Sri Lanka’s Budget Speech 2024

Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe in his capacity as Minister of Finance commenced presenting the Budget Speech 2024 at 12:00 PM today (November 13).

12:59 PM – A special loan scheme to be introduced for university students, facilitating loan repayment once students are employed.

12:58 PM – Rs. 40 million allocated to develop the laboratories and related facilities of the University of Sri Jayawardenapura.

12:55 PM – Rs. 500 million allocated to develop the Peradeniya University.

12:55 PM – The President hopes to triple the current number of universities over the next few years, attracting not only local but also foreign students.

12:55 PM – Four new universities to be established.

• Seethawaka Science and Technology University
• Kurunegala Technology University under the Kotelawala Defence University
• Management and Technology University
• International Climate Change University

12:51 PM – Rs. 10 billion allocated for the development of rural roads. Rs. 2 billion allocated to renovate bridges and roads damaged due to adverse weather.

12:51 PM – The current system of charging rent from urban housing complexes given to low-income families will be suspended, while ownership of these housing units will be granted to occupants.

12:47 PM – Rs. 10 billion allocated to facilitate the development of abandoned estates and lands.

12:46 PM – Rs. 600 million allocated to further facilitate the ‘Bim Saviya’ programme.

12:46 PM – Rs. 4 billion allocated to help citizens of the estate sector granting them land ownership and assisting housing development.

12:40 PM – Rs. 50 billion allocated to assist Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). A special loan scheme will be introduced with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank to support SMEs.

12:38 PM – Rs. 205 billion allocated for benefit programs targeting disabled individuals, CKDU patients, and senior citizens.

12:36 PM – Senior citizens’ allowances increased to Rs. 3,000, covering 530,000 citizens.

12:36 PM – The ‘Aswesuma’ welfare benefit scheme will benefit over 4 million citizens.

12:33 PM – Pensioners will be given an increase in their allowance of Rs.2,500 from April 2024.

12:33 PM – State employee salaries have remained stagnant since 2015. There are 1.3 million state employees, supporting over 5 million family members. The Cost of Living Allowance has been increased from Rs. 7,800 to Rs. 17,800 from April 2024, marking an increase of Rs. 10,000.

12:29 PM – Inflation had been reduced to 1.5 by October this year.

12:29 PM – Sri Lanka has increased its foreign reserves to USD 3.5 billion, President Wickremesinghe said.

12:27 PM – The President highlighted the removal of legal obstacles hindering the integration of large-scale, low-cost renewable energy into the primary electricity grid. Additionally, he noted on-going efforts to formulate rules and regulations for restructuring the inefficient CEB into a more streamlined and efficient institution.

12:25 PM – President Ranil Wickremesinghe stresses the need to minimize state sector expenditure, especially with State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs).

12:22 PM – The President said Sri Lanka has earned only Rs. 2015 billion in tax revenue in the first nine months of 2023.

12:21 PM – President Ranil Wickremesinghe explains how the country has thus far managed to finance the gap between state revenue and expenditure, highlighting the need to meet state revenue needs amounting to Rs. 3,415 billion.

12:17 PM – “State revenue must be increased in order to raise government employee salaries,” President Wickremesinghe said. The President mentioned that he is against the concept of increasing salaries without the means to boost state revenue.

12:14 PM – The President expresses confidence in building a stronger economy and urges all parties to support this endeavour.

12:10 PM – President Wickremesinghe explains the hardships endured over the past year and the challenges he accepted when taking charge of a bankrupt nation.

12:02 PM – President Ranil Wickremesinghe in his capacity as Minister of Finance commenced the presentation of the Appropriation Bill for the 2024 fiscal year.

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