits.
   3. To achieve the target of USD5 billion in foreign currency deposits, 50,000 residence visas need to be issued in the next 5 years, each year 10,000 residence visas are to be issued.
   4. Thereby, foreign currency deposits of USD1 billion per annum can be secured by initiating the above scheme.
   5. In addition, an online application system and approval process should be in place for foreign currency bank account openings.
2. Extend the tourist visa validity period for 6 months to increase tourism revenue by 10%.
   1. Permit the issuance of six-month tourist visa instead of one-month tourist visa.
   2. By introducing a six-month tourist visa, the estimated tourism revenue of USD4.5 billion per annum can be increased by 10%, i.e. an additional tourism revenue of USD450 million.
3. Current outflow of USD2.5 billion due to students studying abroad is to be reduced by 20%, which will save USD500 million. In addition, Sri Lanka can earn USD2.5 billion inflows by attracting international students.
   1. Currently, 35,000 new students are leaving the country for higher studies in a year. In addition, 70,000 students are already engaged in foreign universities for higher studies as 2nd or 3rd-year students.
   2. Since 105,000 Sri Lankan students have chosen foreign universities for their study purposes, there is a foreign currency outflow of USD2.5 billion per annum.
   3. To reduce USD2.5 billion outflow by 20% and to attract more international students, below actions are to be taken,
      1. Local private higher education institutions such as NSBM, SLITT, and E-Soft are to be established with the approval of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and to be recognized as private universities in Sri Lanka.
      2. Offer tax holidays and other incentives for new private university establishments and existing small-capacity private universities for their expansions.
      3. Global rankings of Sri Lanka’s public universities to be improved.
      4. Introduce an International Education Strategy to attract more international students and through the strategy to initiate a program, named “Study in Sri Lanka” to attract international students to select Sri Lanka as their higher educational hub.
      5. A task force should be formed and targets to be given to attract 35,000 foreign students to Sri Lanka via the “Study in Sri Lanka” program. This will negate the current outflow of USD2.5 billion, which is a cause of 35,000 local students going aboard for their higher education.
   4. An annual saving of USD500 million can be achieved by initiating this action item.
4. Introduce international student visas to earn foreign student fees and increase international education income
   1. Private higher education institutions such as NSBM, SLITT, CINEC, E-Soft, Horizon, and IIT should be allowed to enrol international students based on 3 to 4-year student visas.
   2. Following best practices of global student visas issued by countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the UK, and the USA, an online student visa application system should be introduced.
   3. Through this, 35,000 international student visas should be issued as a solution to the current outflow of USD2.5 billion from 35,000 local students studying abroad.
5. Increase foreign worker remittances from USD7 billion(pre-Covid) to USD24 billion per annum by forming a 10 - year plan.
   1. Increase monthly funds sent by migrant workers from USD290 to USD1,000.
   2. Monthly, 2 million migrant workers on average send USD290 to their families as funds during the pre-Covid period.
      1. In order to increase monthly funds from USD290 to USD1,000, the Sri Lankan migrant workforce should be given the necessary qualifications and training, targeting foreign countries that offer high-salary jobs. With this implementation, Sri Lanka can earn foreign worker remittances of USD24 billion per annum within a 10-year period.
      2. Due to Covid19, the number of workers departing from Sri Lanka has decreased when compared to pre-Covid19 period. Form a committee to identify current challenges and find solutions to increase the number of workers departing from Sri Lanka.
      3. Maintain Telegram groups per foreign country to improve conditions in the sector of foreign employment for Sri Lankan migrant workers.
         1. Invite all Sri Lankan migrant workers who are working/used to work in other countries to join the relevant country’s Telegram group.
         2. The main objective of this group is to collect the above segments’ views and suggestions they might have for further improvement opportunities within Sri Lanka’s foreign employment.
         3. A dedicated team should be appointed by the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau to collect these ideas.
         4. On a weekly basis conduct meetings to take necessary actions to solve/ find solutions to current challenges or to implement various new methods to develop this sector.
         5. This team should report to the Minister of Foreign Employment on a weekly basis with the identified challenges and solutions given.
      4. Sri Lankan foreign employment agencies should conduct monthly performance reviews on the number of foreign jobs they may have secured for Sri Lanka with the Minister of Foreign Employment.
      5. Initiate a program for all Sri Lankan foreign missions based in various countries to find and share what are the most in-demand and highest paid jobs in their destinations. Ensure Sri Lankan migrant workers are placed at those destinations for high-salary jobs.
      6. For those jobs, develop teaching and training materials following global best curriculums.
      7. Maintain a skill development Telegram group to provide training and improve the skills of migrant workers.
      8. Short videos on subjects such as personal development, behavioural training, best grooming & hygiene practices, language training, customer service, and other related video materials to share for all to access.
      9. Conduct Government-sponsored workshops for foreign employment agencies to increase overseas job placement numbers for Sri Lankan migrant workers.
      10. Launch a website that would contain details of available global jobs for Sri Lankan migrant workers to access.
      11. Develop the existing eldercare assistant vocational program and increase the number of eldercare assistant migrant workers to earn USD1 billion inward worker remittances.
          1. Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission and the private sector should collaborate and create a plan to produce 100,000 migrant workers as eldercare assistants targeting the Europe market.
          2. Necessary training should be given targeting a monthly salary of USD1,200 or more for the migrant worker.
          3. Short courses that can be completed within 3 months’ time should be introduced under the eldercare assistant TVET program.
          4. For example, the University of Moratuwa, and DP Education launched a free online course that can be completed in a short period of time. The course Trainee: Full Stack Development, can be accessed via https://open.uom.lk
          5. Advanced Level bio stream students who are competent in the English Language can be selected for eldercare assistant vocational program.
      12. If 100,000 elder care assistants are produced with a monthly salary of USD1,200, Sri Lanka can earn USD1 billion worth of inward worker remittances.
      13. Identify all other on-demand overseas jobs, such as patient care assistants, drafters, bricklayers, air conditioning and mechanical services plumbers, and hairdressers, and create/update existing TVET curriculums targeting those on-demand jobs. Refer to other countries’ skilled migration occupation lists to identify more high-demand jobs.
      14. Produce a pool of migrant workers, by setting physical and medical standards such as height-weight proportionally, age, eyesight, and awareness on general health habits as key focus areas in introducing these standards.
      15. All services of the Foreign Employment Bureau, i.e., services to migrant workers such as passport services, pre-departure approvals & loan facilities, and services to recruitment agencies such as obtaining and renewal of licenses and approval to recruit to be established in all 24 districts via “District Multi-Service” centers.
      16. In addition, following services should be catered to in all 24 districts through “District Multi-Service” centers.
          1. Services of the Department of Immigration and Emigration including the issuance of passports.
          2. Services of the Department for Registration of Persons including the issuance of National Identity Cards.
          3. Consular services provided through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
          4. Services of the Police Department including police and forensic reports.
          5. Services of the Department of Labour including withdrawal of EPF, ETF, and other funds.
          6. Services of the Ministry of Education and Department of Examinations.
          7. Services of the Department of Law and Justice.
      17. Collaborate with employment agencies in other countries to find jobs for Sri Lankan migrant workers.
          1. Yearly, USD1.3 billion savings can be made by initiating above mentioned activities.
6. Increase foreign direct investments.
   1. Increase regional competitiveness by introducing tax holidays and other incentives.
   2. Appoint a committee to improve the rankings of,
      1. Global Innovation Index
      2. Corruption Perception Index
      3. Global Competitiveness Index
7. Generate USD5 billion from ICT earnings.
   1. Existing state university-owned ICT, engineering, and programming degrees are to be made available for private education institutions to use and offer as external degrees for their students. Every 6 months, exams can be held following the procedures of state universities. Over a 5-year period, 500,000 students should get educated and enter the IT industry.
      1. For example, the University of Moratuwa, and DP Education launched a free online course on Trainee: Full Stack Development, which is accessible for all. Website to access the course is https://open.uom.lk
   2. To increase the student enrolment number in ICT, public universities should also make their ICT related courses available online by 10 times. This will lead to a high number of students getting ICT qualified and industry ready to enter the ICT field.
   3. As a result, ICT related earnings can reach up to USD5 billion.
   4. An additional earning of USD750 million per annum can be achieved by initiating above mentioned suggestions.
8. Establish budget airline hubs to generate USD2 billion.
   1. In countries such as Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam, 50% of tourist arrivals are on budget airlines.
   2. In Sri Lanka, out of the 80,000 hotel rooms, only 30,000 hotel rooms are classified as 5 or 4 stars or any star category. The remaining 50,000 hotel rooms are in the budget accommodation category.
   3. In order to generate USD2 billion from budget airline hubs, following initiatives to be executed,
      1. Transform Rathmalana and Mattala airports into international budget airline hubs.
      2. Attract more low-cost carriers (budget airlines) to arrive in Sri Lanka to accommodate low-cost carrier passengers.
         1. With the above initiative, additional 1 million tourist arrivals can be expected. This would result in generating USD2 billion in earnings.
      3. Encourage the establishment of domestic airline services.
      4. Existing airports in Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Koggala and Digana in Kandy should attract high volumes of domestic aircraft by initiating the following,
         1. Landing, ground handling, and parking rates are to be revised and reduced to increase the affordability for domestic airline carriers.
         2. As a result, the economic benefits of tourism will spread to far corners of Sri Lanka.
   4. Annual income generation of USD2 billion can be achieved through the above-mentioned initiatives.
9. Generate USD600 million income with coconuts.
   1. Annually, 1.5 million coconut seedlings are planted. Through a 5-year program, 20 million additional new seedlings are to be planted. This is achieved by planting additional 4 million seedlings every a year.
   2. As a result, 1.2 billion nuts are produced as an additional harvest.
   3. If one coconut product is sold at an export price of USD0.50, from 1.2 billion coconuts, an income of USD600 million can be generated.
10. Outward payments can be deposited in USD to earn interest payments in USD.
    1. Outward payments such as dividend payments, travel, construction, insurance, telecommunication, computer service, royalty, and air and sea transport fees can be converted to USD and deposited.
    2. These can be deposited for a 3-year period with an interest rate decided by the Government. For example, at an interest rate of 6%.
    3. An annual deposit of USD300 million can be received by implementing this action item.
11. Save USD1 billion by allowing the private sector to invest in new power plants powered by solar or coal in Norochcholai and Sampur.
    1. For the current 900MW power generation using coal, the total coal consumption cost at the current market price is USD50 million per month. Thus, the annual coal consumption cost to generate power is USD600 million.
    2. In addition, the current 900MW power generation using diesel and furnace oil cost at the current market price is USD135 million per month. Thus, the annual cost of fuel is USD1,620 million.
    3. As cost-saving power generation solutions, below 2 options are proposed,

    Option 1: Solar farms

    1. To generate 900MW of power to consume at day time, 2,000MW new solar farms should be constructed.
    2. As a result, current 900MW power generation at daytime using fuel, which has an annual fuel cost of USD800 million, can be replaced by new solar farms.
    3. Thermal powered plants should only be operational at nighttime to generate electricity needed to use at nighttime.
    4. Private sector should be allowed to invest in the construction of 2,000MW new solar farms.
    5. By implementing option 1, a saving of USD800 million can be achieved.

    Option 2 : Coal power plant

    1. Current diesel and furnace oil power plants that generate 900MW can be replaced by constructing an additional new coal plant for 300MW in Norochcholai and by constructing a new coal plant in Sampur for 600MW. By replacing the fuel power plant with coal, the annual fuel cost of USD1,620 million is now replaced with an annual coal cost of USD600 million, hence an annual saving of USD1 billion is achieved.
    2. Private sector companies should be given the opportunity to invest in constructing the 2 power generation plants in Norochcholai (300MW) and Sampur (600MW).
    3. Annually, USD800 million from option 1, and USD1 billion from option 2 can be saved.

12. Save USD200 million on Palm oil.
    1. To save USD200 million outflow, lift the ban on planting palm oil trees.

Economic Revival of Sri Lanka

1. Sri Lanka has an annual shortage of inflows of USD6 billion to accommodate basic needs such as fuel, gas, medicine, fertiliser, and food.
2. By implementing the proposed 12 key strategies, an additional annual income of USD8 billion can be generated as future cash inflows.
3. To effortlessly build confidence in Sri Lanka’s macro-economic stability and assist in unlocking international financing from International Financial Institutions (IFIs) such as International Monetary Fund (IMF), and World Bank (WB), additional cash inflows as suggested in the above action plan are to be generated, to reduce the deficit in the balance of payments.

GOALS

• Defend national sovereignty and strategic importance.
• Border management of land, maritime and air.
• Build international synergies and cooperation on matters in security domain.

×

ACTION PLAN

1. Enhance National Security.
2. Enforce “Zero Tolerance” policy against terrorism and extremism.
3. Appoint one authorised Head responsible for the intelligence operations of the tri-forces and the Police, for effective communication among all units.
4. Treat “intelligence” as a professional service and recruit the best talent on an attractive salary scale to this service.
5. Introduce a legal framework to protect intelligence officers from political interference.
6. Connect intelligence officers with foreign intelligence services and provide them local and foreign training along with modern technological equipment.
7. Reinforce coastal safety and border protection.
8. Implement an effective framework for the welfare and resettlement of soldiers.
9. Digitalise the police with biometric technologies.
10. Implement facial recognition technology through surveillance cameras to identify criminals and terrorists at any given place.

GOALS

Create a better Sri Lanka through finance

1. Sound fiscal management; to ensure that the revenue to support investments in Sri Lanka’s social and economic priorities is raised and spent in a fair, responsible and efficient way.
2. Precision poverty reduction; allocation of modern technologies to identify poor households through 50 indicators evaluating key factors that contribute to poverty in these households; and allocate investments to reduce poverty levels to that of a developed nation.
3. Development of human capital; prioritise upgrading of primary, secondary and tertiary education, and ensure enrolment of 50% of total 360,000 students per annum to public and private universities. Rebrand and upgrade the quality of Technical, Vocational and Educational Training (TVET) and ensure enrolment of 40% of total 360,000 students per annum to TVET education, thereby only 10% of total students per annum fall into the unskilled labour market.
4. Sound social policy framework; to support the Government’s efforts to promote equal opportunities for all citizens across the country and to meet the Government’s priorities for promoting jobs, transforming the agricultural sector (inclusive of increasing agricultural productivity of farmers, farmers’ household income, equitable consumption of a safe, affordable, nutritious diet year around and women’s empowerment in agriculture) and economic growth.
5. Inclusive and sustainable economic growth; to create the conditions necessary for a strong, long‑term and clean economic growth, thereby increasing the standard of living and well‑being of Sri Lankans.

Sri Lankan population growth per annum is an average of 190,000. Therefore, in order to maintain the current economy, it is necessary to create an additional 62,400 jobs per annum.

(Source: Jobless Growth, World Bank, 2018)

Okun’s law states that for every 1% decrease in the unemployment rate, gross domestic product increases by 3%.

Establish and implement a district-wise job generation plan to decrease unemployment. This is to be monitored monthly and Government to aid private sector investments.

The Laffer curve illustrates a relationship between rates of taxation and the resulting levels of Government revenue. It illustrates the concept of taxable income elasticity i.e., taxable income changes in response to changes in the rate of taxation.

A key reason for the lack of investments into the Country at present is due to incorrect tax rates as our current rates tax investors higher than our competitors, thereby discouraging investments into the country.

Therefore, it is required to maintain a tax rate at the revenue maximising point in order to attract the highest possible investments into the country.

Changing the tax and customs duty policies, to increase greenfield and brownfield, local investments and foreign direct investments, is necessary for economic growth, increased district-wise job generation and goods and service exports.

Item		Income Tax (Direct Tax) (Rs. million)		Total Government Revenue (Rs. million)		% of Direct Tax of Total Government Revenue		% of Indirect Tax of Total Government Revenue		Exchange loss as a result of Rupee Depreciation		Foreign Debt (Rs. million)
2005		52,535		379,747		13.80%		86.20%		117,785		956,620
2006		79,693		477,833		16.70%		83.30%		108,579		1,103,418
2007		107,169		565,051		19.00%		81.00%		71,646		1,326,487
2008		126,541		655,260		19.30%		80.70%		117,785		1,448,734
2009		139,558		699,644		19.90%		80.10%		23,114		1,760,467
2010		135,624		817,279		16.60%		83.40%		-10,028		2,024,583
2011		157,310		967,862		16.30%		83.70%		90,335		2,329,280
2012		172,594		1,051,462		16.40%		83.60%		230,642		2,767,299
2013		205,666		1,137,447		18.10%		81.90%		-15,361		2,960,424
2014		198,115		1,195,206		16.60%		83.40%		-89,335		3,113,116
2015		262,583		1,454,878		18.00%		82.00%		285,091		3,544,031
2016		258,857		1,686,061		15.40%		84.60%		186,650		4,045,796
2017		274,562		1,831,531		15.00%		85.00%		225,223		4,718,618
2018		310,450		1,919,974		16.20%		83.80%		1,063,218		5,959,547
Total		2,481,257								2,405,344

*Income Tax (Direct Tax)

Income Tax (Direct Tax)

=

Corporate and Non-Corporate Tax

+

Pay As You Earn Tax (PAYE)

+

Economic Service Charge

+

Tax on Interest Income

ACTION PLAN

During the past 14 years direct Government tax revenue on a cumulative basis was Rs. 2,481 billion whereas Rs. 2,405 billion was incurred as an additional payment due to rupee depreciation to make foreign borrowings increase to Rs. 5,959 billion by last year. Therefore, to stop the rupee depreciating beyond 2% - 3% it is essential to bring in investments, especially foreign direct investments and enhance exports regardless of the direct tax revenue.

Policies relating to the Department of Inland Revenue

Total Government revenue in 2018 was Rs. 1,919 billion. Introduce an Artificial Intelligence (AI) based monitoring system to both Customs and the Department of Inland Revenue for the purpose of monitoring evasions (after introducing IBM Watson in Switzerland Customs revenue increased by 10%) after which, Government revenue will be increased by 15%, generating an additional Rs. 287 billion.

1. Maintain the current rate of corporate tax for the following industries;
   • Financial services, except insurance and pension funding
   • Wholesale trade except of motor vehicle and motor cycles
   • Manufacture of tobacco products
   • Telecommunication
   • Gambling and betting activities
   Whilst reducing the current rate of dividend tax and capital gain tax to 0%
   (which will help in additional job generation).
2. Reduce the current rate of corporate tax to 0% and provide a guarantee for new ventures through an agreement with the BOI, at the reduced rate for the next 25 years for industries;
   • Education
   • Information service activities
     (Any type of BPO, KPO, provision of infrastructure for hosting, data processing services and related activities, web portals, news syndicates and news agency activities furnishing news, pictures and features to the media, computer based telephone information services, information search services on a contract or fee basis and news clipping services, press clipping services and other digital services)
   • Human health activities
   • Air transport
   • Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers
   • Waste collection, treatment and disposal activities; materials recovery
   • Water collection, treatment and supply
   • Sewerage
   • Manufacture of other transport equipment
   • Fishing and aquaculture
   • Remediation activities and other waste management services
3. Reduce the current rate of corporate tax to 12% for existing ventures not mentioned in points 1 and 2.
4. Reduce the current rate of corporate tax to 12% for new ventures not mentioned in points 1 and 2 and provide a guarantee for the reduced rate for the next 25 years for all sectors (in the Western Province) and for the other eight provinces to be granted a discount of 80%, thereby charging an effective rate of 2.4% (which will help in additional rural district-wise job generation).
5. PAYE tax of 12% will only be charged starting from a monthly income bracket of Rs. 500,000.

Policies relating to Sri Lanka Customs

Total Government revenue in 2018 was Rs. 1,919 billion. Introduce an Artificial Intelligence (AI) based monitoring system to both Customs and the Department of Inland Revenue for the purpose of monitoring evasions (after introducing IBM Watson in Switzerland Customs revenue increased by 10%) after which, Government revenue will be increased by 15%, generating an additional Rs. 287 billion.

1. Out of the prevailing 7,162 HS Codes in Customs, 90% of the Customs revenue is generated through 500 HS codes (6-digit). The tax structure of these 500 HS codes that generate 90% of the Customs revenue is to be restructured, benchmarking that of Malaysia, Thailand and India (that will help local industries and create additional jobs). As a result, Customs revenue can be increased by 10%.

Government capital investments

1. Government capital investments, also known as the Public Investments Programme (PIP), where the benefits span many generations of Sri Lankans, paying for them through some borrowing is fairer and more efficient.
   Borrowings will be made in a responsible and sustainable manner to help instil financial discipline and distribute the share of funding more equitably across current and future generations.

Government recurrent spending

1. Recurrent spending needs in areas such as precision poverty reduction, primary, secondary, university, technical and vocational (TVET) education is to be recognised as necessary expenditures.
2. Currently Sri Lanka takes the easier route by funding some of these recurrent expenditures through borrowings. This is not ideal in the long-run, as such borrowings shift the burden of paying for today’s needs onto future generations. A fairer and more robust approach is to meet recurrent spending with recurrent revenue. Hence, we must continually review our tax system to ensure its resilience.

Future policy and strategy planning for Sri Lanka

1. The Ministry of Finance and Planning should be responsible for future policies and strategic planning for Sri Lanka.
2. Any policy proposed in the budget to have an economic analysis, that the Ministry of Finance can use to validate proposed policies.
3. Implement a Management Information System (MIS) to track the progress of budget promises.
4. Asset management systems to be implemented to monitor and ensure maximum utilisation of Government assets and resources.

GOALS

• Increase the current number of students doing A/L from 218,191 to 300,000 and ensure majority of A/L students do STEM subjects.
• Ensure 360,000 students per annum sit for O/Ls.
• Develop 771 schools under provincial councils to match the standards of national schools with fully fledged facilities.
• Select schools with sufficient land and build new infrastructure in order to increase student capacity by 1,500.

ACTION PLAN

1. Allocate an additional budget of Rs. 200 billion with a 10% annual increment for primary, university and technical and vocational education.
2. Introduce five new types of biscuits for the five days of the week which can be obtained free of charge by producing the coupon provided under the precision poverty reduction programme for school children who cannot afford breakfast. These new types of biscuits also to be made available for purchase through markets.
   Also, continue the provision of free text books, and further provide, school uniforms, socks and shoes from preschool to secondary school level, through the precision poverty reduction programme.
3. Fund private sector to build, standardise and upgrade preschools.
4. Facilitate video-based and other necessary teacher training for pre-schools.
5. Develop 771 schools under provincial councils with fully-fledged facilities to match the standards of national schools.
   • 2 schools each from the 276 divisional councils (552 schools).
   • 3 schools each from the 41 urban councils (123 schools).
   • 4 schools each from 24 municipal councils (96 schools).

   Same national level popular school names and management to be followed at these 771 schools.

   Select schools with sufficient land and build infrastructure in order to increase student capacity by 1,500. As a result, in all 771 schools, capacity will increase by an average of 1,500 students resulting in a total increase by 1,156,500 students.

   Following which, competition for grade 1 student entrance will be reduced from current 80,000 students to 0 students.

6. Ensure availability of branches of two popular schools in each district.
   In total, 50 schools will be built, each with a capacity of 6,000 students, increasing total capacity by 300,000 students.
7. Encourage establishment of international schools through 0% corporate tax and 0% VAT incentives to encourage professionals to serve outstation.
   At present English-speaking professionals are reluctant to work outstation due to the lack of English medium schools for their children.
8. Encourage establishment of private universities, excluding medical colleges, through 0% corporate tax and 0% VAT incentives to achieve the goal of 50% university degree holders from total students per annum (Sri Lanka at present has 360,000 students per annum).
9. Introduce an online portal excluding data charges, which contains instructional videos for all school subjects.
10. Utilise video tutorials to teach students life and social interaction skills.
11. Provide career counselling for all A/L students


×

(Source: Department of Police)

Sri Lanka had 99,036 unconvicted prisoners in 2017, of whom 6.8% had no schooling, 52.9% had studied only up to grade 5 and 85.1% had studied only up to grade 8. However, the total percentage of unconvicted prisoners who passed A/Ls and progressed in education beyond A/Ls was only 3.1%.

Therefore, if every child is educated at least up to A/Ls, 50% of prisons can be shut down.

12. Geo-tag the 5,000 children who do not attend school and increase the income of their families through help desks under the precision poverty reduction programme, so that these children are able to go to school. Thereby reducing the number of students who do not attend school from 5,000 to 0.
13. Decrease school dropouts from 30,000 to 0 through precision poverty reduction and implementation of required social development initiatives.
14. Identify schools that require immediate refurbishment from the 10,194 Government schools across the Island.
15. Identify and closely monitor schools with low numbers of students and teachers.
    • 1,486 schools with less than 50 students
    • 1,560 schools with 50-100 students
    • 3,133 schools with fewer than 9 teachers
16. Ensure all schools have access to clean water and toilet facilities.
17. Introduce 0% VAT and 0% corporate tax on private education.
    

    This tax benefit scheme will be guaranteed for the next 25 years to build private schools and private international schools.

18. Open branches of popular schools in the 6 main corridors to Colombo – Galle, Piliyandala, Homagama, Kaduwala, Nittambuwa, and Negombo. This would reduce road traffic and raise standards of schools outside Colombo.
19. Double dose of Mathematics from Grade 6 for underperforming students by replacing time allocated for another subject.
20. From Grade 6 onwards, introduce the option of learning Science in English.
21. Encourage Grade 10 and 11 students to choose commerce subjects for personal financial management.
22. Recognise English as the “link language” of Sri Lanka.
    E.g. Provide Sinhalese students studying Tamil language the option of studying English language during that period. Likewise, provide Tamil students studying Sinhala language the option of studying English language during that period.
23. Ensure availability of teacher training and learning videos for students for all subjects taught from Grade 1 to 13.
24. Encourage the selection of Science, Mathematics, Commerce, Biology and Engineering streams for A/L to match job market trends.
25. Increase student enrolment in Grade 12 and 13 from 210,000 to 300,000, while increasing capacity at schools with Science and Technology labs.
26. Create a portal to monitor the quality of the district level school education system.
    The portal includes general school statistics (no. of schools, no. of teachers, and no. of students, both urban and rural) and a performance dashboard (dropout rate, schools with functional toilets, schools with drinking water, etc.).
27. Form a committee to ensure quality of education across Government, private, international and other schools and pre-schools.
28. Integrate ICT into education, increase the number of computers, and ensure Internet connectivity in schools.
29. Ensure availability of ICT-related teaching materials through the online portal.
30. Share instructional videos among teachers on methods of teaching ICT.
31. Utilise video conferencing to conduct simultaneous live classes for rural schools which suffer from a shortage of teachers.
32. Develop an online application system for teachers featuring their qualifications and schools with job vacancies.
33. Launch a teacher training certification programme.
34. Update student vacancies from Grade 6 to Grade 13 in every school on an online portal.
35. Create a website with athletic records from district, national, regional, and international level and update with the current status of each district’s student athletes.
36. Establish an online academy with training videos, for students to train for sports and improve their performance to reach international levels.
37. Develop existing school cricket grounds.
38. Make supplementary Math classes compulsory after O/L, either in school or via online learning.
39. Allow students who have passed six subjects but failed Math in their O/L, to continue with their A/L studies while attending additional Math classes to re-sit the O/L Math exam.

    Based on the pass rate for their O/L Math, students can attempt the final A/L exam.

40. Predict the dropout risk at school through the analysis of data such as attendance, performance and behaviour.
41. Allocate a period in the school timetable for student engagement programmes such as weekly arts and crafts programmes, sports, reading and storytelling to increase student enjoyment at school.
42. Provide after-school tutoring programmes in key subject areas to students at risk of dropping out.
43. Allocate funds for students at risk of dropping out, in the form of bursaries and scholarships.
44. Upgrade school library facilities.
45. Introduce virtual libraries with free access.
46. Introduce project-based STREAM curriculum (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) in primary and secondary schools.

    Students to learn in teams and Math, Science, Reading and Engineering are integrated into each lesson.

47. Implement mandatory health lessons where students, especially young girls, are taught about menstruation and proper menstrual hygiene.
48. Ensure availability of emergency sanitary products and proper toilet facilities with sanitary napkin disposal systems.
49. Promote education of students, teachers and parents about menstruation hygiene to reduce the stigma around menstruation.
50. Ensure all teachers have adequate first-aid training and include first-aid training in the school curriculum.
51. Prioritise establishment and upgrading of girls’ schools. In addition, provide bursaries for girls to encourage education.
52. Introduce mandatory environmental education on being eco-friendly, reducing waste and recycling as part of the Geography and Science syllabi.
53. Allow children of Sri Lankan families who are living abroad to attend local schools and sit for local exams when they come to Sri Lanka.
54. Introduce curriculum resources for early learning, primary and secondary students to promote reconciliation and strengthen knowledge and understanding of history and culture.
55. Ensure availability of science laboratories for schools that teach up to O/L.
56. Increase science stream schools by 1,000 from 1,029 to 2,029 schools.
57. Take part in Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) to evaluate the current standard of the education system.
58. Provide duty-free permits to owners of old school buses and vans that are over 15 years old.
59. Provide 2,000 mini-school buses to villages where children walk over 2 km to access the main road to reach their schools.
60. Reduce the waiting time for local O/L exam results to 2 months.

    Introduce pre-A/L classes for all students awaiting their O/L results.

    Current waiting time to obtain results in Sri Lanka is 4 months. An additional 2 months is spent at home until A/L schooling starts. Therefore, a total 6 months of student time is spent in an unproductive manner.

61. Reduce the waiting time for A/L exam results to 2 months.

    Current the waiting time in Sri Lanka is 4 months.

62. Reduce the waiting time for university entrance after A/Ls to 6 months.

    Current the waiting time in Sri Lanka is 17 months, including 4 months waiting for results.

GOALS

• Increase the number of graduates from Government Universities from 25,200 to 60,000 and graduates from local private universities from 15,000 to 105,228.
• Increase the total number of university graduates to 180,000 from the total 360,000 students per annum.

ACTION PLAN

1. Increase the intake capacity of students in Government universities from 30,000 to 60,000.
2. Improve existing university rankings by further working on development of low scored areas.

   Benchmarking Times Higher Education World University Ranking.

   • Improve teaching and learning environment.
   • Increase industry income.
   • Increase number of international students and staff.
   • Increase number of journal paper publications and citation.
3. Provide a job guarantee for all degree courses. Discontinue all Government university degree courses that do not have a demand in the job market.
4. Revise Government university courses to match the industry demand and future employability opportunities.
5. Increase Government medical college capacity from 1,300 to 2,000 medical students and increase intake of dental students. Prohibition of private medical universities.
6. Ensure availability of lectures through an online portal by Government and Semi-Government universities.
7. Provide student loans for those who have enrolled and bursaries for those who perform well.
8. Provide language exam facilities such as IELTS at Government universities for students who want to pursue further higher education abroad.
9. Upgrade existing books in Government university libraries to an E-library platform.
   Purchase international E-books and provide them free of charge to all students via the E-library.
10. Upgrade all labs at Government universities with the latest equipment.
11. Open Government university research facilities for outside parties through an online reservation system.
12. Upgrade all existing Government university hostels with proper sanitation facilities.
13. Follow a standardised hygiene guideline at all Government university canteens.
14. Ban all forms of ragging at Government universities.
    1980 students have left the Government universities due to ragging from 2016 to July 2018.
15. Implement 0% Corporate tax and 0% VAT on higher education.

    Corporate tax and VAT rates to be guaranteed for the next 25 years to aid building private universities and private international universities, excluding medical colleges.

16. Provide Government soft loans to build 5 internationally branded universities within a 30km radius from the Bandaranaike International Airport.
    Encourage educational tourism with a target of 50,000 international students per year.
17. Encourage establishing of a private university or semi Government university in every district under the district branding initiative.
18. Introduce an education loan of Rs. 1.2 million without interest for every student who has passed Advanced Level to study at private universities with a target of 105,228 students per annum.
19. Create new STEM related departments and department-to-department partnerships with overseas universities.
20. Establish an incentive scheme for lecturers in addition to their salary, based on the quality of their research and number of journal papers they’ve published, to increase publication rate.
21. Establish partnerships with foreign universities and encourage exchange of students, lecturers, research findings and expertise.
22. Increase enrolment of international students in undergraduate and postgraduate programmes at private and public universities.
23. Translate all textbooks into Braille and provide hearing and visual aids free of charge.
24. Provide online language learning facilities to all citizens in the country to learn Sinhala/English/Tamil in addition to their mother tongue.
25. Provide career guidance in each university
26. Encourage tech/science students to become entrepreneurs through advice and incentives.
27. Assist in linking students with relevant industries based on their educational qualifications for internship programmes.
28. Provide mental health counselling in each university.
29. Launch a web portal with personal grooming and development videos for school and university students.

GOALS

• Increase TVET certificate holders from 79,200 to 144,000, which will result in 40% of the 360,000 students per annum.
• Transform unskilled labour contribution of the labour force into skilled labour by reducing the current unskilled labour from 225,600 i.e. 62,8% of all students per annum to 36,000 i.e. 10% of all students per annum.
• Create opportunities for students and adult learners to acquire skills, knowledge and values for employability and lifelong learning.
• Develop and continuously revise training standards, skills training and the certification system.

ACTION PLAN

1. Rebrand TVET as an attractive learning choice by producing a dedicated brand guideline.
2. Enhance the quality of programmes to improve graduate and foreign employability, by enabling industry professionals to lead curriculum development.
3. Implement 0% Corporate tax and 0% VAT on TVET education.
   Corporate tax and VAT rates to be guaranteed for the next 25 years to aid building private TVET universities.
4. Introduce new TVET courses after evaluating those available in India, Germany and Malaysia to match job market demand.
5. Build a fully equipped TVET Centre in each district, with qualified lecturers for all NVQ certification levels, to increase TVET certificate holders from 79,200 to 144,000 which will result in 40% of the total 360,000 students per annum.
6. Upgrade existing technical education centres in collaboration with world-class institutions.
7. Introduce short courses in the TVET curriculum based on 4 hours, 6 hours, 12 hours, 20 hours, one day, one week and one month.
8. Introduce additional TVET courses in logistics stream catering to the job market demand.
9. Increase the number of TVET courses available for women
   • Courses in management, computer operator, programming assistant, tour and travel assistant, etc.
   • In addition, introduce short courses (1 to 2 weeks) in hair care, facials, nail art and sewing garments.
10. Introduce “Train the Trainer” courses for TVET instructors to enhance their skills.
11. Ensure availability of free online language courses to all citizens.
12. Implement an online skill assessment portal for individuals to assess their current skill levels and to identify areas for improvement.
13. Implement a job bank where unemployed citizens are geo-tagged and directed to jobs matching their skills. This would also monitor new students until they have been employed.
14. Initiate a dedicated plan on district-wise job creation.
    • Tourism related jobs.
      Tour guide training courses, retail, homestay hotel operation, beach club operations, bartenders, waiters and receptionists, etc.
    • Hotel sector job creation through online hospitality courses.
    • Training videos for homestay hotel operators.
    • Nursing training courses.
    • Provide funds to conduct courses on handloom, traditional crafts and handicrafts, etc.
15. Launch a dedicated website for TVET students with information on:
    • Technical colleges available in the area.
    • Courses available based on location
    • Career guidance.
    • Jobs availability in the area.
    • Video-based TVET course learning.
    • Video-based personal and soft-skill development with grooming tips.
16. Increase intake of students in nursing colleges.

GOALS

• No Poverty.
• Zero Hunger.
• Gender Equality.
• Decent Work and Economic Growth.
• Reducing Inequality.

Social transfers

Social transfers for those living in poverty or in danger of falling into poverty

Social transfers are non-contributory, in the sense that the recipients are not required to pay for them through premiums or specific taxes. Social assistance will be provided by public and civic bodies to those living in poverty or in danger of falling into poverty. E.g. Non-contributory pensions, child benefits, school feedings, disability allowances and agricultural inputs.

Currently in Sri Lanka, the total value of social transfers as per the European Union (EU) definition, is Rs. 106 billion. Therefore, there is no precision poverty reduction programme but only assistance for survival in the backdrop of an increasing number of families in poverty.

ACTION PLAN

1. Allocate an additional budget of Rs. 100 billion with an annual 10% increment for social transfers and social development.

   There are 1.5 million families under the current Samurdhi scheme. “Samurdhi 2” will be initiated for all families who cannot afford adequate living standards under the current Samurdhi scheme, focusing on the provision of education under the precision poverty reduction scheme to support them to move out of poverty.

2. Complete eradication of poverty through the precision poverty reduction programme as the second phase of development projects under the Department of Samurdhi.
   • Identify 50 indicators that would assist in poverty reduction, such as stable income, access to healthcare, nutrition, safe homes, literacy, etc.
   • Geo-tag people below the poverty line and provide precision poverty alleviation.
   • Geo-tag differently-abled citizens with blindness, deafness, impaired movement and poor mental health and provide them with necessary technical assistance.
   • Geo-tag suicide survivors and maintain their profiles with reasons for attempting suicide. Identify the top causes and areas of attempted suicides in order to reduce the suicide rate by 50%.

     Suicide hotline callers to be answered by a suicide survivor to better manage callers’ feelings.

   • Geo-tag kidney patients and identify affected areas, including those prone to Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) to construct deep-well (bore well) facilities with proper filtration. Already certain villages are equipped with the above mentioned water purification systems.
     E.g. Saddiyawara project by Hayleys PLC.

     Introduce soil health cards for agricultural purposes to reduce excess usage of fertiliser by 20%.

   • Geo-tag cancer patients and assign retired qualified doctors to provide necessary emotional and mental health advice, as there are 23,000 cancer patients per annum in Sri Lanka.
   • Maintain a database that categorises differently-abled people and hire professionals to advise, support and monitor their progress.
   • Child protection facilities:
     • Reduce incidents of wilful neglect and abandonment of infants by introducing “baby hatches” where mothers can leave their babies anonymously.
     • Introduce fast-track courts that specialise in child rape cases.
3. Women’s protection
   • Establish a women’s helpline.
     To speak to a trained helpliner and receive support over the phone. The Helpline is run by women, for women and are able to assist callers with a variety of concerns and offer empathy, support, information and encouragement. It is also possible to make an appointment to speak to a counsellor or lawyer.
   • Establish a Sexual Assault Care Centre (SACC) to provide survivors with crucial services to help them deal with their trauma and make decisions about their next steps.
     • Drop-in centre – will provide a safe space for these survivors to immediately consult an on-site social worker and receive counselling, without any prior appointment.
     • Helpline support –speak to a trained volunteer and receive support through the phone. In addition, an appointment can be made to see a social worker or counsellor for further help.
     • Befriender Service – Trained befrienders will accompany these survivors to the police, the hospital or to the court to report and follow their sexual assault case, providing information and emotional support through the various legal and medical processes.A Befriender can be requested by contacting helpline or via email.
     • Counselling and Case Management – Many sexual assault survivors find it helpful to talk to a counsellor. They will provide follow-up care counselling to victims of sexual assault. All support is provided on a strictly confidential basis. The first three counselling sessions are free. The cost of counselling from the fourth onwards is 1% of the survivors monthly salary per session, at a minimum charge of Rs. 50 per session for those who are not working.
     • Legal advice – An appointment can be made via phone with an experienced lawyer to explore the legal options available for these survivors.
   • Help anaemic women and girls across Sri Lanka through the usage of a digital haemoglobin-meter to test for anaemia, give IFA (Iron and Folic Acid) tablets to treat, and counsel beneficiaries on lifestyle measures to increase iron levels in the body, and on foods rich in iron, protein and vitamin C. Anaemia is an iron deficiency in blood. During pregnancy, it can cause deaths of mother’s and infants, still births etc. In India estimates of economic losses from iron deficiency is 6% of GDP.
     (Source: Horton and Ross, 2003)
4. Senior Citizens

   Create a one-stop online portal for all senior citizens in the country. The portal will provide the following services;

   • Online training videos and courses for aged care providers.
   • Information on Government-approved elders’ homes.
   • Information on local volunteering opportunities.
   • A dedicated job section for senior citizens to be employed with an income.
5. Prisoner rehabilitation and crime reduction (refer to - "Ministry of Justice and Prisoner Reforms").
6. Drug prevention
   • Establish an official YouTube channel to spread awareness on substance abuse and mental health services.
   • Introduce a free app that empowers health care practitioners to provide effective, evidence-based care for opioid use disorders when providing medication-assisted treatment (MAT).
   • Publish an online magazine for parents addressing teenage drug abuse and effects of alcohol and rehabilitation. Articles could cover the following areas;
     • Addiction and how to overpower this chronic illness
     • Hidden signs of drug addiction
     • Going to rehab and how each day leads to personal improvement
     • Why Fentanyl is threatening Sri Lanka
     • Why ignoring mental health and addiction can be a very costly mistake
     • Teens and cannabis
7. Child protection
   • Protection of street children.
     Establish dedicated day-care centres for street children and provide education opportunities through these centres.
   • Introduce five types of biscuits for the five days of the week which can be obtained free of charge by producing the coupon provided under the precision poverty reduction programme for school children who cannot afford breakfast. This is also to be made available to purchase through markets.
   • Geo-tag the 5,000 children who do not attend school and increase the income of their families through help desks under the precision poverty reduction programme, so that these children are able to go to school. Thereby reducing the number of students who do not attend school from 5,000 to 0.
   • Decrease school dropouts from 30,000 to 0 through precision poverty reduction and implementation of required social development initiatives.
   • Increase opportunities for physical activities in pre-schools and mainstream schools to make healthy living more accessible for students. Parents play an important role in helping their young children spend at least 2 - 3 hours everyday, outdoors during daytime.
     • Increase the minimum daily time for physical activities for full-day pre-school programmes to an hour daily, of which half-hour is to be conducted outdoors daily.
     • Provide pre-school teachers with educational resources for outdoor classroom lessons.
     • Increase opportunities for unstructured play in mainstream schools beyond formal curriculum time.
     • School facilities and sports equipment to be made available to students during recess and/or after school.
   • Encourage families to have Active and Healthy Weekends through schools and community.
     Initiate entertainment activities in parks, recreational centres and open spaces in every district to encourage parent-child bonding through physical activity.
   • Provide services to Children with Disabilities (CWD) in regular schools by;
     • Assessment and screening of CWD
     • Functionalise all State and District Resource Centres
     • Providing in-service teacher training on inclusive education
     • Incorporate resource rooms in schools as per need
     • Ensuring the availability of aids and appliances as per need
     • Co-ordination of Child Development Centres with multi-disciplinary trained professionals established by Ministry of Health.
8. Organising the unregulated sectors.
   • Brand, uplift and dignify the three-wheeler community. Utilise training videos and other means for this purpose.
   • Establish a free online three-wheel booking portal and a queue management system.
   • Street Food Vendors.
     • Introduce soft loan schemes to support their businesses.
     • Provide vocational training and capacity building to street vendors’ through training videos to increase their income.
     • Introduce a mobile application with information of street food vendors including location and directions via Google Maps, to attract and inform local and foreign visitors.
       • Addresses of shops and stalls will be available in Sinhala, Tamil and English for users’ convenience if they choose to travel via taxis or other modes of public transport.
9. Develop a resource centre for the differently-abled in each district with necessary equipment for screening and therapy of differently-abled persons.
10. Run free online courses to support parenting and child-care.
11. Create an online Government portal with information to support and enrich the family unit, which includes;
    • Pre marriage counselling
    • Maintaining a healthy marriage
    • Financial management
    • Managing divorce
    • Family planning
12. Reduce divorce cases.

    Introduce a marriage preparation programme with online videos, to help lay the foundation for marriage, and equip couples with practical skills on conflict resolution and strengthening communication.

GOALS

• Create thriving districts with greater quality of life.
• Brand each district promoting its relevant significance.
• Expand services and facilities which are restricted only to Colombo in each district by opening up fully-fledged branches of Government offices.



District development

To create thriving districts with greater quality of life, three main issues have to be addressed:

1. Distance from the particular district to Colombo.
2. Issues unique to each district.
   • Culture
   • Language
   • Infrastructure
3. "Distribution of Provincial Political Power"?

Issue 1: Distance from a particular district to Colombo.

Solution: Multi-Services to be provided from each district.

Services and facilities which are restricted only to Colombo will be expanded to each district by opening up fully-fledged branches of Government offices.

A “District Multi-Service Centre” to be established where the following services can be easily offered in each district:

• All services of the Department of Immigration and Emigration including issue of passports.
• All services of the Department for Registration of Persons including issue of National Identity Cards.
• All services of the Department of Motor Traffic including the registration of Motor Vehicles and issue of driving licenses.
• All services including consular services provided through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• All services of the Foreign Employment Bureau.
• All services of the Police Department including police and forensic reports, that are currently being issued only from Colombo.
• All services of the Department of Labour including withdrawal of EPF, ETF and other funds.
• All services of the Ministry of Education and Department of Examinations.
• All services of the Department of Law and Justice.
  • Reimbursement of costs incurred by citizens.
    

    For any reason, should public officers delay in providing or fail to complete a service within a period of two years, the citizen who was inconvenienced will be compensated by the relevant government organisation after taking into account the transport costs incurred based on the distance and the time taken to travel.

Issue 2: Issues unique to each district on Culture, Language and Infrastructure.

1. Cultural

E.g. Jaffna district:

Female motorcyclists including pillion riders wearing flowers on their hair will be exempt when travelling at a speed under 30km/h from the mandatory helmet law which currently identifies this as dangerous driving.

Ladies wearing traditional attire (saree) while on a motorbike, seated with their legs to a side will be exempt when travelling at a speed under 30km/h from the dangerous driving law.

Identify and provide suitable solutions to similar issues in each district to enhance the wellbeing of society.

2. Language

E.g. Jaffna district:

The proposed “Home Police Programme” enables efficient communication by locating Police officers to serve within their native regions (e.g. Police Officer from Jaffna to be posted to a station in Jaffna). This can overcome language barriers and provide door-to-door police services. This programme proposes the recruitment of 4,960 female police officers, (10 officers per station totalling to 496 police stations across the island) and provision of 5 motor bikes per station.

1,700 police officers retire every year and these officers could be recruited for the “Home Police Programme”, and this process will be completed within a period of 3 years. As a result of the “Home Police Programme”, the language barrier will be reduced.

In addition, introduce a Government initiated, freely accessible portal for language translation (between Sinhala, Tamil and English). Brand and market the portal with relevant training videos for the use of all citizens.

English language education will allow children from different ethnicities to understand and communicate with each other. Thereby, English shall be the language recognised as the “link language” of Sri Lanka.

E.g. Provide Sinhalese students studying Tamil language the option of studying English language during that period. Likewise, provide Tamil students studying Sinhala language the option of studying English language during that period.

3. Lack of infrastructure

Expand facilities which are restricted only to Colombo in each district.

ACTION PLAN

1. District branding
   
   
   • Brand each district with signages promoting tourist attractions, heritage sites, historical sites, botanical gardens and parks, etc.
2. Public Education – Develop 771 schools under provincial councils with fully-fledged facilities to match the standards of national schools.
   
   
   • 2 schools each from the 276 divisional councils (552 schools).
   • 3 schools each from the 41 urban councils (123 schools).
   • 4 schools each from 24 municipal councils (96 schools).

     To increase student capacity by 1,500, schools with adequate land will be selected. In all 771 schools, student capacity will increase to an average of 1,500 students resulting in a total increase to 1,156,500 students.

   Following which, competition for grade 1 student entrance will be reduced from current 80,000 students to 0 students.

3. Private Education – Encourage establishment of international schools through 0% corporate tax and 0% VAT incentives to encourage professionals to serve outstation.

   At present English-speaking professionals are reluctant to work outstation due to the lack of English medium schools for their children.

   • Encourage establishment of private universities, excluding medical colleges, through 0% corporate tax and 0% VAT incentives to achieve the goal of 50% university degree holders from total students per annum (Sri Lanka at present has 360,000 students per annum).
   • Build a fully equipped TVET centre in each district with qualified lecturers for all NVQ certification levels to increase TVET certificate holders from 79,200 to 144,000 which will result in 40% of the total 360,000 students per annum.
4. Propose low cost, high rise apartment complexes in every district with centralised facilities such as transport, water, sewage, electricity, day-care, pre-schools, schools, universities, technical colleges and healthcare, etc.
5. Propose low rent, high rise office complexes in every district for new businesses bringing in new jobs, with an allocation of 70 sqft per employee who makes their initial registration with EPF/ETF.
6. Build an economic centre in each district.
7. Construct a wholesale fish market and storage units in the 14 districts with coastal areas.
8. Provide mobile cold storage containers to fishing villages with excess fish yield.
9. Initiate water supply and sanitation improvement projects in each district.
10. District wise job generation.
    
    
    • Parliament members of each district to take the responsibility of private sector job generation. This is to be monitored monthly.
    • Provide all private sector ventures that set up new businesses in any district excluding Colombo, will be provided with an 80% corporate tax reduction guaranteed for the next 25 years, in agreement with the BOI.
    • Geo-tag all 380,000 unemployed citizens and match their skills with available private sector jobs. Upgrade their skills to suit the demand in the job market.
11. Healthcare
    • Increase operation hours from 8 to 12 hours per day in government surgical theatres which has a backlog of month long waiting queues.
    • Establish an Oncology (cancer) unit at a hospital in each district in association with Maharagama Cancer Hospital.
    • Establish a modern and fully equipped patient testing laboratory in each district.
    • Build fully equipped health centres for heart, lung, neurology, ophthalmology (eye) and paediatric illnesses in association with the respective specialised Colombo hospitals.
    • Geo-tag kidney patients and identify affected areas, including those prone to Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and to construct deep-well (bore well) facilities with proper filtration. Already certain villages are equipped with the abovementioned water purification systems.

      e.g. Saddiyawara project by Hayleys PLC.

    • Distribute soil health cards and soil-test based fertiliser recommendations.

      Currently, 35,000 containers of fertiliser are imported. With the introduction of soil health cards and fertiliser recommendations, 20% (7,000 containers) of imports can be reduced.

    • Encourage the establishment of private hospitals through 0% corporate tax and 0% VAT incentives.
      • Additional insurance schemes to provide medical care for public officers.
      • Patients waiting in month-long queues for operations will be transferred to these new private hospitals.
12. Develop a Smart IT park and an Industrial park in each district for both local and foreign investors to fast-track the process of investments.

GOALS

• Advancing access to justice, the rule of law, the economy and society through policy, law and services.
• Smart security.
• Prison rehabilitation.
• Reduce corruption.



ACTION PLAN

Police Department

Smart Security

1. Implement unique digital biometric identification for people under investigation by the police.
2. Set up CCTV cameras in all major public and private establishments with facial recognition technology.
3. Share criminal databases with world security agencies. Further, utilise facial recognition at airports to be alerted regarding any potential terrorists trying to enter the Country.
4. Explore real-time facial recognition through smart glasses for the police.
5. Predict potential criminal acts through the analysis of data science to monitor social media activities and predict potential criminal acts.
1. Provide all police services in each district e.g. At present, police clearance certificate to seek employment abroad is issued only in Colombo.
2. Introduce a “Home Police” programme.

   The proposed “Home Police Programme” provides door-to-door services to resolve any minor disputes within the community. Recruit 4,960 female police officers, (10 officers per station totalling to 496 police stations across the island) and provide 5 motor bikes per station.

   1,700 police officers retire every year and these officers could be recruited and trained online and onsite for their tasks including policing domestic issues such as child abuse, domestic violence and school safety to reduce the current daily complaints from 3,000 to 2,000.

   “Home Police Programme” to be monitored centrally and completed within a period of 3 years.

3. Accelerate investigations through real time information exchange. This will happen through an electronic witness statement that consists of electronic suspect image, mobile digital case file with real-time sharing, digital evidence capture, mobile ID verification, multi system search in custody and crowd sourced investigation through social media.
4. Streamline and digitalise processes such as speeding tickets to increase efficiency.
5. Explore proactive policing – Utilise demand forecasting technology to reach potential crime scenes pre-emptively. Use predictive policing analytics to model future risks and evidence based intelligence analytics to drive deployment decisions.
6. Introduce spot fines through hand held electronic or mobile payment systems to introduce spot fines.
7. Build dedicated drug testing labs and DNA testing labs in each district to assist finding evidence for police investigations.
8. Introduce the E-police application, which is an integrated platform to address the needs of all law enforcement units such as automated biometric identification systems, forensic analysis and case-management systems.
9. Introduce online training videos for police officers.
10. Launch an official YouTube channel to spread awareness on substance abuse and mental health services.
11. Launch a free app that empowers health care practitioners to provide effective, evidence-based care for opioid use disorders when providing Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT).
12. Publish an online magazine for parents addressing teenage drug abuse and effects of alcohol and rehabilitation. Articles could cover the following areas;
    • Addiction and how to overcome it.
    • Hidden signs of drug addiction.
    • How each day in rehabilitation leads to personal improvement.
    • Why Fentanyl is threatening Sri Lanka.
    • Why ignoring mental health and addiction can be a very costly mistake.
    • Teens and cannabis.

Prison Rehabilitation

Disciplined Citizens



×

(Source: Department of Police)

Sri Lanka had 99,036 unconvicted prisoners in 2017, of whom 6.8% had no schooling, 52.9% had studied only up to grade 5 and 85.1% had studied only up to grade 8. However, the total percentage of unconvicted prisoners who passed A/Ls and progressed in education beyond A/Ls was only 3.1%.

Therefore, if every child is educated at least up to A/Ls, 50% of prisons can be shut down.

14. Use biometric technology such as Pronto to record offenders’ details at the point of arrest. This information is then stored in an online database that all police personnel can access. Uses and benefits include police being able to identify offenders in real time using their thumbprint, the ability to instantly access the national police database while in the field, and streamline and digitalise processes such as speeding tickets to increase efficiency.
15. Introduce a debt relief programme to prisons, where prisoners can engage in community service to obtain relief from fines and court fees.
16. Reduce the prison sentence by four days for every pre-approved book on science, literature, religion and history, that is read and reviewed.

Ministry of Justice

1. Reduce corruption by carrying out the following;
   • Each ministry should have a member from the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption.
   • Each ministry should have a member from the Auditor General’s Department.
   • Introduce an E-procurement system for all procurement processes.
   • Introduce new legislation on governing political funding and discourage lobbying.
   • Introduce a proper asset declaration system for members of parliament.
   • Introduce standard clauses in project procurements, undertakings in order to protect Government interests in all projects/contracts involving Government, statutory bodies and state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
   • In the case of any breach of contract(s), the Government can at any given time, terminate or/and file a civil suit against the party who breaches the contract.
2. Improve infrastructure of court houses, ensure they have basic amenities, seating and lighting.
3. Provide or replace computers in courtrooms, sound equipment, multimedia equipment, essential software and a fast internet connection.
4. Employ an adequate number of trained non-judicial staff to ensure efficient running of the court house.
5. Establish an institute to train personnel to provide court services such as translation, transcription, stenography and computer systems management.
6. Introduce a digital court information system.
7. Introduce fast-track courts that specialise in rape cases.

   Courts will hear rape trials daily and investigations of rape cases must be completed within 4 months, and the trial must be completed within a year.

   This will be accomplished by;

   • Having manpower dedicated to investigate cases of rape.
   • Each district will have a dedicated forensic lab to process evidence.
   • Special forensic kits for cases of rape will be provided to all hospitals and police station.
8. Create an online database that allows;
   • The public to read every draft law submitted. It should be possible to see who submitted the legislation, its current status and changes made to it during the parliament process.
   • Citizens to follow council sessions live.
   • Provide city legislation and other documents online.

   This would reduce corruption and encourage citizens to take an interest in legislative affairs.

9. Introduce drug courts with online video conferencing facilities connected to police stations, where people who have been arrested while using drugs are sent to rehabilitation directly instead of being sent to prison.

   Current laws to be maintained for those arrested for the possession or sale of drugs.

   After serving the rest of their detention in the community; convicts stay at home with curfew and electronic monitoring, working/studying during the day and staying at supervision centres at night, or at a halfway house with a structured programme.

GOALS

Drive inclusive agricultural transformation:

• Increase agricultural productivity for farmers.
• Increase farmers’ household income.
• Increase equitable consumption of a safe, affordable and nutritious diet year around.
• Increase women’s empowerment in agriculture.

ACTION PLAN

1. Distribute soil health cards and soil-test based fertiliser recommendations.

   Currently, 35,000 containers of fertiliser are imported. With the introduction of soil health cards and fertiliser recommendations, 20% (7,000 containers) of imports can be reduced.

2. Carry out preliminary agricultural land preparation for farmers by local authorities, using required machinery.
3. Improve irrigation infrastructure to support cultivation;
   • Rehabilitation and capacity improvement of 2,400 tanks.
   • Identify and develop the tank cascade system.
   • Develop and rehabilitate irrigation wells.
4. Ensure timely availability of quality seeds at affordable rates.
5. Provide a subsidy for liquid fertiliser and organic farming.
6. Pay the current fertiliser subsidy in cash during the drought season to cover farmers’ living expenses.
7. Develop a dedicated E-commerce portal to promote and increase profitability of organic farming, thereby increasing the availability of organic produce for consumers.
8. Implement SMART farming;
   1. Farmer crop profiling and monitoring.
   2. 7-day weather forecast.
   3. Climate-based advisory and climate-smart irrigated agriculture programme.
   4. Fertiliser application recommendation.
   5. Crop stage monitoring.
   6. Geo-tagging and mapping of plots.
   7. Area surveys to guarantee minimum price of crops for farmers.
   8. Harvest predictions.
   9. Pest disease and advisory (timely crop advisory).
   10. End-to-end traceability from nursery to trade.
   11. Mobile crop advisory app for farmers.
   12. Complete mapping of crops in Sri Lanka through satellite imagery to understand the extent of cultivation and estimate production.
   13. Algorithm-based matchmaking between suppliers and buyers.
   14. Reduce agriculture wastage by predicting crop yields across the country and providing optimal storage solutions.
9. Impose 50% of the current import duty at the beginning of the planting season and the remainder at a later stage, for all imported fresh produce that is locally grown.
10. Build an economic centre in every district.
11. Share technical videos on crop cultivation methods on YouTube in Sinhalese and Tamil.
12. Provide daily information on crop production, input supply and marketing to farmers via the Internet.
13. Utilise domestic marketing channels and carry out advertising campaigns to promote the consumption of agricultural produce, strengthen wholesale markets, develop farmers and agricultural cooperative markets and promote contract farming.
14. Establish a national warehousing grid to ensure necessary logistical linkages for warehousing of agricultural produce to match district-wise requirements.
15. Launch a mobile app-based system to promote the availability and rental of agro-implements.
16. Assist the private sector to open ten large-scale hybrid isolated seed gardens by providing;
    1. Hybrid (DXT) coconut seeds with a yield of 120 coconuts per tree, owned by Government farms.
    2. Provide training for artificial pollination.

Agriculture exports

1. Provide free landing and parking facilities for all cargo airlines at BIA Katunayake, Palali, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Koggala, Mattala and Digana in Kandy, in order to encourage agricultural exports.
2. Facilitate cargo airlines to fly internationally from Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Koggala and Digana (Kandy).
3. Reduce all agricultural imports and implement a predictable export and import policy.
4. Encourage Public Private Partnerships to reach a USD 300 million target for durian and mango exports, providing plants and technology to the private sector.

   Allow import of durian plants from Thailand to open nurseries and sell plants.

5. Provide the private sector with young sweet-coconut seeds imported from Thailand, enabling them to open isolated seed gardens and sell plants.
6. Encourage the processing of value added agro products for the local and export market by the provision of tax breaks.

GOALS

• Ensure a clean, safe and a healthy environment for present and future generations.
• Conserve the vitality and diversity of the nature.
• Build a liveable and endearing Sri Lanka.



ACTION PLAN

1. Improve the rank of Sri Lanka in international environmental indices.
2. Encourage citizens to be more conscious of the environment through educational videos and factbooks on recycling in all three languages.
3. Generate jobs through planting of 200 million trees within 5 years: Employ people in each district to plant 100 million trees for re-forestation and 100 million trees for commercial use.
4. Educate children on environmental sensitivity and protection via Care for Earth awareness videos, and recycling factbooks.
5. Build breeding centres for endangered species in collaboration with zoos.
6. Improve 26 wildlife parks (of a total extent of 573,376 Ha) and increase the population of local wildlife;
   • Build additional water resources within wildlife parks.
   • Plant trees in deserted areas to preserve the natural habitat.
   • Install solar water pumps to provide drinking water for animals during droughts.
   • Grow nutritious grass varieties.
   • Introduce wildlife into 200 acres of new land close to the exits of the existing parks and ensure availability of adequate resources for their survival.
7. Identify and breed animals that are not harmful to crops.
8. Introduce a platform where the public can geo-tag and send photos of areas where garbage is piled-up and mosquitoes breed. The Sri Lankan Army to initiate a campaign to clean the country within a year.
9. Organise canal clean-ups and identify canals suitable for waterfront attractions, canal cruises, etc.
10. Provide a 10% corporate tax incentive for all buildings with GBI (Green Building Initiative) or LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification to minimise the carbon footprint.
11. Conduct vulnerability assessment and prepare an adaptation plan related to climate change.
12. Streamline the public transport system with convenient and reliable public transport methods to reduce traffic congestion (Colombo Happy Ride project).
13. Introduce energy efficient street lighting systems.
14. Construct power stations in every district, which utilise municipal solid waste. Construction to be carried out through public-private partnerships. Government to pay tipping fees for these power stations.

Coastal environment protection

1. Coastal Management System
   • Identify high erosion areas of coastlines and best methods to preserve them. Obtain detailed topographical maps of the area to determine what structures to construct.
   • 90% of corals are dead in Sri Lanka, therefore, establish a “Coral Reef Task Force” to preserve and protect the coral reef ecosystems in Hikkaduwa, Kalpitiya, Silavathura, Pigeon Island in Trincomalee, Kayankerni Marine Sanctuary in Batticaloa, and Passikudah.
2. Raise awareness amongst local fishing communities on methods to revive dead coral reefs.
   E.g. Low cost coral restoration methods.

Biodiversity

1. Raise awareness on the importance of biodiversity through domestic focused eco– tourism and related activities;
   • Formulate and implement the national biodiversity Communications, Education and Public Awareness (CEPA) action plan.
   • Raise awareness through citizen science by creating opportunities for members of the public to be involved in biodiversity research.
   • Enhance the website and social media presence of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources and other biodiversity-related agencies.
2. Increase number of youth participating in nature-based activities;
   • Strengthen environmental training for teachers, administrators and managers across all levels of public education, from pre-school to higher learning institutions.
   • Support and strengthen co-curricular school activities, including nature clubs, green camps and recreational sports, with a focus on outdoor learning in nature.
   • Develop or adopt standardised modules for nature camps to enable such camps to be replicated throughout the country.
   • Enable youth groups to carry out biodiversity conservation projects and internships with suitable organisations.

Flood Management

1. Conduct continuous river and river-mouth management, seasonal dredging and filling during the monsoon seasons to prevent flooding.
2. Appoint the engineers of the Sri Lankan Navy as river mouth management officials to mitigate floods.

Disaster Management

1. Conduct a National Disaster Risk Profile study and identify potential disasters, disaster-prone areas and degree of severity.
2. Maintain a database of manmade and natural landslide-prone areas and continuously monitor them to understand which regions are at a higher risk.

Drought Management

1. Conduct a drought risk assessment to understand existing and potential risks and hazards.
2. Increase food access and protect rural livelihoods, through cash-for-work and emergency livelihood packages for farmers, pastoralists and coastal communities.
3. Encourage adoption of water-saving technologies, such as sprinkler and drip irrigation systems, through provision of 50% subsidy to the farmers on the purchase of these systems.
4. Create storage and enable inter-basin transfer of water from surplus to deficit regions which could therefore be an option for achieving more equitable distribution and optimal utilization of water resources.
5. Protect livestock assets, through supplementary animal feeding, water trucking, supply of water bladders and countrywide supportive treatment.
6. Mitigate new shocks, by providing regional stocks of veterinary supplies, river embankment repair, and strengthening local preparation against food-chain threats.
7. Introduce a District Contingency Plan including planting of alternate crops /crop varieties/better and smarter agronomic practices/other management options appropriate for drought scenarios.
8. Increase regional self-reliance and integrated water management across all levels of government through tax incentives to construction projects which practise water management systems.
9. Increase recycled water usage by adopting standard recycling regulations.
10. Protect and restore important ecosystems such as degraded streams, waterways and wetlands.
11. Restore forest health with ecologically sound forest management.

Wildlife parks

1. Solutions for Human-Elephant conflict.

   The human-elephant conflict is an issue faced by the majority of those in the Dry zone. On average, the lives of 70 humans and 250 elephants are lost per annum due to the human-elephant conflict. For the past 70 years the attempt to resolve this issue was by fencing lands managed by the Department of Wildlife Conservation. However, the increasing human-elephant conflict only means that this method is unsuccessful. This is because only 30% of the elephant population inhabit land managed by the Department of Wildlife Conservation where as 70% of the elephants population inhabit land managed by the Department of Forest Conservation.

   Build fencing around villages prone to human-elephant conflicts (this method has proven to be successful in over 50 villages). Introduce bio fencing and virtual fencing, operating through sensors that warn the presence of intruding elephants to prevent human – elephant conflict as there have been several instances where elephants have got electrocuted because of electric fencing.

   The Sri Lankan Air Force to geo-tag existing electric fences via Google Maps to identify areas with elephants on both sides of the electric fence.

2. Improve channels, tanks and drinking facilities for animals by obtaining contour plans of the currently existing 26 wildlife parks with a total extent of 573,376 Ha to eliminate the rate of wild animal deaths during the drought season.
3. Ensure availability of rehabilitation centres for injured animals in all 26 wildlife parks.
4. Implement surveillance at wildlife parks to catch trespassing hunters and poachers.
5. Conduct a feedback survey for rangers to express their requirements and needs.
6. Allocate designated routes for off-road experiences.
7. Standardise specific types of vehicles for use in wildlife safari parks.
8. Provide financial assistance for tour guides to buy safari vehicles.
9. Brand safari guides and train them through video tutorials.
10. Promote safari packages to visitors and enable online purchasing of tickets.
11. Establish signature experiences unique to each park and make these central to their marketing.
12. Improve signage and visibility for wildlife parks, on motorways and entry signs.
13. Improve visitor centres with integrated open cafes and dedicated retail spaces.
14. Create a curriculum-based education package together with the Ministry of Education for school children.

GOALS

• Access to good and affordable healthcare.
• Pursue medical excellence.
• Facilitate people to reach their fullest potential in health.

• 50 million patients visit OPDs annually.
• 15,000 daily admissions.
• 5 million patients admitted annually for treatments.
• 1,085 hospitals in the Country.
• 83,275 total hospital bed count.

ACTION PLAN

1. Increase the average life expectancy by an additional 3 years through improvements in healthcare facilities.
2. Identify the top 10 reasons for deaths in Sri Lanka and take the necessary preventative measures.

   The top 10 causes of death are;

   • Coronary heart disease.
   • Stroke.
   • Diabetes.
   • Wheezing or asthma.
   • Alzheimer’s disease.
   • Lung illnesses.
   • Chronic lung diseases.
   • Suicide.
   • Chronic kidney disease.
   • Cirrhosis.
3. Develop fully-fledged hospitals in the 7 main corridors to Colombo (Moratuwa, Piliyandala, Kottawa, Battaramulla, Kadawatha, Ragama and Negombo).
   • Public outskirts of Colombo will get access to high quality healthcare.
   • This will reduce the number of people coming into Colombo City for healthcare.
4. Establish an Oncology (cancer) unit at a hospital in each district in association with Maharagama Cancer Hospital.
5. Establish a modern and fully equipped patient testing laboratory in each district.
6. Build fully equipped health centres for heart, lung, neurology, Ophthalmology (eye) and paediatric illnesses in association with the respective specialised Colombo hospitals.
7. Introduce a new overtime payment scheme for doctors and medical staff to reduce the waiting time of patients for surgeries.
   • Currently, patients are listed on the waiting list for 1 week to 10 months.
   • With the new payment scheme, theatres which are used for 8 hours of work can be extended to 12 hours, including Saturdays and Sundays.
8. Apply the overtime payment scheme to all medical staff in order to make use of underutilised theatres, test and scan rooms to reduce the waiting time for patients.
9. Increase the intake of medical students from 1,300 to 2,000 at Government universities to address the shortage of qualified doctors in the country.

   Increase other relevant healthcare staff.

10. Increase the intake of students in Nursing Colleges.

    Sponsor foreign scholarships for senior level nurses to upgrade their skills.

11. Encourage the establishment of private hospitals through 0% corporate tax and 0% VAT incentives.
    • Additional insurance schemes will be provided to Government servants to receive medical care.
    • Patients waiting in month-long queues for operations will be transferred to these hospitals.
12. Introduce a “Digital Health Hub” (DHH) which will be available both online and via a mobile app.

    DHH can be accessed with the Digital National Identity Card.
    Services of the DHH include;

    • Access to patient’s health history for the past 10 years.
    • View time slots available for scans, doctors’ appointments at all hospitals/clinics.
    • Alerts on scheduled appointments.
13. Develop an online portal to monitor stock availability of medicines in each hospital.
    • This can track medicine stocks available in other hospitals in a stock out situation.
    • . Hospitals can order stocks in advance to avoid stock out situations by checking current stock counts digitally.
14. Digitalise the hospital bed distribution at wards to ensure the maximum utilisation of hospital beds.
15. Digitalise all test lab reports of patients in collaboration with the blood bank and use these reports to forecast the patterns of the patient’s medical conditions.

    Patients can take necessary preventive steps to control any medical condition.

16. Develop and maintain toilets according to the following standards:
    • 1 toilet for every 20 inpatient users.
    • At least 4 toilets per outpatient setting.
    • Separate toilets for medical and general staff.
17. Introduce and maintain an affordable pricing policy for essential drugs and equipment.
18. Maintain an agreed quality standard on medicines when released to markets.

    Introduce labels with the content of medicine and details on any side effects.

19. Provide easy access to needed medical facilities for families who cannot have children due to medical reasons.
20. Geo-tag kidney patients and identify affected areas, including those prone to Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and construct deep-well (bore well) facilities with proper filtration. Already certain villages are equipped with the above-mentioned water purification systems.

    E.g. Saddiyawara project by Hayleys PLC.

21. Distribute soil health cards and soil-test base fertiliser recommendations.

    Currently, 35,000 containers of fertiliser are imported. With the introduction of soil health cards and fertiliser recommendations, 20% (7,000 containers) of imports can be reduced.

22. Introduce Tele-medicine services to provide information and diagnosis by healthcare professionals, especially for rural areas through an online call or through preloaded data.
23. Develop videos to promote physical activity among adults and children to reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases.
24. Implement proper waste disposal methods at all hospitals.
25. To attract professional medical staff to rural postings;
    • Build international schools for their children.
    • Fully renovate rural hospitals with necessary healthcare facilities.
    • Encourage building of private hospitals for private practice.
    • Facilitate Doctors’ quarters with all essential items.
26. Accelerate reforms in the paramedical education sector to increase the availability of nurses, pharmacists and other paramedical personnel.
27. Introduce an accident-free house planning guide for senior citizens above 65 years of age.
28. Develop Ayurveda treatment segment;
    • Provide training and access to new methods used in Ayurveda for practitioners.
    • Plant more herb farms to strengthen Ayurveda medicine production.
    • Introduce income and pension schemes for Ayurveda practitioners similar to Western medicine doctors.
    • Assist top Ayurveda practitioners in the country to establish treatment centres at tourist hubs.
29. Introduce a “Low Risk Drinking Guideline” to reduce health risks associated with drinking.
30. Introduce a guideline on recommended sleeping habits for all age levels to promote a healthy lifestyle among citizens.
31. Raise awareness on mental health issues and establish centres with the necessary professional staff and equipment for counselling and treatments.
32. Introduce an application with behavioural analytics technology to identify individuals with depression and anxiety.
33. Develop online video-based training programmes to teach basic first aid techniques for the public in emergency situations.
34. Conduct good health habit workshops at schools, workplaces, hospitals and religious institutions.
35. Address the issue of absenteeism of girls due to menstruation, following steps to be taken;
    • Conduct awareness programmes at schools, communities and families covering areas such as:
      • The process of menstruation.
      • The importance of washing menstrual cloth.
      • Types of absorbents that can be used during menstruation.
      • Build the confidence of adolescent girls and educate them to accept the changes which happen during mensuration.
      • Prepare adolescent girls and their families on what to expect during menstruation and how to take care of their hygiene during that period.
    • Develop online awareness videos on Menstrual Hygiene.
    • Establish disposal mechanisms.
    • . Develop water, sanitation and hygiene-related facilities supporting Menstrual Hygiene management (one toilet for every 40 girls, with water and soap).
    • Promote production of Sanitary Napkins at village level.
    • Counsel and support adolescent girls on how to improve their diets.
    • Conduct training programmes for social development officers and teachers.
    Objectives of this training programme are;
    • To understand the importance of Menstrual Hygiene management.
    • To develop skills and capacities to address Menstrual Hygiene management in schools and the community level.
36. Establish active health labs around the country for health and wellness, especially of sportspersons, by giving them a free reading of their health parameters.
37. Launch a website and an app with essential information for new and expecting mothers with details about what to expect, when to get vaccinations, when to see the doctor, and book appointments with doctors.
38. Allocate free air time and print space for health promotion, particularly for non-communicable disease risk factors in Sinhalese, Tamil and English.

GOALS

• Generate 200,000 new jobs per annum by 2025.
• Ensure USD 7 billion local investments per annum by 2025.
• Ensure USD 7 billion Foreign Direct Investments per annum by 2025.
• Improve Sri Lanka’s rank in Ease of Doing Business Index from 100 to 50 by 2022.
• Improve Sri Lanka’s rank in Global Competitiveness Index from 85 to 45 by 2022.



ACTION PLAN

1. Streamline the investment approval process by reducing the number of pages in the Investment Application from 14 to 3, and provide a preliminary approval within 24 hours.

   Simplify the rules and regulations of the investment approval process to overcome red tape.

2. Showcase the competitive advantage of investing in Sri Lanka with 25 year guaranteed tax benefits in agreement with the BOI.

   0% corporate tax, 0% VAT and 0% dividend tax for 25 years for the following sectors;

   • Education
   • Information service activities

     (Any type of BPO, KPO, provision of infrastructure for hosting, data processing services and related activities, web portals, news syndicates and news agency activities furnishing news, pictures and features to the media, computer based telephone information services, information search services on a contract or fee basis and news clipping services, press clipping services and other digital services).

   • Human health activities.
   • Air transport.
   • Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers.
   • Waste collection, treatment and disposal activities; materials recovery.
   • Water collection, treatment and supply.
   • Sewerage.
   • Manufacture of other transport equipment.
   • Fishing and aquaculture.
   • Remediation activities and other waste management services.

   12% employee PAYE tax for income levels over Rs. 500,000.

3. Facilitate an IT park and an industrial park in all 25 districts for local and foreign investors to fast-track their investments.
4. Introduce a Nation Branding Strategy for Sri Lanka.
5. Create and Showcase a business-friendly environment, through fully-fledged product and investment offerings.
6. Monitor district-wise job generation monthly. Necessary actions to be taken by the Cabinet where jobs are lacking.
7. Reduce the current rate of corporate tax to 12% for new ventures not mentioned in point 2 and provide a guarantee for the reduced rate for the next 25 years for all sectors (in the Western Province) and for the other eight other provinces to be granted a discount of 80%, thereby charging an effective rate of 2.4% (which will help in additional rural district-wise job generation).
8. Foster a flexible and globally employable workforce;
   • Identify the top 50 globally demanded jobs for the year.
   • Improve productivity and skill development at vocational training institutes, benchmarking the best practices at vocational training institutes in Singapore, Thailand, Australia and Malaysia.
   • Establish career-developing institutes and training centres to match the global workforce demand.

GOALS

• Improve Sri Lanka’s rank in the Ease of Doing Business Index from 100 to 50 by 2022.
• Improve Sri Lanka’s rank in the Global Competitiveness Index from 85 to 45 by 2022.
• Uphold Sri Lanka’s sovereignty by promoting a peaceful regional environment.
• Establish a strong link with Sri Lankans in foreign land.

• 38 embassies in Non-Commonwealth countries.
• 13 High Commissions in Commonwealth countries.
• 13 Consulate Generals.
• 2 permanent missions to the United Nations.

ACTION PLAN

1. Evaluate all Sri Lankan embassies and high commissions on the basis of;
   • Diplomatic importance, impact and geopolitical support.
   • Bilateral trade, economic, cultural and social benefits.
   • Consular services for expatriates, number of foreign tourists, revenue generated by the missions and maintenance cost of each mission.
   • Enhance and improve services of existing missions.
   • Establish new missions and shut down unproductive missions.
2. Introduce mandatory Ambassador Executive Training Programme (AETP) for aspiring diplomats.
   • Political appointment-based officials to follow AETP.
   • Courses included in the programme;
     • Diplomatic protocol and etiquette.
     • United Nations system.
     • Emotional intelligence.
     • Future foresight.
     • Public speaking and media handling affairs.
     • Consular and humanitarian diplomacy.
     • Leadership.
   • Improve the diploma course in international relations to one year at BCIS and ensure that it is mandatory for all aspiring diplomats.
   • Introduce Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Ambassadors. Main KPIs include;
   • Value of Foreign Direct Investments brought to Sri Lanka.
   • Number of foreign companies brought to Sri Lanka.
   • Number of tourists and visitors brought to Sri Lanka.
   • Number of export opportunities created for Sri Lanka.
   • Media value generated in the country of operation to increase awareness of Sri Lanka’s nation brand.
   • Ensure mandatory language courses are followed by diplomats. Fluency is expected in the following languages;
   • Chinese
   • Hindi
   • Spanish
   • Arabic
   • French
   • Russian
3. Organise “Get to Know Sri Lanka Programme”
   • An engagement programme for Diasporic youth (between the ages of 18 to 30)
     of Sri Lankan origin, that would introduce them to Sri Lanka and promote awareness about different facets of Sri Lankan history and traditions.
   • Introduce an online platform for migrant workers to regulate overseas employment, through which workers can find authorised recruiting agents, employers and project exporters. The platform will also provide all necessary documents and guidance for migrant workers.
4. Initiate a “Youth Ambassador Programme” for Sri Lankan university students studying abroad;
   • . To promote Sri Lankan culture and tourism.
   • To provide accurate news, especially in a tense situation.
   • To foster relationships among youth from different countries.

   Relevant embassies to train selected students using video material and workshops.

5. Initiate programmes with decision makers, think tanks, academia, media and civil society organisations.
   • Organise diplomatic leadership incubators.
   • Organise policy test labs.
   • Conduct simulation rooms.
6. Introduce a friendly borders policy to accelerate regional coordination and economic cooperation with bordering countries in the neighbourhood to improve multilateral cooperation.
7. Strengthen connections with foreign countries through foreign economic forums such as ASEAN summit, etc.
8. To attract foreign investors;
   • Introduce a quarterly magazine with information on the economy, opportunities in different sectors and initiatives by the Government to improve ranking in the Ease of Doing Business Index from 100 to 50; and in the Global Competitiveness Index from 85 to 45, by 2022.
   • Design a yearly handbook with information on the economy, taxes, incentives and regulations, sector information; information technology; energy and power, etc.
9. Establish a unit consisting of experts in forming policies in relation to the foreign investment industry to focus on foreign policy research, geopolitical issues and national capacity building.
10. Maintain a strong connection especially between front-line law-enforcement and security agencies in countries from ASEAN, Commonwealth, etc. in order to strengthen international counterterrorism efforts.
11. Initiate a promotional programme, “Sri Lanka, My Second Home”, where foreigners with investments of USD 120,000 and monthly income of USD 2,400 would receive the following benefits;
    • Duty free allowance for vehicles.
    • Concessionary packages for residences.
    • Improved access for families and children below 21 years of age.
    • A social visit pass.
12. Promote Sri Lanka’s political, economic and strategic interests by;
    • Enhancing bilateral relations.
    • Preparing status reports on various issues raised at meetings/discussions.
    • Discussing issues during bilateral visits and meetings in addition to during international meetings.
    • Raising issues during visits undertaken by undersecretaries.
    • Enhancing relations with other countries through outreach programmes.
13. Cultivate Sri Lanka’s international profile in the multilateral system by enhancing cooperation with United Nations (UN) agencies and other regional and international bodies.

GOALS

• Increase ICT revenue from USD 1.2 billion to USD 5 billion by 2025.
• Increase ICT jobs from 80,000 employees to 400,000 employees by 2025.
• Transform developed Sri Lanka to a Smart Sri Lanka in 2030.

ACTION PLAN

Sri Lanka is currently at the stage of shifting from an emerging market to a developed market and Smart Solutions are seen as the key towards growth. This developed market-goal is to be reached by 2030 and external resources are essential to transform developed Sri Lanka into a Smart Sri Lanka in further 3 years.

The focus areas are;

• Smart Security
• Smart Education
• Smart Health
• Smart Agriculture
• Smart Transport
• Smart Tourism
• Smart Sports
• Smart Utilities
• Smart Finance
• Smart Infrastructure

VISION

To make Sri Lanka among the Top 10 happiest countries in the world.

MISSION

To develop smart services for people’s happiness.

TECHNOLOGY ENABLER

AI (Artificial Intelligence) – driven unified ICT platform for all public services.

1. Smart Security
   • Implement unique digital biometric identification for people under investigation by the police.
   • Set up CCTV cameras in all major public and private establishments with facial recognition technology.
   • Share criminal databases with world security agencies. Also utilise facial recognition at airports to be alerted regarding any potential terrorists trying to enter the Country.
   • Explore real-time facial recognition through smart glasses for the police.
   • Use data science to monitor social media activities and predict potential criminal acts.
2. Smart Education
   • Online video-based classes for all school subjects in Sinhalese, Tamil and English for teaching and E-learning.
   • Develop all new classrooms as Smart Classrooms to provide wider access to students.
   • Create a unified online platform with all available job opportunities and these to be matched with peoples’ skills, preferences and locations.
3. Smart Health
   • Introduce a “Digital Health Hub” (DHH) which will be available both online and via a mobile app. DHH can be accessed with the Digital National Identity Card. Services of the DHH include;
     • Access to patient’s health history for the past 10 years.
     • View time slots available for scans and doctors’ appointments at all hospitals and clinics.
     • Alerts on scheduled appointments.
   • Provide tele-diagnosis services for patients to overcome problems related to hospital reach, affordability, waiting time and availability of space.
   • Diagnose the stage of cancer and recommend treatments through health record analytics.
   • Geo-tag patients through the Dengue App to predict the direction and the rate of increase to proactively tackle the spread.
4. Smart Agriculture
   • Farmer crop profiling and monitoring.
   • 7-day weather forecast.
   • Climate-based advisory and climate-smart irrigated agriculture programme.
   • Fertiliser application recommendation.
   • Crop stage monitoring.
   • Geo-tagging and mapping of plots.
   • Area surveys to guarantee minimum price of crops for farmers.
   • Harvest predictions.
   • Pest disease and advisory (timely crop advisory).
   • End-to-end traceability from nursery to trade.
   • Mobile crop advisory app for farmers.
   • Complete mapping of crops in Sri Lanka through satellite imagery to understand the extent of cultivation and estimate production.
   • Algorithm-based matchmaking between suppliers and buyers.
   • Reduce agriculture wastage by predicting crop yields across the country and providing optimal storage solutions.
5. Smart Transport
   • Introduce a mobile app for public transport, through which the general public can access real-time locations of buses and trains.
   • Implement a Smart Time and Queue Management system for three-wheelers and taxies to minimise waiting time for passengers.
   • Provide an online platform with real-time information on available parking spots and collect parking charges with a 10% discount for online payments.
   • Increase landing capacity at airports using ultra high definition cameras and an integrated data platform that would minimise idle time and increase runway capacity.
   • Introduce an online platform to file Road Watch and Traffic Complaints. Complaints can be filed against all vehicles, including Government vehicles, for breaking road rules and indisciplined parking.
   • Introduce a smart traffic system to automate traffic lights according to the flow of traffic.
   • Geo-tag locations with the highest record of face-to-face accidents and provide engineering solutions coupled with advisory signage and notifications.
   • Introduce handheld spot fine systems.
   • Introduce discreet traffic light and road cameras to monitor adherence to road rules.
   • Integrate all E-transport applications into an all-in-one mobile app.
   • Introduce an electronic payment system for public transport fare collection, with special day or week passes for tourists.
   • Create and upload awareness videos on road rules.
6. Smart Tourism
   • Develop an analytics platform to get visibility of daily hotel occupancy and future bookings across the country to manage associated services for tourists.
   • Digitalise all physical assets (like sites, monuments, temples, etc.) and provide important information about these to tourists under one platform.
   • Introduce augmented reality for tourism to obtain information about tourist sites.
   • Develop a platform to create itinerary for tourists based on their dates, preferences, places they want to visit and connect with service providers to provide a seamless experience.
7. Smart Sports
   • Develop a platform to digitalise all sports records and manage each player directly from school level.
   • Use AI to choose winning combinations of players to represent the sport at National and International level.
   • Use smart wearables among high calibre players and track their vital statistics during practice sessions and matches to predict future performances.
   • Use AI to predict rate of attendance at events and optimise ticket pricing and sales to improve monetisation of sports.
   • Provide online video-based training and courses for coaches.
8. Smart Utilities
   • Digitalise records of all utility services provided to citizens and link them under one platform with the Digital National Identity Card, which includes the following services:
     • E-identity
     • Security and safety
     • E-governance
     • Interoperability services (E-Land register, etc.)
     • Mobility services (intelligent transportation system, mobile parking, border queue management, etc.)
     • Healthcare
     • E-Education
     • Business and Finance (E-tax, E-business register, etc.)
   • Preventive maintenance by forecasting the breakdown of machinery involved in production of utilities using IoT sensors.
   • Allow online payments for all utilities or any other services provided, through one website. All these payments could be enabled through digital wallets integration.
9. Smart Finance
   • Monitor tax payments and transactions using AI and automate alerts in case of any inconsistencies.
   • Digitalise all Government banking processes with paperless banking, opening FDs online, etc.
   • Remove hurdles for payment gateways, minimise transaction costs for payments and popularise mobile wallets.
   • Enable mobile and online payment for all public services, income tax filing, etc.
10. Smart Infrastructure
    • Initiate a programme to install fibre optic cables to bring high speed broadband connectivity in rural areas to create local employment opportunities and drive socio-economic growth in the area.
      This will enable Government services such as Tele-medicine, Tele-education, E-health, E-entertainment, etc.
    • Use Blockchain to digitalise all property records and each transaction to ascertain property rights.
    • Develop Smart IT parks in free trade zones with best in-class architecture to attract FDIs and best companies focused on ICT start-ups and outsourcing.
    • Introduce a real-time sewage and drainage management system.
    • Targets for the Private sector
      • 4-fold increase in ICT revenue from USD 1.2 billion to USD 5 billion by 2025.
      • 5-fold increase in ICT jobs from 80,000 employees to 400,000 employees by 2025.
      • Provide 30.2 million Sq.ft. in office buildings and IT Parks to accommodate the additional 320,000 employees.
      • 0% corporate tax guaranteed for the next 25 years for office buildings and IT Parks through the BOI.
      • Target for 2030 will be USD 10 billion with a total of 800,000 employees.

    Enabling steps

    • Eliminate all taxes related to Internet data.
    • Introduce a child-friendly limited screen time Internet package with parental controls for children of ages 3 years and above. This will include services such as;
      • Improve hand-eye coordination.
      • Improve hand-eye coordination.
      • Enhance language skills.
      • Enhance problem solving.
      • Access high quality content.
    • Improve Mathematics, ICT and the English language beginning from primary education.
    • Introduce an online portal excluding data charges, which contains instructional videos for all school subjects.
    • Introduce IT and AI courses from Grade 9.
    • Offer IT and AI courses with diplomas and certifications at technical and vocational institutes (in future, 40% of students will enter vocational training institutes).
    • Offer IT and AI bachelor degrees, masters programmes and PhDs at all universities (in future, 50% of students will qualify for universities).
      • Develop courses in high demand in collaboration with top ranked universities in the world at all Government and private universities.
      • Adapt and deploy open source simulation packages like ORCAD, Silab, MATLAB, AUTOCAD, etc.
    • Improve the ranking of Sri Lanka in the Ease of Doing Business index from 100th to 50th position.
    • Improve the ranking of Sri Lanka in the Ease of Doing Business index from 100th to 50th position.
    • Introduce 0% corporate tax, 0% VAT and 0% dividend tax on information service activities and infrastructure guaranteed for 25 years.

      (IT parks, any type of BPO, KPO, provision of infrastructure for hosting, data processing services and related activities, web portals, news syndicates and news agency activities furnishing news, pictures and features to the media, computer-based telephone information services, information search services on a contract or fee basis and news clipping services, press clipping services and other digital services).

    • Introduce 0% customs duty and 0% PAL on imports of computers and other hardware units guaranteed for the next 10 years.
    • Invite the top 100 multi-national information technology companies such as IBM, Intel and Microsoft to setup their global delivery centres in Sri Lanka.
    • Introduce 0% corporate tax, 0% VAT and 0% dividend tax on establishment of headquarters of non-resident corporations in Sri Lanka guaranteed for the next 25 years.
    • Establish global delivery centres of Sri Lankan companies across the world.
    • Provide subsidised cloud infrastructure to various start-ups to support them during the early stages of the company.
    • Create a unified online platform with all available job opportunities and these to be matched with peoples’ skills, preferences and locations.

GOALS

• Strengthen Sri Lanka’s transportation connectivity.
• Streamline the existing transport network.
• Minimise traffic violations to a minimum.
• Mitigate traffic at the 7 main corridors to Colombo.

ACTION PLAN

Smart Transport

1. Introduce a mobile app for public transport, through which the general public can access real-time locations of buses and trains.
2. Implement a Smart Time and Queue Management system for three-wheelers and taxies to minimise waiting time for passengers.
3. Provide an online platform to provide real-time information on available parking slots and collect parking charges with a 10% discount if paid online.
4. Increase landing capacity at airports using ultra high definition cameras and an integrated data platform that would minimise idle time and increase runway capacity.
5. Introduce an online platform to file “Road Watch and Traffic Complaints”. Complaints can be filed against all vehicles, including Government vehicles, for breaking road rules and undisciplined parking.
6. Introduce a smart traffic system to automate traffic lights according to the flow of traffic.
7. Geo-tag locations with the highest record of face-to-face accidents and provide engineering solutions coupled with advisory signage and notifications.
8. Introduce handheld spot fine systems.
9. Introduce discreet traffic light and road cameras to monitor adherence to road rules.
10. Integrate all E-transport applications into an all-in-one mobile app.
11. Introduce an electronic payment system for public transport fare collection, with special day or week passes for tourists.
12. Create and upload awareness videos on road rules.

Infrastructure

1. Implement a multi-modal transport system with slow and express buses with connections to trains at Moratuwa, Kottawa, Ragama and Negombo.
2. Implement a multi-modal transport system with slow and express buses at Piliyandala, Battaramulla and Kadawatha.
3. Ensure all new buses coming to the city from multi-modal hubs are low-floor buses with disabled access.
4. Ensure availability of branches of best schools, hospitals and all other Colombo-based facilities to mitigate traffic in the 7 main corridors to Colombo (Moratuwa, Kottawa, Ragama, Negombo, Piliyandala, Battaramulla and Kadawatha) and other districts.
5. Build 100,000 apartments in central Colombo to minimise traffic congestions during peak hours as the traffic flow will be directed outwards.
6. Replace roundabouts at all junctions with traffic lights to reduce costs and travel time.
7. Ensure all pedestrian crossings are maintain proper lighting.
8. Implement overhead crossing bridges at crowded crossings.
9. Introduce minibus services to the 1,400 villages situated over 2 km from a main road.
10. Build 1,500 charging stations for electric vehicles.
11. Develop road infrastructure for proposed new economic centres and fish markets at each district.
12. Develop a National Logistics Network for faster movement of goods.
13. Modernise overcrowded railway stations with necessary utilities such as canteens, clean public washrooms and comfortable seating.
14. Equip all railway crossings with warning signals and gates.
15. Increase number of coaches from 6 to 15 and increase seating for commuters in high-demand overcrowded trains.
16. Establish designated tourist train coaches with luxury services.

GOALS

• Increase total capacity of Colombo port to 21.1 million TEUs.
• Develop cruise destination hubs.
• Improve efficiency in the ports.

ACTION PLAN

1. Colombo Port Development
   

   The Port currently accommodates 7.5 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs).

   • New South Port quay length is 4.8 km, with 1.3 km currently fully occupied by Colombo International Container Terminals (LTD).
   • Three terminals to be built in the remaining 3.5 km area within 3 years.
     As a result, an additional capacity of 7 million TEUs can be created.
   • Breakwaters and two terminals of the proposed North Port, of quay length 3.3 km, will be built within 6 years. As a result, a capacity of 6.6 million TEUs can be created.
   • As a result of these developments, the total capacity of Colombo Port can be increased to 21.1 million TEUs.

   Existing capacity of the Colombo Port		7.5 million TEUs
   Additional capacity of the remaining South Port		7 million TEUs
   Capacity of the proposed North Port		6.6 million TEUs
   Total capacity of the Colombo Port		21.1 million TEUs

2. Hambantota Port Development
   Awaiting the new proposal for the Hambantota Port Development.
3. Charge 0% corporate tax and 0% dividend tax from international companies who establish their head offices in the Country.
4. Develop cruise destination hubs in Colombo, Galle, Hambantota and Trincomalee. Cruise routes are Colombo-Galle-Hambantota-Trincomalee-Kankasanthurai.
5. Develop a passenger terminal with adequate berthing space (where ships are anchored) including a modern building with sufficient passenger space. The preferred location for this development is on the Bandaranaike Quay (once the container freight stations activities have been relocated to the South Harbour).
6. Establish a National Shipping Council to implement, monitor and review a unified shipping strategy, which would incorporate the following:
   • Enhance Sri Lanka’s attractiveness to shipping business.
   • Facilitate access to capital and financing.
   • Promote innovation and sustainable growth of ancillary maritime services
     (Support activities: Refuelling, resupplying with perishables, E.g. food, water, etc.).
7. Promote Sri Lankan shipbuilding engineering capabilities to other Government bodies and international buyers such as cruise operators.
8. Promote employment of Sri Lankan seafarers;
   • Fund apprenticeships, specialisations and seafarers up-skilling.
   • Improve seafarer employment security, conditions and opportunities.
9. Develop a Maritime Education and Training blueprint.
10. Alleviate the current port-road congestion, by:
    • Optimising the gate process: Automation of the gate process will substantially reduce waiting time for trucks. Additionally, a flexible gate system, which enables most gates to function as entry or exit gates when substantial truck inflows or outflows occur, could further reduce waiting time for trucks.
    • Widening of the port access road: The port access road to be widened from 4 to 6 lanes to increase capacity. The section underneath the Aluthmawatha road cross-over will be widened to a 6-lane road.
    • Signalling should improve the use of the six lanes, for example two lanes for the gates and one lane for inter-terminal traffic.
    • Ensuring sufficient space at gated in ramps that end near Fort to align trucks.
    • Eliminating cross over traffic at ramps near Ingurukade junction through an over-pass.
11. Digitalise the following processes to improve efficiency in the Port:
    • Terminal handling at Jaya Container Terminal (JCT) Port Community Systems.
    • Gate processes.
    • Warehouse management.
    • Warehouse cargo clearing.
    • Cargo import and export.
    • Costs and revenue management systems.
12. Digitalise import duty payments to improve the flow of goods.
13. Introduce scanning facilities to inspect containers, to reduce physical inspections while maintaining an acceptable level of risk.
14. Increase the depth in the Prince Vijaya Quay (PVQ) basin to allow deeper draft grain and cement carriers, with a draft of up to 13m.
15. Introduce a rail-track reservation at the Port of Colombo with extension to South Port to enable direct rail handling near the terminals, particularly to accommodate newly developed inland dry ports.

GOALS

• Ensure 100% electricity for every house.
• Improve the national energy efficiency.
• Improve the efficiency and transparency of the energy market to ensure the best tariffs for energy consumers.

Source: 2018 CEB annual report

The main costs of CEB are the power purchases and operating costs of existing power plants.

CEB should use a minimum price when purchasing green energy, independent of production cost variations.

ACTION PLAN

Ceylon Electricity Board

1. Use the accrual accounting method to calculate power cost of existing government owned power plants.
2. Use the estimated levelised cost of energy to select the electricity generating technology when investing in new power plants.
3. Use affordable clean energy when investing in new power plants.
   
   E.g. CEB will account for a loss of Rs. 30 billion
   (Rs. 2 x 15 billion units) if the electricity unit cost increases by Rs. 2.
4. Construct power stations using municipal solid waste to generate energy in every district.

   Build power plants with public and private partnerships. Government to pay tipping fees for the above plants.

5. Exempt VAT and PAL when importing LED bulbs. Introduce an additional 30% CESS for traditional and CFL bulbs.
6. Promote minimum energy performance standards.

   Promote efficient lighting.
   E.g. Giving away LED lamps at cost price. The customer base of CEB for households was 5.5 million in 2018. Each household will replace at least one 40W bulb per year. Promoting an energy efficient bulb of 30W will save 10W.
   Annual savings would be 100 GWh, assuming 1825 hours for a year.

7. Carry out energy audits free of charge by the Government for large commercial buildings and 95% of the first year energy savings to be given back to the customer.
8. Install Smart Meters in houses which consume more than 500 KWh monthly power consumption. Benefits from this programme would include:
   1. Real – time information about energy usage.
   2. Better management of electricity consumption.
   3. Enhanced billing efficiency.
   4. Avoid meter reading costs.
   5. Reduction in monthly electricity bill.
   6. Shorter outage durations.
   7. Ability to monitor Aggregate Technical and Commercial Loss (AT&CL)
9. Develop and share short awareness videos to promote energy efficient habits for electricity, water on all social media platforms.

CEYLON PETROLEUM CORPORATION

1. The existing crude oil refinery was built in 1967 (53 year old technology without hydrocracker) and has a capacity of 40,000 barrels per day.

   Build a new plant with hydrocracker and a capacity of 100,000 barrels per day, on the same premises in addition to the current refinery, with 51% ownership and management by the Government.

GOALS

• 10 million visitors.
• USD 18 billion earnings from tourism.

ACTION PLAN

1. Introduce a Nation Branding Strategy for Sri Lanka focusing on;

   • Tourism
   • Exports
   • Governance
   • Culture
   • People
   • Airport, Immigration and Investment

   

2. Airport Development and Flight Connectivity

   • Expand of Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) with increased apron space and 16 additional aero-bridges.
   • Enhance terminal space at BIA to meet increased passenger movement.
     (check-in counters, immigration counters, lounge facilities, improved dining and retail experiences, leisure activity and transit hotel at the airport etc.)
   • Convert the VVIP lounge and its boarding gates at BIA to budget airline operations.
   • Develop Ratmalana, Palali and Mattala airports to an international budget airline hub.
   • Lengthen the runway at the Ratmalana Airport from the current 1773m to 2400m to the east side. This will enable landing of type-D aircrafts i.e. aircrafts with 120 seat capacities.” International airports with runway lengths similar to ratmalana airport are,
     • London City International airport- UK- Runway length 1500m.
     • Antwerp International Airport- Belgium - Runway length 1500m.
     • Bocas Del Toro Isla Colon International Airport – Panama- Runway length 1500m.
   • Replace the current Ratmalana airport terminal with a larger prefabricated steel building built within one year, which will provide an improved layout for passenger handling and movement.
   • Establish a Private Jet Operation facility in Ratmalana. International private jets to land at Ratmalana with full concierge services.
   • Resume operations at Mattala International Airport.
   • Develop airports at Koggala, Batticaloa and Trincomalee for domestic flight operations and construct a new airport for domestic flights in Digana, Kandy.
   • Convert a section of Lotus Tower retail area into an express international flight check-in zone, with luggage drop-in services.
   • Match the prices of fuel, landing, parking, airport taxes, aerobridge and luggage handling charges to that of Malaysia.
   • Reduce the current Aircraft Turnaround Time at BIA of 60 minutes to 25 minutes for Budget Carriers, to increase the runway movement from the current 11 to 17 departures per hour, during peak hours.
   • Increase the number of self check-in kiosks from 8 to 20 at BIA.
   • Introduce dedicated fast track immigration service lines for VIP, first and business class passengers.
   • Classify all airport charges as peak and off peak and maintain a lower fee during off peak hours.
   • Introduce minimum 50 seater aircraft for travellers to move within Sri Lanka.
   • Attract more budget airlines (low cost carriers) to operate to Sri Lanka, to accommodate low cost carrier passengers as there are 55,335 budget rooms available in the country.
   • Introduce automated immigration gates (E-gates) to aid and increase the speed of clearance and enhance efficiencies.
   • Increase the number of direct flights to the top 20 European destinations that bring large volumes of tourists to Sri Lanka, such as:
     • United Kingdom
     • Germany
     • France
     • Netherlands
     • Italy
     • Switzerland
     • Scandinavian countries
   • Synchronise domestic flights at airports and their schedules with the respective international connective flights.
   • Approve visa within 24-hours for pre-approved nationalities.
   • Establish a regulated and well-organised taxi service at Bandaranaike International Airport by providing the following;
     • Maintain 2 types taxis.
     • Issue duty-free vehicle permits for 900 taxi owners with special vehicle registration plates.
     • Regulate the taxi services to ensure compliance and safety

3. Infrastructure enablers

   • Construct a national multi-purpose stadium with a capacity of 80,000 - 100,000 for local and international performances.
   • Establish Tourist Information Centres in each main city or district.
   • Build Resting Centres with restaurants and clean toilet facilities along all main roads leading to attractions.
   • Ensure proper public seating, washrooms and cafeterias at all train stations.
   • Ensure proper toilet facilities, proper garbage disposal, proper car and bus parking and Wi-Fi zones at major attractions.
   • Grow trees along walking paths to provide shade during hot conditions.
   • Encourage fishing boat owners at Weligama and Mirissa harbours, to operate speedboats of lower noise exclusively for whale watching tours – as an additional business opportunity to their current fishing activities.
   • Introduce a mobile application with information on street food vendors including the location and directions via Google Maps, to attract and inform local and foreign visitors.
   • Create a standard guideline for maintaining rental spaces and apartments and to encourage people to list properties via online rental platforms such as Airbnb.
   • Conserve heritage sites such as Sigiriya, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Sri Pada and Kandy, and improve the visitor experience by:
     • Restore and maintain the landscape, improving and maintaining public toilets and providing clean drinking water facilities.
     • Improve visitor centres with integrated open cafes and dedicated retail spaces.
   • Restore and develop of heritage and religious sites
     • Sacred city of Kandy.
     • Ancient city of Sigiriya.
     • Sacred city of Anuradhapura.
     • Old town of Galle and its fortifications.
     • Jaffna Nallur Kovil.
     • Embekke Devalaya,
       and others as necessary.
   • Initiate flood prevention and mitigation measures to ensure a smooth continuation of the tourism industry. Engineers of the Sri Lanka Navy to take the responsibility for river mouth/estuary and river management including seasonal dredging and filling.
   • Map the potential heritage cycle routes and introduce cycle tracks.
   • Build new aquariums and bird parks near Colombo.
   • Develop the Dehiwala Zoo with private sector participation.
     • Private sector to provide new animal cages that can be branded under the sponsoring private company for 15 years.
     • Carry out a total design revamp and infrastructure upgrade.
     • Rebrand as “Sri Lanka Zoo”.
     • Operate a tourist bus service from popular city hotels, dedicated to zoo visits.
     • Introduce educational programmes for school children, university students and international students.
     • Introduce a variety of dining and souvenir stores.
   • Develop 26 wildlife parks extending up to 573,376 Ha, to increase revenues.
   • Build 3 new zoos at Dikkapitiya in Badulla, and in Vavuniya and Piliyandala.
   • Build 2 new elephant orphanages at Lahugala in Ampara District and one at Minneriya.
   • Develop botanical, herb and spice gardens around the country
   • Create tropical rainforest experiences by opening up forest reserves to travellers.
   • Improve whale watching in Mirissa, Kalpitiya, Trincomalee and Galle by;
     • Fishery Harbour improvement including proper maintenance of pavements, street lights, drinking water, public toilets, waiting areas and car or coach parking.
     • Using improvised boats that can seat 200 passengers with a full snack bar and four restrooms.
     • Operate speedboats that reach speeds of 20 knots, to lessen travel-time to locations of sightings. Currently, a location that takes 5-7 hours to reach, could be reached in 1-2 hours using the suggested boats.
   • Revive coral reefs around the country through coral propagation projects.
   • Improve beach activities, such as para motoring, sky diving, kite surfing and underwater scooter tours.
   • Improve sea turtle hatcheries around the country.
   • Provide training and increase the number of certified surf instructors.
   • Provide training and increase number of licenced lifeguards.
   • Improve the livelihood standards of beach boys by providing suitable soft skills and language training.
   • Encourage and assist the major hospitals in Sri Lanka to obtain the Medical Tourism Certificate.
   • Build new city parks with attractions for kids and families within Colombo.
   • Invest in entertainment parks similar to “Disneyland”.
   • Popularise “homestay” tourism concept by introducing 100 beach clubs as additional leisure activities in coastal areas.
   • Upgrade trains on Hill Country and Down South tracks to luxury levels.
   • Develop Kanniya, Madunagala and Maha oya hot water springs.
   • Provide Government support and workshops to improve hotel rooms and restaurants.
   • Identify and develop villages that produce traditional crafts, to enhance the quality of products and generate an income for the craftsmen.
   • Provide online training videos for tourist police officers in managing tourist complaints and issues.
   • Introduce training videos on language, communication skills and proper emergency situation management.

4. Experiences

• Introduce a calendar of events.
• Develop 10 districts as main tourist destinations based on arts and crafts, history and heritage, architecture, culture, recreation and leisure, nature and wildlife, adventure, culinary experience and wellness.
• To attract tourists during traditional festivals.
  • Cater itineraries based on traditional festivities such as Sinhala and Tamil New Year, Vesak, Esala and Deepavali.
  • Brand the Paada Yatra pilgrimage tour from Jaffna to Kataragama (52 days covering June 8 to July 24).
  • Brand the Kataragama pilgrimage.
  • Brand the Anuradhapura city pilgrimage.
• MICE Tourism (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions).
  • Construct two exhibition centres at Ja-Ela and Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte with an area of 30,000 sqm and all modern facilities to host conferences and exhibitions.
  • Convert 85,000 sqft of retail space to a convention center at the Lotus Tower.
  • Build a convention center with an area of 10,000 sqm at Port City in Colombo.
  • Produce interactive promotional videos to attract business travellers to the country, including “10 reasons to meet in Sri Lanka” showcasing all the facilities available
  • Market Hambantota convention center for conferences and exhibitions.
  • Simplify business visas for MICE travellers.
    • Offer fast-track visa processing services for MICE attendees at immigration counters at airports by having dedicated lanes.
    • Waive visa fee requirements for all MICE attendees, from recognised destinations. This will encourage MICE travellers to choose Sri Lanka as a location for their event.
    • Simplify business event licences for MICE events by introducing a fast-track licensing process for MICE attendees.
  • Provide MICE organiser assistance through experienced professionals such as event planners, audio-visual equipment suppliers, freight forwarders, gifts and souvenirs, printers, translators and interpreters, etc.

GOALS

• Ensure the participation of 20 sportsmen in Olympics every year.
• Create an enabling environment and act as a catalyst and facilitator for the promotion and development of youth and sports at regional, national and international levels.
• Be responsive to the aspirations and needs of youth, empowering them for a better future and fostering a culture of sports among the citizens.

Action Plan

Youth

1. Promote youth employment through training programmes at youth centres, on:
   1. Programmable logic control.
   2. Computer-aided design (CAD).
   3. Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM).
   4. Computer-aided engineering (CAE).
2. Introduce an online portal to educate youth on personal financial management.
3. Introduce a talent identification and development programme through access to resources, mentorship and industry connections for art, music, media, dance, entrepreneurship and sport.
4. Introduce a co-working space to pilot businesses and ideas with professional help from successful businessmen and low start-up risks for youth.
5. Introduce a 6-month fellowship programme for 21 selected teams with 22 alternating sessions of workshops and dedicated mentorship (1-to-1 sessions) to take their startup ideas to the next level.
.
6. Initiate a series of talks where industry veterans, thought leaders and entrepreneurs will be invited to share their experiences with aspiring youth entrepreneurs.
7. Introduce new courses that match job-market demands, through the National Youth Council.
   Recommended courses:
   • Fitness instructors
   • Retail sales
   • Gardening
   • Receptionist
   • Café workers
   • Waiters
   • Child-care
   • Hospital attendants
   • Cleaning professionals
8. Introduce job search assistance and career counselling at the National Youth Council.
9. Facilitate personal and soft-skill development through digital resources.

Initiatives for rural youth employment

1. Geo-tag unemployed youth in each district and allocate them with suitable jobs based on their qualifications.
2. Introduce counselling for rural youth on job application procedures and job search.
3. Organise a youth-connect hub to support youth aged 13 to 19 who have left school without completing Grade 12 or are currently unemployed.
   1. Through the programme, provide guidance tailored to individual education and training needs.
   2. Provide a pre-vocational training platform for unemployed youth with poor academic performance.
      • Additionally, the youth connection programme will provide services for the differently-abled, identifying unique talents, capabilities and potential.
      • The programme will be designed to develop independence, life skills and corporate drive.

Assistance to startups

1. Introduce a web portal containing the best start-up magazines from around the world in Sinhalese, Tamil and English, where the magazines will be uploaded on a weekly basis.
2. Allocate Rs. 5 billion (Rs. 1 billion x 5 TV channels) for TV channels (3 Sinhalese TV channels, 1 Tamil channel and 1 English channel) with the best proposal for a start-up reality show which will cover 5 industries on 5 different days on a weekly basis.
3. Develop a start-up portal including free resources such as business guides, online courses, market research and partnered services.
4. Establish an angel-investor tax concessionary scheme to boost investment activity in the country and attract qualified angel investors.

   An approved angel investor who invests a minimum of Rs. 1 million of qualifying investment in a qualifying start-up, is eligible to claim a tax deduction of 50% of his investment amount at the end of a two-year holding period.

5. Initiate startup incubators in universities where students are provided with services such as mentoring, business lab facilities, financial advice, student patent programmes, IP commercialisation, etc.
6. Provide capital for unemployed youth entrepreneurs (from age 18-37) up to Rs. 750,000 as a one-time interest free loan.

Action Plan on sports

Smart Sports

1. Develop a platform for digitalising all sports records and manage each player directly from school level.
2. Use AI to choose winning combinations of players to represent the sport at National and International level.
3. Use smart wearables with high calibre players to track their vital statistics during practice sessions and matches to predict future performance.
4. Use AI to predict event attendance rates and optimise ticket pricing and sales to improve monetisation of sports.
5. Provide online video-based training and courses for coaches.

Athletics

1. Introduce a “National Sports Talent Portal” for school athletics
   • Track events: 100m to Marathon.
   • Field events: All field events including high jump, javelin, etc.

   The portal will ensure the availability of athletic records at school, circuit, zonal, provincial and all-island levels for all schools.

   Select and create a pool of the top performing 1,000 athletes who have the capability to reach Olympic level and provide them with training in Colombo with education, accommodation and expenses.

2. Introduce an online portal that utilises videos to teach sports techniques for all main sports.
3. Improve and expand the National Institute of Sports Science for the training of coaches.
   1. Introduce sports education courses, and make them available to trainers and sports team managers, for development of coaching skills, sports medicine and associated skill-sets such as physiotherapy, recovery management, etc.
   2. Create online courses and training videos for coaches.
4. Recruit sports persons with international experience as assistant coaches.
   Engage the best performers in Coaching Diploma courses from various disciplines on a contract basis.
5. Provide tax incentives for companies that sponsor sports teams.
6. Develop a stadium with a synthetic rubber athletic track in each province.
7. Provide public access to facilities at Department of Sports Development (fitness centre, pools) by charging a nominal fee. All facilities to be used under supervision of a trained coach.
8. Establish a sports centre for the differently-abled to assist them to train and participate in sports activities.
9. Develop existing sports complexes.
   1. Rebrand complexes as “sports clubs” and every district to have one fully equipped sports club with all the main facilities including a pool, gym, playground, etc.
   2. Introduce recreational activities such as dining spaces and sports camps at these sports clubs.
   3. Build a sports city including an academy, recreation area and various sports activities, within 15 km of Colombo.
10. Establish a sports infrastructure development strategy in partnership with the private sector
    Government to lease out an existing underutilised infrastructure facility for a fixed period of 50 years to the private entity to renovate the facility and maintain the premises.
11. Launch an app to find the nearest sports facility such as swimming pools, cycling routes, cricket or football grounds, etc.
12. Hold sports league events for cricket, hockey, basketball, volleyball, netball and football with participation of foreign players.
13. Attract international triathlon events to Sri Lanka by improving necessary infrastructure and facilities that will conveniently accommodate organisers and participants.
    Suggested areas for triathlons are Hambantota, Colombo, Nuwara Eliya, and Trincomalee.
14. Develop existing golf courses and facilities to attract international golf tournaments to Sri Lanka.
15. Maintain an event calendar for sports.
16. Develop and strengthen traditional sports and recreational activities such as Angampora, Kabaddi and Elle.

Cricket

1. Include Cricket in the “National Talent Portal” and identify individual performance levels of each player across the country.
2. Utilise AI for the early identification of skill-sets in individual sportspersons, particularly for sports such as cricket.
   Include smart bats and smart balls that collect data from players and school level cricketers, helping decision makers analyse and select the most talented players.
3. Develop a cricket ground in each district with domestic level standards.
4. Develop Radella cricket ground as an international ground.

GOALS

• Empower and create an enabling environment to strengthen the multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-religious character of our nation.

ACTION PLAN

1. While embracing Buddhism as the main religion of Sri Lanka, consciously define ourselves as a multicultural country that not only tolerates but welcomes various minority cultures.
2. Recognise multiculturalism as a defining aspect of our national identity and develop a true understanding for each other’s religious foundations, history of their race, cultural events, social needs, languages and traditions and affirm the diversity of our society and articulate a commitment to not allow religious extremism to disturb the multicultural nature of the country.
3. Engage and build trust between communities on issues such as education, charity, personal and dietary laws before engaging with them on security issues.
4. Establish a Religious and Multiculturalism Act which will cover the following:
   • Raise awareness among Sri Lankans about the beauty of religious and multicultural diversity of the country.
   • Celebrate both religious and ethnic diversity.
   • Enforce “Zero-tolerance” on hate crimes and acts of extremism.

   4.1 Pass a Religious Harmony Act which will cover the following:

   • A mechanism to monitor potential and actual incidents related to promotion of animosity or hatred among religious groups.
   • Promptly address these identified issues before they culminate into long-term discord between religious and ethnic minorities.
   • Ban religious groups or organisations belonging to any faith or ideology which incites the public towards violence and manifestly disturbs the peace through hate speech.
   • Address incidents of religious extremism. Should an act of religious extremism occur, decision makers will need to clearly articulate and communicate the difference between individual responsibility and blanket criminalisation of an entire community.
   • Immediately ban any organisation that engage in, support, or are associated with terrorist activities, or are found to have links with foreign terror groups.
   • Ensure that the media does not sensationalise news that may create unwarranted prejudices against minorities in the country. There has to be a delicate balance between freedom of expression and “responsible expression”, which needs to be practised by all media outlets for news publications, both online and offline.
   • Create a cross-cultural round table on religious and multicultural security. It will be imperative that leaders of all religious and ethnic minority groups are represented. This would essentially be a forum where any issues that come to light are effectively discussed and the method by which they could be resolved is decided.

   4.2 Issue restraining orders against individuals (monk, priest, pastor, imam, elder, office-bearer) or any other person who is in a position of authority in any religious group or institution or any member thereof who has committed or is attempting to commit any of the following acts:

   • Causing feelings of enmity, hatred, animosity, or hostility between different religious groups;
   • Carrying out activities to promote a political cause, or a cause of any political party while, or under the guise of, propagating or practising any religious belief;
   • Carrying out subversive activities under the guise of propagating or practising any religious belief; or
   • Exciting disaffection against the President or the Government while, or under the guise of, propagating or practising any religious belief. Inciting, instigating, or encouraging any religious group or religious institution or any person to commit any of the aforementioned terror acts.

1. Organise a “Peace Committee” comprised of all religious leaders and ensure weekly meetings of relevant communities to avoid conflict and ensure harmony.
2. Establish and publicise A Code of Conduct in consultation with leaders of different communities for the observance of various festivals, to ensure that festivals are observed in an amicable atmosphere without causing annoyance to the society.
3. Use video/audio coverage and cameras to record the proceedings of religious processions and gatherings, to be considered in case of communal disturbances for identification and prosecution of the offenders and, in the process, could also act as a deterrent.
4. Take effective and meaningful actions to curb and check rumours. Establish channels of communications with leaders of all communities, and take strict action against anyone inflaming passions and stoking communal tension by intemperate and inflammatory speeches/utterances. Utilise media and other channels to clear out any false rumours and keep the public informed.
5. Distribute inspiring literature among Government and private sector students, and encourage competitions and discussions on the subject of communal harmony. Include religious and ethnic diversity and multiculturalism as part of school curriculum.
6. Monitor and brief the media to avoid exaggerated perceptions about incidents that may provoke sentiments and passions, especially in a communal situation.

   Appoint a Chief Minister and four state ministers for Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. Double the current allocated budget and distribute the budget at the ratio of the respective population in each religion.

7. Establish a “Home Police” programme.

   The proposed “Home Police Programme” provides door-to-door services to resolve any minor disputes within the community. Recruit 4,960 female police officers, (10 officers per station totalling to 496 police stations across the island) and provide 5 motor bikes per station.

   1,700 police officers retire every year and these officers could be recruited and trained online and onsite for their tasks including policing domestic issues to reduce the current daily complaints from 3,000 to 2,000.

   “Home Police Programme” to be monitored centrally and completed within a period of 3 years.

GOALS

• Strengthen the local tourism and culture towards empowering the nation’s economy.
• Promote Sri Lanka’s unique in arts, culture and heritage as the main catalyst for the growth in local tourism and culture.
• Develop knowledgeable, skilled, creative and innovative human capital in local tourism and culture.



ACTION PLAN

Strategic plan to improve Arts

1. Develop art markets in all tourist hubs in Sri Lanka.
2. Support local artists to access affordable drawing storage tubes that enables foreigners to carry canvases.
3. Launch a website to promote traditional arts with the assistance of non-profit organisations. Also, advise local artists to use colours from best selling artworks across the globe.
4. Develop an online platform funded by the Government for local artists to sell their artwork.
5. Publish an online art magazine.
6. Organise an art expo which includes paintings, sculptures, installations and photographs from internationally acclaimed art galleries and collectives.
7. Co-host the World Summit on Arts and Culture.
8. Provide tax incentives for sponsorship of arts, culture and heritage activities approved by the Ministry of Arts and Culture.

Strategic plan for Culture

1. Launch a YouTube channel to showcase Sri Lanka’s diverse cultural, religious and traditional heritage.
2. Organise festivals and events of different cultures, to raise awareness amongst tourists and locals.
3. Promote tourism by organising local cultural performances in foreign countries.
4. Organise a five-day free-for-all arts festival featuring local and international talent.
5. Establish a cultural economic development agency to act as a connector between creators, private investors or businesses, consumers, regulating bodies, and policymakers.
6. Carry out culture mapping, which includes regional information on the following categories:
   • Performing arts.
   • Traditional cuisines.
   • Traditional games.
   • Traditional customs.
   • Traditional clothing.
   • Prominent figures in local arts and culture.
   • Art infrastructure.
7. Create a cultural activity calendar.
8. Organise folk performances in all districts.
9. Promote awareness of cultural traditions through educational programmes.
10. Conduct training, community outreach and workshops for children and teenagers.
11. Encourage publishers to convert hard copies into E-books or audiobooks.
12. Support local authors, to help them develop their global appeal.
13. Provide virtual tours of museums.
14. Improve the standards and security of local museums.

GOALS

• Double fisherman’s income.
• Double the current fish yield of 0.9 tonne/sqkm per annum to 1.8 tonne/sqkm per annum (fish yield of India from the exclusive economic zone of 2.02mn sqkm is 2 tonne/sqkm per annum).
• Develop quality of fishery products and aquaculture production.
• Manage fishery resources to ensure sustainability and diversity.



ACTION PLAN

1. Develop social and physical infrastructure such as education, toilets, water and electricity of the 1,337 fishing villages under the precision poverty reduction programme.
2. Establish Sri Lanka National Centre for Ocean Information for potential fishing zone identification with geospatial technology for real time data.
   
   • Advise on potential fishing zones (PFZ) where many fish are found, by studying satellite images of sea temperature, chlorophyll patterns, wave speed and direction.
   • Provide, high wave and wind alerts for potential disaster zones/ impacted areas through this centre.
3. Establish a real-time weather forecast system.
4. Modernise and increase the capacity of all fishing harbours/jetties/fish landing centres along the coast with ongoing/new schemes.
5. Introduce fish wholesale markets for all 14 districts which have fishing villages.
6. Provide stackable seafood mobile chests for inland transportation purposes to preserve the freshness of fish.
   Exclude duty and CESS on stackable seafood mobile chests until the local industry is sustainable.
   Typically such chests should be capable of keeping fish frozen up to 165 hours.
7. Introduce mobile cold storage containers to freeze fish in vessels.
8. Provide an application inclusive of real time information of fish price and stock availability in each fishing village.
9. Exclude import duty on fish equipment.
10. Provide an insurance scheme for fishermen and fishing boats.
11. Establish an initiative to increase welfare facilities to fishermen.
    

    Provide financial assistance to the families of deceased fishermen and missing fishermen through this initiative.

12. Provide free rural financial counselling services.
13. Establish and improve additional rural markets with fish products section through a nationwide programme for developing market infrastructure, facilities and farm-to-market roads through public-private partnerships.
14. Define roles of the support institutions – NGOs and working with dedicated professionals within these organisations to facilitate the required changes.
15. Introduce an application to trace fish quantities and traceability for fishermen.
16. Expand oyster cultivation as a community income generation project.
17. Increase open ocean aquaculture in Sri Lanka, an example of which is the currently caged Modha farming in Trincomalee.
18. Provide waterlogged areas/dead rivers’ on long term lease agreements with incentives to farmers/entrepreneurs for aquaculture.
19. Develop additional fish farms and intensify existing fish farms which are built on fresh and brackish water.

    Establish technical assistance and credit programmes to new fish farmers.

20. Introduce technical, vocational and entrepreneurship training courses on aquaculture in existing vocational colleges. In addition:

    Introduce vocational training courses in following areas to those involved in the fishing sector:

    • Fish farmer training – freshwater aquaculture.
    • Small engines principles training – technical services.
    • Financial literacy (money management) for community based sprat farmers and women vendors.
    • Training on Post-Harvest Fisheries including on research.
    • Training on Deepwater “fish aggregation device”.
    • Seaweed farmer training.
21. Implement basic training courses for fishermen by the government. Training videos to be uploaded and E-learning platform to be made.

Inland Fishing

22. Introduce a mobile application, where fish farm owners can identify diseases and find causes and remedies for the diseases of the fish by uploading and passing on such images to the relevant authorities.
23. Establish new freshwater hatcheries in all districts and upgrade all existing freshwater aquaculture hatcheries.
    Ongoing projects are,
    • Establishment of Aquaculture Development Centre, Sevanapitiya, Polonnaruwa.
    • Establishment of Aquaculture Development Centre, Muruthawela.
    • Establishment of of Crab City Phase I, Galmulla, Hambantota.
    • Establishment of of Crab City Phase II, Rakawa, Hambantota.
    • Establishment of of Crab City Phase III, Mankerni, Batticaloa.
    • Establishment of Ornamental Fish Breeding Centre, Sevanapitiya.
    • Establishment of Marine Ornamental Fish Breeding Centre, Bangadeniya.
    • Establishment of Genetic Improvement Centre, Dambulla.
    • Establishment of Aquaculture Development Centre, Muruthawela.
    • Establishment of Freshwater Prawn Hatchery, Trincomalee.
    • Establishment of Aquaculture Development Centre, Udawalawe.
    • Establishment of Sea Cucumber Hatchery, Mannar.
    • Renovation and expansion of facilities in existing centres (Inginiyagala, Dambulla, Kalawewa and Udawalawe- Tilapia).
24. Initiate a farmer-friendly policy under the broad name “social fishery” where farmers will grow species of small fish along with “other” traditional carps without having to incur substantial investments for their economic as well as nutritional benefits.
25. Popularised freshwater ornamental fish breeding and rearing in backyard hatcheries as a cottage industry for the rural community.
26. Expand ornamental fish breeding and training centres.

    Introduce training videos for fish breeding and management similar to the Ornamental Fish Breeding and Training Center currently at Rambadagalla.

GOALS

• Increase runway movement from 11 to 17 departures per hour at BIA.
• Facilitate an optimum structure to ensure strong network of airports.



Bandaranaike International Airport

1. Convert a section of the Lotus Tower retail area into an express international flight check-in zone, with luggage drop-in services.
2. Introduce automated immigration gates (e-gates) enhanced with facial and fingerprint biometrics for fast check-in.
3. Increase the number of self-service check-in kiosks at the BIA from 8 to 20 to issue boarding passes for passengers without luggage.
4. Introduce 30 additional check-in-counters at BIA immigration to the current 57 check-in-counters in order to mitigate the bottleneck created at check-in-counters.
5. Convert the VVIP lounge and its boarding gates at BIA to handle budget airline operations.
6. Implement BIA app to have real-time flight details, terminal maps, taxi details and booking, restaurants, and airport hotel details.
7. Expand BIA with 16 additional aero-bridges.
8. For the buses that travel between the boarding gate and the airplane at boarding gates without aerobridges, allow institutions such as banks to provide Cobus low flow buses without a cost in return for branding those buses by the institution for a long-term period of 15 years.
9. Reduce the current Aircraft Turnaround Time at BIA of 60 minutes to 25 minutes for Budget Carriers, to increase the runway movement from the current 11 to 17 departures per hour, during peak hours.
10. BIA at present has a mesh fence surrounding its premises and is the only airport in the world at present to do so. Landscape and build and electric fence enabled with sensus technology for enhanced security.
11. Establish a regulated and a well-organised taxi service at BIA by issuing duty free vehicle permits for taxi owners with special vehicle registration plates and allocate the operation and technology to an established taxi service company.
    Maintain 2 types of taxis i.e. cars and vans.
    Issue duty-free vehicle permits for 900 taxi owners with special vehicle registration plates. Regulate the taxi services to ensure compliance and safety.

Infrastructure

1. Transform Ratmalana, Palali, and Mattala airports to international budget airline hubs.
2. Transform Ratmalana, Palali, and Mattala airports to international budget airline hubs,
   • Palali
   • Trincomalee
   • Baticaloa
   • Koggala
   • Mattala
   • Digana, Kandy
3. Replace the current Ratmalana airport terminal with a larger prefabricated steel building built within one year, which will provide an improved layout for passenger handling and movement.
4. Lengthen the runway at the Ratmalana Airport from the current 1773m to 2400m to the east side. This will enable landing of type-D aircrafts i.e. aircrafts with 120 seat capacities. International airports with runway lengths similar to ratmalana airport are,
   • London City International airport- UK- Runway length 1500m.
   • Antwerp International Airport- Belgium - Runway length 1500m.
   • Bocas Del Toro Isla Colon International Airport – Panama- Runway length 1500m.
5. Resume operations at the Mattala International Airport.
6. Develop airports at Koggala, Batticaloa, and Trincomalee for domestic flight operations.
7. Construct a domestic budget airport at Digana, Kandy within 3 years.
8. Introduce minimum 50-seater aircrafts for travellers to move within Sri Lanka.
9. Attract more budget airlines (low cost carriers) to operate to Sri Lanka, to accommodate low cost carrier passengers as there are 55,335 budget rooms available in the country.
10. Facilitate cargo airlines to fly internationally from Trincomalee, Batticoloa, Koggala, and Digana (Kandy).
11. Remove the luggage handling monopoly in budget airlines and allow budget airlines to execute their own luggage handling.
12. Match the prices of fuel, landing, parking, airport taxes, aerobridges, and luggage handling charges to that of Malaysia.
13. Provide free landing and parking facilities to all cargo airlines to increase exports.
14. Classify all airport charges as peak and off-peak and maintain a lower fee during off-peak hours.
15. Increase the number of direct flights to the top 20 European destinations that bring large volumes of tourists to Sri Lanka, such as United Kingdom, Germany, France, Netherlands and Italy.
16. Synchronise domestic flights at airports and their schedules with the respective international connective flights.
17. Introduce dedicated fast track immigration service lines for VIP, first and business class passengers.