Colombo: The Cabinet of Ministers has approved several significant proposals at their recent meeting, with implications for education, economy, and infrastructure development. Among the decisions was the approval to sign a tripartite memorandum of understanding between the South Asian Center for Teacher Development, UNESCO South Asian Regional Office, and Indira Gandhi National Open University. This agreement aims to enhance regional cooperation and strengthen the national and regional action plan by introducing new training programs on quality media and information literacy.
According to News.LK, another critical decision involved submitting a report to the Parliament regarding the deviation of headline inflation from the targets in the monetary policy framework for the third and fourth quarters of 2024. The quarterly average of the headline inflation was significantly lower than the target, necessitating this report as per the Sri Lanka Central Bank Act.
The Cabinet also approved the selection of investor
s for developing lands owned by the Urban Development Authority. This involves leasing portions of land under long-term agreements to facilitate urban development projects, ensuring compliance with planning regulations.
In the energy sector, the Cabinet has awarded the procurement contract for five shipments of 92 Unl petrol to M/s Vitol Asia Pte. Ltd. in Singapore, chosen as the lowest responsive bidder. This decision follows recommendations from the Standing Procurement Committees.
For the issuance of national identity cards, the Cabinet approved purchasing 15 million polycarbonate cards as part of the e-NIC project. This move addresses the requirement for re-registration and issuance of new identity cards to citizens.
In healthcare, the Cabinet awarded procurement for three million doses of rabies injections to M/s Gulf Pharma (Pvt.) Ltd., and for 70,000 vials of Human Immunoglobulin BP to M/s Reliance Life Sciences (Pvt.) Ltd. These procurements aim to address public health needs efficiently.
Furtherm
ore, the Cabinet has approved submitting several gazette notifications to Parliament for concurrence. These include revisions to tax limits on luxury vehicles and production levy rates for electric vehicles, along with extending relief periods under various finance acts.
The Cabinet also granted approval to draft a new act to protect the rights of new plant species, addressing a gap in the Intellectual Property Act regarding flora and fauna.
A revision in the National Minimum Wage of Workers Act was also approved, reflecting proposed salary increases for private sector employees parallel to those for public officers.
The establishment of the Chartered Institute of Media Professionals – Sri Lanka received Cabinet approval, aiming to enhance media standards and create chartered professional journalists.
Amendments to the Community Based Correction Act and the National Archives Law were also approved, focusing on improving correctional approaches and document management systems respectively.
Additionally, t
he Cabinet approved filling 30,000 essential vacancies in government service, following a budget allocation for this purpose, to address unemployment among graduates and youth.
Lastly, the Cabinet approved the submission of the Annual Economic Analysis Report of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka for 2024 to Parliament, outlining macroeconomic trends and financial system status.