Apr 20 (TM) SL Purchasing Managers’ Index for Manufacturing (PMI) increased to 66.7 in March 2026, supported by a heightened activity due to seasonal demand amid a tight production environment, attributed to raw material and fuel shortages, rising costs, and logistical constraints, according to the PMI report released by CB. The new orders and production sub-indices expanded in March, particularly more..

Apr 20 (EN) The self-congratulatory and almost gloating terms in which the return of monetary depreciation and accompanying rise in the cost of living towards the central bank’s inflation target is welcomed by macro-economists is in bad taste. Inflation is nothing other than an immoral philosophy cooked up by post-1960s macroeconomists who rejected classical economic theory for statistics and visited great privations upon vast populations. The return of depreciation and inflation which more..

Apr 20 (Island) Sri Lanka has formally ratified the Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (No. 190), becoming the 55th member of the International Labour Organisation to do so, the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva said in a statement on Saturday (18). The statement said: On 16 April 2026, Sri Lanka deposited the instrument of ratification of the Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (No. 190) with the International Labour Office. more..

Apr 20 (FT) The Philip Gunawardena Commemorative Society has released Volume III of the speeches of Philip Gunawardena in Parliament from 1965 to 1970. Previously, the Commemorative Society had issued a compilation of his speeches in the State Council during the colonial period as Volume I, and those in Parliament in independent SL as Volume II. The present volume completes all his speeches as a people’s representative during his long political journey in the country. more..

Apr 20 (FT) Seven years on from that black Easter Sunday of 2019, the toll of grief has not let up its death grip. Nor have the traumatic memories of the dark day which unshrouded terror diminished. The wound has merely deepened into something more corrosive and even cancerous – since it has been left untreated. Dare we say, some 2,555 days (or 83 months) later, it has deepened into a silent national crisis that no one dares name. It is an issue that goes by no formal title. more..

Apr 20 (AD) Visiting Vice President of India CP Radhakrishnan on Sunday met leaders of political parties in the N&E and Indian Origin Tamil parties during his visit to SL, reinforcing India’s commitment to the welfare of the Tamil community in the island. The meeting, held during the Vice President’s official visit to SL, served as a platform for regional leaders to express their gratitude for India’s swift and substantial humanitarian more..

Apr 20 (DM) Asserting that there is no further time to lose on strategic projects such as the Trincomalee energy hub, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that although a timeline has not yet been established, discussions are in progress, given the complexity of the project and its significant financial outlays. Making his remarks at a press conference, Mr. Misri, who accompanied Indian Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan, said that some time would be required to finalise the details. more..

Apr 20 (DN) Sri Lanka has had discussions with both India and China on the benefits of using the Indian Rupee (INR) and the Chinese Renminbi (RMB/Yuan) on cross-border settlements for trade and tourism. The matter was discussed by CB Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe with his counterparts from India and China on the sidelines of the IMF–World Bank Spring Meetings. The CBSL said, Governor Weerasinghe had met with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Saturday. more..

Apr 20 (AD) A total of 26 people have lost their lives in drowning incidents during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year period, police stated. Among the victims were a private tuition teacher and an Advanced Level student who drowned last afternoon at the Nallachchiya Wewa in Thambuttegama. The duo had entered an irrigation canal around 3:30 p.m. when they were suddenly caught in a current and swept nearly 300 meters downstream. more..

Apr 20 (FT) SL’s tourist arrivals have crossed the 800,000 mark so far this year, raising cautious optimism about reaching the Govt’s ambitious 3 million visitor target for 2026, despite a recent slowdown. From 1-15 April, SL welcomed 809,595 tourists, a marginal 0.8% YoY decline compared to the same period last year. However, momentum has weakened in April. Arrivals during first 15 days of the month fell 27% YoY to 68,961, with the daily average declining to 4,597 from 6,261 yr earlier. more..

Apr 20 (AD) The third phase of the Indian housing project implemented by the Govt of India in the plantation areas has officially concluded today (19). Under this housing project, the Govt of India has been providing assistance to construct 60,000 houses in plantation regions. Of these, 46,000 houses were completed under the first two phases. Accordingly, the third phase, which consists of 4,000 houses, was carried out focusing on plantation areas in the Uva, Central, and Southern Provinces. more..

Apr 20 (NW) A low-floor priority bus service will be launched as a pilot project from April 21, operating from the Makumbura Multimodal Transport Centre. The programme, introduced in line with the govt’s vision of ensuring equal opportunities and human dignity for all, has an allocation of Rs. 430.7 million and is being implemented under the Clean SL initiative. In the first phase, 10 modern air-conditioned low-floor buses will be deployed, specially designed to be easily accessible more..

Apr 20 (AD) Investigations have revealed that the fire that broke out yesterday (18) in the upper floor of a two-storey house on the Pamunuwa Road, Maharagama, was intentionally set by the homeowner himself, police said. The fire had started in the upper floor of the two-storey house last afternoon (18). Local residents who noticed the fire had taken steps to extinguish it promptly. During the incident, two severely burnt men who were inside the house were first taken to hospital. more..

Apr 20 (Island) The Catholic Church intends to formally request Prez this week to relieve Deputy Defence Minister Aruna Jayasekera of his ministerial post pending investigations into the Easter Sunday carnage. Head of Centre for Society & Religion (CSR) Rev. Father. Rohan Silva OMI said that they were in the process of collecting signatures from the relevant Catholic clergy for a petition to be handed over to Prez Dissanayake probably more..

Apr 20 (EN) Indian Vice President C P Radhakrishnan who arrived in SL for a two-day visit, has had high-level talks with President Anura Disanayake, his media division said. Radhakrishnan also met Premier Harini Amarasuriya, and participated in cultural and community engagements. Ahead of the meeting, Disanayake said discussions would focus on strengthening bilateral ties. The thorny issue of Indian fisherman poaching in SL’s territorial waters was also discussed, more..

Apr 20 (FT) In an encouraging sign for the economy, workers’ remittances increased 17.5% YoY to $ 814.8 million in March during the first full month of the ongoing Middle East war. This brings total remittances inflows during the first quarter 2026 to nearly $2.3 bil, up 26.5% from a year ago, $814.8 mil inflow in March 2026 is the 2nd highest monthly inflow in history behind $ 879.09 mil in Dec 2025, but above $ 812.73 mil in Dec 2020, $751.13 mil in Jan 2026, and $729.35 mil in Jan 2018. more..

Apr 20 (FT) The CB last week said its latest Business Outlook Survey (BOS), conducted before the onset of the Middle East conflict, pointed to continued expansion in business activity into early 2026 due to favourable macroeconomic conditions. “The Business Condition Index denoted an expansion in the fourth quarter of 2025 amidst the weather-related disturbances, demonstrating resilience in the overall business environment. Furthermore, the outlook for 1Q 2026 also more..

Apr 20 (DN) Although the Middle East conflict places geopolitical risk at the center of developing Asia and the Pacific’s economic outlook, Sri Lanka enters this challenging and uncertain environment from a position of strength, with growth at 5 % in 2025, ADB Senior Country Economist Lilia Aleksanyan said releasing its Asian Development Outlook (ADO) April 2026 report in Colombo. The ADO said Sri Lankan growth is projected to moderate from 5% in 2025 to 4% in 2026 and 4.2% in 2027, more..

Apr 20 (TM) SLC is set to introduce a revised ethics code for nationally-contracted players ahead of finalising its fresh contracts through the formation of a new and long-overdue ethics code. This has been mooted in a bid to improve the public perception of the national team in the eyes of its legion of followers and to fully professionalise its set up. A key feature of this ethics code set forth is all nationally-contracted players & support staff more..

Apr 20 (DM) The recent strike launched by the Govt Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) has come under criticism, with sources claiming it was poorly organized and failed to pressure the Government. A source who wished to remain anonymous said the strike could have been more effective if it had been properly planned. “The strike could have exerted more pressure on the Govt. But the authorities knew it was not well organized, so they did not give in to the demands,” the source said. more..

Apr 20 (FT) Gross official reserve assets held by the CB dipped 3.45% month-on-month (M-o-M) to $ 7.01 billion as of end-March 2026. According to data released by the CBSL last Friday, foreign currency reserves fell 4% M-o-M to $ 6.79 billion in March, down from $ 7.06 billion in February, while gold holdings increased 11% M-o-M to $ 222 million in March from $ 200 million in February. The short-term drain on reserves during the next 12 months is estimated at $ 2.14 billion, more..

Apr 20 (ST) CPC bought three shipments of diesel between the last week of March and the second week of April at prices of between US$ 288 & US$ 281 per barrel, General Manager Mayura Neththikumarage said. Thus, CPC acquired 240,000 barrels on March 31, 2026, at the cost of US$ 285 per barrel; 295,000 barrels on April 6-7 at the cost of US$ 288 per barrel; and 254,000 barrels on April 7-8 at US$ 281 per barrel, more..

Apr 20 (CT) A group representing more than 2,000 former employees of the CEB has written to the Minister of Energy, raising urgent concerns over the non-payment of retirement benefits and alleged administrative harassment following their exit under the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS). In a letter dated 11 April 2026, the collective said they were facing severe financial hardship more than a month after retirement, with neither VRS compensation nor statutory payments—including more..

Apr 20 (FT) SL is in a stronger position to cushion the impact of rising energy costs following improvements in revenue mobilisation, though vulnerabilities remain due to its reliance on fuel imports, the IMF said last week. IMF Asia Pacific Dept Director Krishna Srinivasan, speaking at a press conference at the launch of the Regional Economic Outlook for Asia and the Pacific, said the country has rebuilt fiscal space since the crisis, providing room for limited intervention. more..

Apr 20 (Island) Bloomfield Cricket Club will soon be without the steady hand that steered their ship through calm and storm, as Tharanga Dammika prepares to call time on his stint as Head Coach at the end of the Major Clubs Premier League season. After years of unwavering commitment, Tharanga has decided to hang up his boots bringing down the curtain on a six-year spell that left an indelible mark on one of SL’s most storied clubs. The news has sent ripples through the cricketing fraternity, more..

Apr 20 (Island) Island newspaper’s lead news item on the 12th of April 2026 was on the CEB request to shut down rooftop solar power during the low demand periods. Their argument is that rooftop solar panels produce about 300 MW power during the day and there is no procedure to balance the grid with such a load. We as well as a large academic and industrial consortium members have been trying to promote solar energy as a viable and sustainable power source since the early 1990’s. more..

Apr 20 (FT) SL’s economic growth is expected to slow to 3.6% in 2026 as higher energy prices weigh on activity, although the economy will regain its pre-crisis size last seen in 2018, the World Bank said in its latest South Asia Economic Update April 2026. Growth is projected to edge up to 3.8% in 2027, with the moderation from 2025 reflecting higher energy prices as well as a shift from recovery to a pace consistent with its potential, more..

Apr 20 (SO) SL has adequate fiscal buffers to face the impact of rising energy costs on households and businesses, IMF Asia and Pacific Department Director Krishna Srinivasan said last week. He was speaking at a regional media briefing in Washington, DC. SL has gradually built reasonable fiscal buffers over the last three years, Srinivasan said. He said Govt revenue has doubled during the period, indicating that the island nation is in a better position than before to provide targeted fiscal support. more..

Apr 20 (Island) Several salespersons have been arrested and remanded for forcibly cutting the hair of a woman as punishment for shoplifting. But neither Kumara Jayakody nor Udayanga Hemapala has been arrested over a mega coal procurement scandal that has caused massive losses, amounting to billions of rupees, to the state coffers. The government had them resign as the Minister of Energy and the Secretary to the Ministry of Energy, respectively, as a face-saving exercise. more..

Apr 20 (TM) SL has been my home by choice for 13 years. My children have grown up here. They have gone to school here. I am married to a SL woman who embodies much of what I admire about this place. I love the country – its food, its rhythms, its people. If there were an international championship for friendliness and unassuming decency, Sri Lankans would reach the final most years. That this remains true despite a very dark recent past makes it more, not less, remarkable. more..

Apr 20 (DN) Water is a gift of nature that is essential for life. It plays an important role in human survival, agriculture, industries, and the environment. Preventing drinking water contamination in SL is something commendable because still the majority of Sri Lankans, especially in far away rural areas, use wells to obtain drinking water. The Water Resources Board has been established under the Water Resources Board Act No. 29 of 1964 to protect and conserve the water resources more..