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Chinese scammers called Cheennu in Sinhala press
No full textThis entry includes a write-up and five infographics (in English and Sinhala).On October 14, 2024, four newspapers reported on Chinese nationals being arrested for being a part of online scams. News reportage on the incident by Ada used the appropriate term "Cheena jathikayan" (චීන ජාතිකයන්) in the headline, whereas Divaina, Aruna, Lankadeepa, Mawbima, and Dinamina newspapers used the derogatory term "Cheennu" (චීන්නු) in the report. Media is advised against using such derogatory terms, especially in a negative context, as it can result in xenophobic attitudes towards foreign nationals
Petrol and Diesel Market Price vs. Formula Price in May 2025
No full textThis infographic was posted on the Public Finance Platform in English and can be accessed from the link below.In May 2025, the prices of both Petrol 92 and Auto Diesel were reduced in Sri Lanka. Petrol 92 dropped by LKR 6 per litre, while Auto Diesel saw a more significant cut of LKR 12 per litre. This marks the fourth consecutive month in which the retail price of Petrol 92 has remained aligned with its formula price. In contrast, the price of Auto Diesel continues to exceed the formula benchmark, despite the market price reduction.
The formula price of Petrol 92 was revised down to LKR 290.6 per litre in May—a decrease of LKR 6.3 from April. The market price was just LKR 2.4 lower than the formula price, placing it within a 2% variation. This narrow margin confirms that petrol prices remain effectively aligned with the formula.
Auto Diesel, however, tells a different story. Even after the LKR 12 price cut in May, its market price is still LKR 13.6 higher than the formula price. This follows an already significant disparity in April, when the market price exceeded the formula price by LKR 17.2. Moreover, falling global fuel prices further pushed the diesel formula price down by LKR 8.4 in May, widening the gap between the market and formula prices despite the local adjustment
Budget 2025 - Key Expenditure Proposals
No full textThis infographic was posted on the Public Finance Platform in English, Sinhala, Tamil and can be accessed from the link below.On 17 February, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake delivered his first budget speech for the 2025 fiscal year. Among the expenditure proposals outlined in the budget, the largest is the salary increase for government employees, with a whopping LKR 110 billion allocated for this purpose
Deutsche Bank AG: Loan Agreement for Design, Manufacture, Supply, Installation, Erection and Commissioning of 537 Steel Beam Bridges in Different Rural Locations througout Sri Lanka - Loan Agreement 2014
No full textThe loan agreement was obtained through a Right To Information - RTI request by Verité Research. Included here is the loan agreement which consists of 92 pages.Included here is the loan agreement related to the Commissioning of 537 Steel Beam Bridges Project dated 2014.10.10 for the amount of USD 20,000,000. The lender for this project was the Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch
Sri Lanka Electricity Amendment Bill - Voting Breakdown - Second Reading
No full textThis infographic is available in Tamil. The English (Sri Lanka Electricity Amendment Bill - Voting Breakdown - Second Reading) and Sinhala ( ශ්රී ලංකා විදුලිබල සංශෝධන පනත් කෙටුම්පත - ඡන්ද වීමසීම - දෙවැනිවර කියවීම) versions are published on the Manthri.lk Instagram and Facebook pages respectively and can be accessed through the links below.On 6 August 2025, Parliament held a vote on the Sri Lanka Electricity (Amendment) Bill during the second reading. The vote was passed with 121 votes in favour and 25 against.
This is a significant bill that replaces the National Electricity Advisory Council with a committee appointed by the Minister, and may also be reducing the independence of the regulator in tariff setting, among several other structural changes.
Refer to the original act: https://www.parliament.lk/uploads/acts/gbills/english/6347.pdf
Refer to the amendment bill: https://documents.gov.lk/view/bills/2025/5/599-2025_E.pdf
to learn more on the amendments
Resolution to Remove IGP Tennakoon - Voting Breakdown
No full textThis infographic is available in Sinhala and is published on the Manthri.lk Facebook page.On 5 August 2025, Parliament held a vote to remove the Inspector-General of Police, Deshabandu Tennakoon, in accordance with Section 17 of the Removal of Officers (Procedure) Act, No. 5 of 2002.
The Resolution was carried with 177 MPs voting in favour, one MP abstained, 33 absent from the vote and 13 absent from Parliament
Maldives' primary deficit woes
No full textThis IKR entry contains one infographic in English. This infographic has been published on the PFP website under the title 'The Maldives’ primary deficit still remains high' and can be accessed from the link below.The Maldives’ primary deficit has increased since 2020, raising concerns about the country’s debt sustainability. This contrasts with Sri Lanka, where the primary deficit also increased but recovered, following its suspension of debt repayments, along with a fiscal consolidation program
VAT's Maldives got right?
No full textThis infographic was posted on the Public Finance Platform (Insight: VAT revenue collection: Maldives highest, Sri Lanka lowest) in English and can be accessed from the link below.Sri Lanka has the lowest tax revenue collected through Value Added Tax (VAT) in South Asia while Maldives with a lower tax rate collects nearly 5 times more through its Goods and Services Tax (GST).
In 2023, Sri Lanka’s VAT rate was 15%, which generated LKR 694 billion—equivalent to 2.5% of GDP—making it the lowest in South Asia. In contrast, countries with similar or lower VAT rates collected higher revenue. For example, Bangladesh, with a similar rate, collected revenue amounting to 3.6% of GDP, and Nepal, with a lower rate of 13%, generated 5.3% of its GDP from VAT in 2023.
The Maldives stands out with a Goods and Services Tax (GST) that raises revenue amounting to 12% of GDP, despite having a lower average rate of about 12% (8% for general GST and 16% for tourism GST)
Revenue was raised by 5.4% of GDP in 3 years
No full textThis infographic was posted on the Public Finance Platform in English and can be accessed from the link below.Between 2021 and 2024, Sri Lanka’s government revenue and grants rose from 8.3% to 13.7% of GDP— a 65% increase in just three years. This marks a significant turnaround from the historic low of 2021, when tax cuts substantially reduced the revenue base. The latest data, from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s Annual Economic Review 2024, show that government revenues have not only recovered but also exceeded pre-crisis levels.
The sharp rebound was driven by a series of targeted tax reforms. A breakdown of revenue sources reveals that while most major tax categories grew, Value Added Tax (VAT) alone accounted for nearly half the total increase
Appropriation Bill 2025: Which ministries got the highest allocations?
No full textThis infographic was posted on the Public Finance Platform in English, Sinhala, and Tamil. They can be accessed from the links below.The Appropriation Bill for 2025, presented to Parliament on 9 January 2025, allocates funds for government spending for the full year of 2025 – following the Vote on Account which only allocated funds for the first 4 months of the year. The government has allocated a total of LKR 4,218 billion as non-debt servicing expenditure for 2025 through the First Schedule of the Appropriation Bill, of which LKR 2,898 billion was allocated for recurrent expenditure and LKR 1,320 billion was allocated for capital expenditure.
The Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development has received the highest allocation in the 2025 Appropriation Bill, with LKR 714 billion. This marks a significant reduction compared to the allocation of LKR 1,077 billion to the Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policies in 2024.
The Ministry of Health and Mass Media received the second-highest allocation at LKR 508 billion, followed by the Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils, and Local Government at LKR 497 billion and the Ministry of Transport, Highways, Ports, and Civil Aviation at LKR 473 billion - driven largely by capital expenditure amounting to LKR 421 billion. Notably, the Ministry of Defence received LKR 442 billion while the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education received LKR 271 billion (Sri Lanka’s government education expenditure is the world’s third lowest). The top 8 ministries collectively accounted for 90% of the total ministerial allocation.
The Second Schedule of the Appropriation Bill, which includes government expenditure authorized by laws charged on the Consolidated Fund, amounted to LKR 4,617 billion, compared to LKR 6,966 billion in 2024. The majority of the expenditure in the Second Schedule is allocated for debt service payments, with interest payments amounting to LKR 2,944 billion and capital repayments totaling LKR 1,595. Together, these account for 98% of the total Second Schedule expenditure