The Institute of Policy Studies’ (IPS) New Thinkers Symposium saw researchers from several think tanks presenting their work on broad topics under the theme of technology and economic transformation. They highlighted the need for dynamic and innova

Of late, there has been much debate and concern voiced about tourists standing at the doorways of trains and even hanging out, while the train is moving. Some pictures of a young couple hanging out of a train, while clutching on to the side rails, we

The government of Sri Lanka has embraced Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) as a key focus of the national trade and development strategy. The rationale of this policy choice has been intenselydebated in the Sri Lankan policy circles. The debate has reach

Ratan Naval Tata, (born 28 December 1937) is an Indian industrialist, investor, philanthropist, and a former chairman of Tata Sons. He was also chairman of Tata Group, from 1991 to 2012, and again, as interim chairman, from October 2016 through Febru

As several districts in Sri Lanka continue to recover from the prolonged drought last year, recurring floods and landslides hamper economic activities in the country. Sri Lanka was ranked as the second most affected country by the impacts of weather-

When Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in May 2014, his Bharatiya Janata Party formed India’s first majority government in almost 30 years. Modi’s tenure ends in May 2019. By then, elections involving more than 900 million people will have chos

Frederick Wallace “Fred” Smith (born August 11, 1944) is the founder, Chairman and CEO of FedEx, originally known as Federal Express. The company is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee.

The note under reference hopefully will help the government to boost exports out of Sri Lanka and formulate policies for potential sectors to collectively go beyond a US $ 25 billion export economy and perhaps retain a surplus after debt redemption i

Sri Lanka is today facing a domestic labour shortage in some key sectors and industries. Demographic issues, social attitudes, expansion of the economy and outward labour emigration are contributing to the shortfall. Generally, the lack of interest i

Following is the third part of the full speech made by Dr. K. Kanag-Isvaran, President’s Counsel, at the 22nd Annual  Oration on Taxation, organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka.

The US government recently endured a month-long partial shutdown due to a partisan dispute over funding to build a wall on the country’s southern border with Mexico. While those on both sides of the issue were digging in their heels, I got to t

Worker remittances constitute an important component in the balance of payments (BoP) accounts in Sri Lanka. In 2017, foreign exchange earnings fr

Following is the first part of the full speech made by Dr. K. Kanag-Isvaran, President’s Counsel, at the 22nd Annual Oration on Taxation organized by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka.

Global foreign exchange reserves—which are used by countries to pay for goods and services and to hedge against exchange rate risks—reached US $ 11.48 trillion in the second quarter of 2018, according to the International Monetary Fund (I

New Delhi’s strategic circles are abuzz with speculation of a defence infrastructure upgrade at India’s Andaman and Nicobar islands in the Bay of Bengal. According to media reports, the government is on the cusp of finalising a 10-year pl

The first ‘Sena attack’, carried out unwittingly and in good faith, began soon after the ‘Yahapalana’ government came into being in 2015 and under the much hyped slogan of Toxin-Free Nation. The second was the banning of glyph

Sri Lanka plunged into a political crisis in October 2018 when President Maithripala Sirisena suddenly and unexpectedly sacked the sitting prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, his former partner in the National Unity Government formed in January 2015

The world stands on the brink of a fourth industrial revolution, where dramatic changes in technological advancements will have profound impacts on the future employment landscape and skill requirements. This means that engaging in lifelong learning&

The ‘10 Year Challenge’, Facebook’s latest social media phenomenon, has taken the Internet by a storm. People are posting a picture from 10 years ago alongside their current profile picture or some other photograph and the transform

China holds approximately 9 percent of Sri Lanka’s total outstanding debt as of 2017 and 14 percent amongst bilateral lenders – equivalent to the same share held by neighbouring India. Despite this, Sri Lanka’s engagement with China

For low-lying island states, the impacts of global warming and climate change can be a matter of survival. The irony is that while these states have not contributed much to greenhouse emissions, as they produce very little, they may face some of the

In the new year, Sri Lanka remains at a crossroads. As before, the island nation requires carefully calibrated statecraft from policymakers to choose the path towards prosperity. The political, constitutional and parliamentary crisis over the last mo

The ongoing tariff war between the United States and China will have far-reaching consequences for the trade relations of other countries. Even South Asia — one of the world’s least economically integrated regions with relatively less pre

A cup of tea is every Sri Lankan’s morning mantra. This might not be the case much longer as Sri Lanka may face a shortage of milk powder as several leading milk powder importers are reported to have taken a collective decision to suspend impor

Owing to climate change, natural disasters have become an almost commonplace occurrence in the world. Developing countries, especially island nations like Sri Lanka, are particularly prone to such disasters, due to two reasons: their geographical loc

Global economic growth is projected to soften from a downwardly revised 3 percent in 2018 to 2.9 percent in 2019 amid rising downside risks to the outlook, the World Bank said on Tuesday.  

The news communication industry is highly dependent on technology, and every new technology will take its transformation. Although the algorithmic news has just started,

In 1996, a punishing drought crippled hydroelectricity generation and impacted households and industry with gruelling eight-hour blackouts. Thousands of farmers faced crop failure and bankruptcy as Chandrika Kumaratunga limped along without plan or p

Sri Lanka’s experiment with hybrid governments failed miserably. By hybrid government, I mean a government that entails the President from one party and the administration or the Cabinet of ministers from another party (or a coalition). &n

To improve SOEs’ performance and following many controversial appointments to State-owned enterprises in the past, President Maithripala Sirisena has issued fresh instructions on selection criteria in a bid to eliminate controversial and poorly