Indian teacher gets on his bike to help slum children

AFP: Every day, Aditya Kumar cycles around 40 miles with a heavy load of books and his few possessions on the back of his battered old bike to bring education to India’s slum children.

Investing in agarwood? Take some advice from pioneers in the business

?The persistent and culturally-embedded nature of demand for Agarwood by end-consumers has placed the current global market at an estimated range of US$ 6 – 8 billion with rapid growth foreseen in the future. 

A new era for India–Sri Lanka relations?

After tense ties during the Rajapaksa administration, newly elected Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena’s decision to visit India on his first overseas trip signifies a renewal in the India–Sri Lanka relationship.

Public sector accounting for better transparency and accountability

? Interest in International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) and its adoption has increased sharply in recent years, following the attention focused on government’s management of public finances in the wake of the sovereign debt crisis, and this interest is expected to continue in to the future. 

Networking and information: Crucial ingredients in empowering women-owned and led micro, SMEs in Sri

The International Women’s Day is globally celebrated on March 8 every year. This year’s celebrations under the theme ‘Empowering Women - Empowering Humanity:

Fast-tracking your way up the corporate ladder Not making a decision is definitely not a smart decis

We continue with the last part of our four-part study on how to make right decisions. We discussed at length the tools and techniques the professional uses to arrive at right solutions.

Indian Ocean: Modi on a maritime pilgrimage - Analysis

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the Maldives, Mauritius Seychelles and Sri Lanka during this month to reinforce India’s foreign policy objectives. A number of political, economic, social and security issues would constitute the agenda and several agreements and memorandums of understanding are expected to be signed with the Indian Ocean states.

Fresh perspectives needed to boost South Asian connectivity

One of the easiest ways to boost economic activity is by promoting regional economic integration that facilitates freer movement of goods, services and investment, helping to achieve regional developmental objectives by creating jobs. But in eastern South Asia, this process is being held up by misguided decisions, strategies and outdated ideas.

“Chinese speed” elevating Colombo South Harbour to mega port: CICT CEO

Xinhua: The South Harbour terminal handled 680,000 containers in 2014, enhancing the total capacity of t he Port of Colombo by 14 percent, the fastest growth among the world’s ports last year, said Colombo International Container Terminals (CICT) Chief Executive Officer Liu Yunshu.

Budget myopia

It was promised that all subsidies and price reductions would be from savings derived from eliminating wastage of public funds without imposing any new taxes. Presumably such promises are only to the poor.

Political situation in Sri Lanka and region

Following is the speech delivered by Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute (LKIIRSS) former Executive Director Asanga Abeyagoonasekera recently, at the Consortium of South Asian Think Tanks (COSATT) Regional Conference on ‘Deeper Integration for Peace and Prosperity in the South Asian Region’ organised by the Centre for South Asian Studies (CSAS) in cooperation with Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) in Katmandu, Nepal.

IMF, WB, donor support should not be a pretext for avoiding economic reform

The IMF tends to be the refuge of countries that have mismanaged their economic affairs. In this context, it is important to recall that Sri Lanka has had to obtain balance of payments support from the IMF on a number of occasions.

Oil prices stabilise in Asian trade

Oil prices stabilised in Asia yesterday following sharp gains in the previous session as dealers predicted the end of volatile trading and the beaten-down commodity bottoming out, analysts said.

A Emerging causefood standards: of concern for Sri Lankan tea industry

Over the last two decades, there has been a tightening of public standards, a shift from product standards to process standards, an increase in the importance of private standards and a widening scope of standards.

Political ‘achcharu’ anyone?

Finally we have an opposition within the government. Did they cunningly vote for the budget, guessing it was the best way to defeat the government? Clever!So can the UNP save RW or does MR save the SLFP? Who is the UPFA now hiding behind a betel leaf and are the swan and the lotus in the same pond?Are we looking at the emergence of a third front with another arranged marriage between the likes of the JHU, TNA and JVP, who may well form an opposit

Maritime security awareness in Indian Ocean – An analysis

The floating armouries in the Indian Ocean are a lively topic of discussion at present in Sri Lanka. Two companies namely Avant Grade (AG) and the parent Rakna Arakashka Lanka Ltd (RALL) are known to have stockpiled a cache of sophisticated arms for security of commercial shipping in the western Indian Ocean and the government agencies, banks and other private sector institutions, respectively and the storage of these weapons were in containers i

Govt. will collect revenue from those who can afford it: Finance Minister

A budget seminar organized by the Institute of Chartered Management Accountants was held yesterday. Following are excerpts from the Q&A audience had with Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake.

Sri Lanka and nuclear pacts: Best decision for energy security?

President Maithripala Sirisena during his first official visit since becoming President, entered i nto a bilateral on nuclear energy with the Sri Lanka’s neighbour India.The bilateral agreement signed on cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy 16 February 2015, envisages transfer and exchange of knowledge, expertise as well as capacity building and training of personnel on several areas relating to the use of nuclear energy.

How Temasek has driven Singapore’s Development

Last year marked the 40th anniversary of Temasek, one of Singapore’s two sovereign investment funds (SIFs), along with the Government Investment Corporation (GIC). Set up in 1974 as part of t he newly i ndependent city-state’s nation-building effort, Temasek has evolved from a sleepy holding company shepherding an i nitial portfolio of 35 inherited government-linked companies (GLCs) to a long-term, return-seeking investor with both we

Achieving walkable cities

With the urban population swelling the world over, it makes sense that we start or go back to creating cities for people too.People are a city’s principal raison d’etre, so cities should be designed or redesigned to address one aspect that will make them greener: Walkability.

Addressing social protection issues to enhance equity in Sri Lanka

Social protection has been increasingly viewed as an important tool for addressing poverty, vulnerability, inequality, and social exclusion. Sri Lanka has a long history of providing social protection to its population. Social protection policies and programmes such as the free education and health care provision and food subsidy programmes have been implemented by the successive governments since the 1940s.

An Innovative Short Cutto White Revolution in the Newera

Agro-based socio-economic background is a common phenomenon in the country. Dairy farming, which is the most common acceptable secondary income generation activity, has been considered as a characteristic feature in developing the rural sector and as a tool in eradicating poverty, throughout the last few decades.

Sri Lanka in Indian Ocean Games

“Whoever controls the Indian Ocean dominates Asia. This ocean is key to the seven seas. In the twenty-first century, the destiny of the world will be decided on its waters”.Alfred Mahan (US Navy admiral, geo-strategist)

Improving Doing Business Environment: A must for sustainable good governance

Critical Analyses of Colombo Port City Project

The Colombo Port City project was initiated by the previous regime and was finalized with the signing of different agreements in 2014 with the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), Board of Investment (BoI) and Urban Development Authority (UDA) with China. These local agencies were assigned the responsibility of administration of this mega project. The main objective of the project is to create not only a major maritime hub but also a harbour city fo

Invest wisely: Advice from your securities industry regulator

As investors turn to the Sri Lankan equity market to secure their futures, the presence of a regulator is more compelling t han ever. Accordingly, it is inevitable for the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) to continue to safeguard the interests of the investors. The success of the initiatives undertaken by the SEC to attain the aforementioned greatly depends on the support rendered by the market stakeholders. Education initiat

New Lankan Government Makes U-Turn to China

When Mahinda Rajapakse was toppled by a "peoples' power" anti-corruption vote on January 8, there were messages from Western leaders and op-eds in newspapers in London, New York, Toronto and Oslo welcoming the success of another "regime change" campaign to overthrow a leader who was hostile to the West and cuddling with the Chinese.

Good environmental management practices in hotel industry: Determinants and barriers

With the tourism sector in Sri Lanka recording remarkable growth in the recent past, it is imperative to ensure such growth is environmentally sustainable. In this regard, the accommodation should receive foremost attention given its expansions both in terms of investments in new hotels and refurbishments of existing hotels in the country.

Motivation is an art that makes business profitable

One of the most valuable assets that any business has is its people. There should be highly qualified and motivated employees, so that employees are able to shape the future of the business, making it more profitable and competitive. The truth is that people work to live. If they could live sans working hard, they never work. It means that there is always something that really motivates employees to work hard. That is why, they are working so har

Nation building is an art, framework creating a science

It was King Solomon, the king of Israel, who onetime said, “Where there is no vision, people perish.”He was the third king of Israel, who built Israel to become a powerful nation with great prosperity. History records that many leaders from many countries visited him to learn from his wisdom and strategy.