Category: Daily Financial Times

While the efforts of the Sri Lanka Police in tracking down organised criminal gang members, especially those engaged in the illicit drug trade, is laudable, there are serious questions about the manner in which such operations are being handled.

It has become commonplace to see plain clothed Police officers accompanying alleged gang members after their extradition from different countries with cameras rolling as they are brought out of the airport and bundled into Police jeeps. The same is true of when these men and sometimes women are produced in Court. They are exposed not only to the media cameras, but also to the public which raises questions about how serious the police are about protecting these suspects.

Take the case of Nadun Chinthaka Wickremeratne, better known as “Harak Kata,” who has been in custody since 2023. Given that the man has many who may want to see him dead, it’s logical to think that there could be attempts to kill him on the way to or from prison. But in May this year, when ‘Harak Kata’ was produced in Court and was being taken away he was allowed to make comments to the media. During the interaction, he found enough time to allege that a former minister and senior police officer had demanded a Rs. 300 million bribe to have him released, a politically convenient comment to make. The recent arrest of Rakitha Rajapakshe, the son of former Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe and Charith Abeysinghe, the organiser of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) for the Horana is also related to the same suspect and the solicitation of a bribe to facilitate his release from investigations and related legal proceedings.

While the Police may be acting in good faith when it comes to rounding up such high-profile criminals, exposing these suspects in the manner it happens raises serious questions, After underworld gang leader Sanjeewa Kumara Samararatne, alias “Ganemulla Sanjeewa,” was shot dead inside a courtroom at the Hulftsdorp Magistrate’s Court Complex in Colombo in February 2025, discussions took place to facilitate high profile criminals to be produced during Court hearings through video links. However, despite this, they continue to be paraded publicly.

Investigations into drug related cases are highly sensitive in nature but the police are making a mockery of their work at times.

Take the claims of raids on factories mass producing ‘Ice’ (crystal methamphetamine) in Kandana and Wadduwa made some months ago. After all the sensational claims in front of the cameras, the Government Analyst’s Department found no such chemicals in the samples sent to it and the whole matter became a matter of ridicule. While sensational news is lapped up by the public, it does little to help the prosecution to successfully convict the suspects who are in custody.

Another aspect is that exposing the Police officers involved also puts their lives under threat. Hence it’s important that their identity is not exposed.

It’s clear that the Government on its part is keen to show the public that it is making serious efforts to crackdown on those engaged in the drug trade as well as expose the nexus between these criminals and politicians. A part of this is to widely publicise high profile arrests and pave the way for ‘trial by media’ that gives an instant boost to the Government’s image than long drawn-out Court cases some of which could either result in the successful prosecution of the suspects or their release.

For those engaged in the hard work of building a solid case against criminals, widely publicising arrests, building public narratives will not be helpful if there are no credible witnesses and adequate forensic evidence to secure a successful conviction. Hence by keeping facts related to such cases under wraps till they’re presented in Court, both the Police and state prosecutors have a better chance of building strong cases. What’s happening now is a lot of noise that fizzles out within days.

Oil palm cultivation in Sri Lanka has for many years been surrounded by strong public debate. Among the most common allegations is that oil palm degrades soil, accelerates erosion, loss of understory biodiversity and weakens the environmental health of plantation landscapes. These concerns must not be dismissed lightly, because soil functions as the vital matrix sustaining essential ecosystem services including hydrological regulation, nutrient cycling, biodiversity conservation, and long-term agronomic sustainability. Consequently, public policy and social discourse must be informed strictly by scientific evidence rather than speculative, unsubstantiated preconceptions.

Major misconceptions

Crucially, oil palm establishment in Sri Lanka has been executed entirely without the conversion of natural forests. Currently, it occupies around 10,400 hectares, only in the wet zone low country, mainly on degraded or marginal lands previously cultivated with rubber or tea. Therefore, the appropriate scientific comparison lies between oil palm and co-existing plantation crops under similar agro-climatic conditions, rather than between oil palm and natural forest systems. Consequently, the allegation that oil palm cultivation drives extensive deforestation is invalid within the specific context of Sri Lanka’s agricultural landscape.

The soils found in these oil palm growing regions are largely Red Yellow Podzolic soils, classified as Ultisols. These soils are naturally acidic, highly weathered and relatively poor in fertility. They are commonly low in organic carbon, low in available nutrients and also having low cation exchange capacity. These characteristics are not unique to oil palm plantations. They are inherent to much of the wet zone low country plantation landscape, which has been under commercial plantation agriculture for more than a century. Therefore, attributing all regional soil related limitations to oil palm is misleading. The essential question is whether oil palm causes greater or more unusual soil degradation than tea, rubber, or coconut under similar conditions. The available scientific evidence does not substantiate such a generalised conclusion. Importantly soil related problems are not crop-specific, rather, it is primarily a function of land management practices, which can be significantly mitigated by implementing targeted soil and water conservation measures.

Another major misconception is the frequent assertion that oil palm cultivation inherently accelerates severe soil erosion. However, erosion rates are dictated by multiple variables beyond the crop itself, including terrain slope, rainfall intensity, soil cover, and infrastructure dynamics such as road construction, drainage networks, harvesting paths, and estate-level conservation practices. In poorly managed plantations, any crop can contribute to erosion. Rubber, for example, can show high soil loss during the early establishment phase if the soil is left exposed. Yet, in well-managed rubber plantations, erosion can be reduced to very low levels. The same principle applies to oil palm as well. Sri Lanka currently lacks sufficient long-term field data on soil erosion specifically under oil palm. However, available international evidence and local comparisons suggest that soil erosion under oil palm can be controlled effectively through good management. Cover crops, contour planting, terracing where needed, mulching, proper drainage, frond stacking and the protection of steep slopes are practical methods that reduce run-off and protect soil. When these practices are followed, oil palm plantations need not become erosion-prone landscapes.

Organic matter management

Organic matter management is one of the strongest opportunities in oil palm cultivation. Oil palm produces a large volume of biomass, including pruned fronds and empty fruit bunches from processing factories. These materials can be returned to the field as mulch and organic matter. Empty fruit bunches contain valuable nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium. Returning them to the plantation improves soil organic carbon, nutrient cycling, moisture retention, soil structure and microbial activity. This is particularly important because organic matter sources are often limited in other plantation systems. In tea, pruning is sometimes removed for fuelwood, while in coconut and rubber, trunks and husks are used for other economic purposes. In contrast, oil palm empty fruit bunches currently have limited alternative economic value in Sri Lanka, making their return to the soil both practical and environmentally sound. Alternatively, these materials can be effectively converted into high-quality compost and biochar, yielding wide-ranging benefits. Also, another important advantage of oil palm cultivation is its potential for organic matter management. Pruned fronds and biomass such as empty fruit bunches generated from processing factories can be returned to the cultivation land.

Soil acidification

Soil acidification is a common problem in agricultural fields in the wet zone. Application of nitrogen fertilisers aggravates soil acidity further through microbial activities. This problem is well documented in tea plantations, where the recommended quantities of dolomite are applied to neutralise soil acidity. Studies indicate no significant difference in soil acidity between oil palm and rubber fields. However, in oil palm plantations, soil acidification can be mitigated or prevented by introducing better management measures such as applying empty fruit bunches or bunch ash, as well as by leaving fronds in the field.

It is a widely repeated myth that oil palm demands excessive chemical fertiliser compared with all other plantation crops. Scientific comparison shows a more balanced picture. On a per-unit-area basis, oil palm generally demands higher fertiliser inputs than rubber; however, its requirements are comparable to those of coconut and remain lower than those of tea for macronutrients, most notably nitrogen. Tea has a higher nitrogen requirement, while coconut has a very high potassium requirement. Therefore, the claim that oil palm uses several times more fertiliser than all other plantation crops is not supported by the available evidence. More importantly, fertiliser use must be assessed not merely by the gross quantity applied, but by agricultural productivity achieved per unit of nutrient. On this measure, oil palm exhibits superior performance when compared to other plantation crops of tea, rubber, and coconut. Oil palm records the highest yield per unit of nutrient applied. These findings demonstrate that optimal management enables oil palm to achieve superior nutrient use efficiency and maximising crop yield relative to fertiliser inputs while mitigating environmental pollution by reducing nutrient losses through volatilisation, leaching, and runoff. This is an important factor in sustainable plantation agriculture.

Challenging conventional notions

Similarly, the claim that ‘nothing grows under oil palm’ is also not supported by evidence. Comparative studies of oil palm and rubber understory vegetation across different age categories at the Nakiyadeniya and Sapumalkanda estates revealed comparable diversity, consisting predominantly of shade-tolerant and moisture-loving species. Furthermore, certain studies have reported higher earthworm population densities within oil palm plantations compared to comparable rubber stands. Collectively, these findings challenge the conventional notion that oil palm plantations function as ecological deserts. However, in commercial practice, overgrown understory vegetation is typically classified as weeds. Plantation management routinely suppresses these species below an economic threshold through frequent manual slashing or herbicide applications; consequently, the existing species diversity and density are highly dependent upon estate-specific management strategies. Similar to practices in coconut and rubber cultivation, intercropping can be implemented in oil palm systems as well during both the immature phase (up to 3-5 years) and the later stages of the cropping cycle. Furthermore, if product diversification is the primary objective, continuous intercropping throughout the entire life cycle is achievable by adjusting the planting density and spatial field arrangement of the overstory oil palm crop.

Another critical concern involves the high volume of water consumed by oil palm, which allegedly dries out wells and waterways in cultivation regions; however, there is currently no scientific evidence to support this claim. A crop’s water requirement depends on its variety, age, soil type, and prevailing environmental conditions. The average daily water requirements for oil palm, coconut, and rubber are estimated at 249, 130, and 63 liters per plant, respectively. Furthermore, water consumption studies conducted at the Nakiyadeniya and Sapumalkanda estates reported similar usage rates under local conditions. However, rather than comparing water use on an individual tree basis, it is more statistically relevant to assess consumption per hectare. Given a planting density of approximately 140 plants per hectare for oil palm and 520 for rubber, the potential daily water usage scales to roughly 34,480 liters for oil palm and 32,760 liters for rubber. Due to these high water requirements, oil palm is only recommended for regions that receive more than 2,500 mm of rain annually. Given that these regions have about 150 to 200 wet days a year, during which the trees absorb very little water. Consequently, oil palms consume less than 35% of the total annual rainfall received per unit area, indicating that water availability does not become a limiting factor.

Furthermore, concerns regarding waste generation during manufacturing have been addressed by upgrading facilities with advanced technologies to achieve zero-waste generation. This is evident at the AEN palm oil extracting and processing factory operating in Baduraliya (a joint venture of Agalawatta, Elpitiya and Namunukula Plantations.

Overarching scientific consensus

The overarching scientific consensus is definitive: oil palm is not inherently destructive to soil, not depleting understory vegetation and biodiversity, and also not causing water limitation compared to other plantation crops. Poorly managed oil palm can cause environmental problems, just as poorly managed tea, rubber or coconut can. But well-managed oil palm can conserve soil, recycle nutrients, improve organic matter and maintain productivity. The debate must therefore move away from myths and towards measurable sustainability standards.

In order to mitigate ongoing environmental and social impacts, it is proposed to obtain Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification. The RSPO framework establishes and verifies rigorous global standards for sustainable production. By achieving this certification, it can assure consumers that palm oil is harvested ethically: without causing deforestation, destroying wildlife habitats, or violating human rights, while continuously supporting biodiversity conservation. Several plantation companies have already obtained and are maintaining the RSPO certification.

Regardless of the specific crop under cultivation, Sri Lanka needs a responsible, science-driven framework to evaluate agricultural impacts. This initiative should integrate localised research on core soil parameters including erosion dynamics, organic carbon, water infiltration, nutrient pathways, and biological diversity. Furthermore, it should incorporate mandatory best management practices that compel growers, especially within the perennial plantation sector, to adopt cover cropping, residue recycling, slope protection, targeted fertiliser application, and systematic soil monitoring.

Thus, Oil palm should neither be promoted blindly nor condemned unfairly. It should be assessed scientifically, managed responsibly and regulated properly. When guided by evidence and good agricultural practice, oil palm can be part of a more productive and sustainable plantation sector in Sri Lanka.

Reinforcing its commitment to advancing Sri Lanka’s digital economy, iPay participated in the LankaQR Awareness Programme conducted by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka on 5 and 6 June 2026 in Trincomalee, supporting efforts to accelerate digital payment adoption among businesses operating within the country’s growing eastern tourism belt.

The programme focused on strengthening awareness and acceptance of LankaQR-enabled payments among merchants and consumers across key tourism destinations including Trincomalee, Uppuveli, Nilaveli, and Alles Garden. Merchant engagement activities were carried out with tourism-related businesses, SMEs, retailers, restaurants, guesthouses, and service providers, encouraging wider participation in Sri Lanka’s expanding digital payments ecosystem.

As one of Sri Lanka’s leading fintech platforms, iPay plays a key role in demonstrating how businesses can seamlessly adopt digital payment solutions through LankaQR. The team engaged directly with merchants, showcasing the capabilities of iPay Business and educating business owners on how digital payment acceptance can improve operational efficiency, enhance customer convenience, strengthen transaction security, and unlock new growth opportunities.

With tourism continuing to emerge as a key driver of economic activity, the adoption of QR-based payments is becoming increasingly important in delivering seamless experiences for both local and international visitors. Digital payments help businesses reduce the challenges associated with cash handling while offering customers faster, safer, and more convenient transaction options.

Head of iPay Kalhara Gamage said: ‘Digital payments are no longer an optional convenience but a business necessity. As Sri Lanka’s tourism industry continues to expand, merchants must be equipped to meet the expectations of increasingly digital-first consumers and international travellers. Programmes such as the LankaQR Awareness Programme play a vital role in accelerating adoption at the grassroots level, empowering SMEs to participate more actively in the formal digital economy while strengthening the nation’s journey towards a truly cashless future.’

Today, iPay continues to lead the market with over 50% JustPay market share, more than 1.2 million downloads, and over 1.8 million transactions processed monthly. Through iPay Business, the platform offers SMEs and MSMEs a comprehensive suite of digital solutions including LankaQR acceptance, card payments, foreign payment acceptance, bill payment collection, and secure internet payment gateways, enabling businesses to scale efficiently in an increasingly digital marketplace.

The initiative also aligns with the Central Bank’s broader vision of building a secure, interoperable, and inclusive national payments ecosystem. By supporting increased digital payment acceptance among small businesses, iPay continues to contribute towards greater financial inclusion, stronger economic participation, and enhanced digital readiness across Sri Lanka.

Through ongoing collaboration with regulators, merchants, and consumers, iPay remains committed to driving digital transformation and enabling a more connected, inclusive, and cashless future for the nation.

The Cabinet of Ministers on Monday approved the commencement of Stage 1 of Phase 4 of the Central Expressway Project, covering the section from Kurunegala to Galewela.

On 3 March 2026, the Cabinet approved Phase 4 of the project, which runs from Kurunegala to Dambulla. Following discussions by a special committee on economic management to determine funding arrangements, it was decided to implement the project in two phases.

‘Stage 1 of Phase 4, covering the 38.5 kilometre stretch from Kurunegala to Galewela, will be financed through Government funds,’ Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa announced the decision at the weekly post-Cabinet meeting media briefing yesterday.

He said it was also agreed to carry out procurement in a manner that enables local contractors to participate, ensuring greater domestic involvement in the project.

The proposal to this effect was submitted by Transport, Highways and Urban Development Minister Bimal Rathnayake.

India coach Amol Muzumdar believes his side needs to adjust their strategy in the shortest format as he deals with the fallout from not reaching the knockout stages of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.

You have to go back to 2023 to find the last time India qualified for the semi-finals of the Women’s T20 World Cup, with their six-wicket loss to Australia at Lord’s on Sunday confining the side to a second consecutive campaign without appearing in the knockout phase of the event.

Muzumdar knows how important tactics are in the shortest format and thinks India need to slightly change their tact if they are to keep up with the T20I pacesetters such as Australia.

‘I think we really have to rethink our strategy for our T20 game,’ the India coach said after the loss to Australia.

‘We really need to put our heads around what combinations we are going to play.’

Muzumdar suggested experienced skipper Harmanpreet Kaur should continue as captain of the side, but indicated that decision was entirely up to selectors.

Pressed further on the exact changes that India required in T20 cricket, Muzumdar highlighted the side’s bowling and fielding as areas that needed prompt improvement.

‘With the bat, I think we have been batting with a lot of intent,’ he said.

‘We have been positive in our thinking. We have been thinking about fours and sixes. As modern-day cricket is all about, I guess T20 cricket is all about fours and sixes. And so we have been thinking and we have been playing in that fashion for sure.

‘It’s just that I think our bowling also needs to up the ante a little bit. I don’t think our bowling or our fielding helped the cause, to be very honest. So I guess we need to really go back and think how we’re going to approach the T20 game and also be in that positive frame of mind.’

Muzumdar said India’s bowling attack remains a relatively young group, with No.1 ranked T20I bowler Sree Charani and pacer Kranti Gaud still both under 23 years of age.

The coach also bemoaned the absence of spinner Shreyanka Patil, who missed the key clash with Australia after she injured her ankle earlier in the tournament.

‘If you look at our bowling attack, it’s been very inexperienced as far as international cricket is concerned,’ he noted.

‘So I’ve said this before in the previous press conference that give us 18 months and this attack will be a different one.’

The Government has launched a coordinated national response to the anticipated El Niño climate phenomenon, directing key ministries to prepare comprehensive contingency plans within two weeks as authorities seek to safeguard food security, water resources and energy supplies.

According to a statement from the President’s Office, the Special Cabinet Subcommittee and the Officials’ Committee established by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to oversee El Niño preparedness held their inaugural meeting yesterday at the Presidential Secretariat under the chairmanship of Environment Minister Dr. Dammika Patabendi.

The two committees were appointed to formulate short, medium and long-term strategies to mitigate the potential impacts of El Niño, with a focus on food security, water management and energy conservation. They are also tasked with strengthening coordination among Government institutions, ensuring integrated operations and implementing public awareness initiatives to minimise disaster risks.

The Cabinet Subcommittee comprises Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation Minister K.D. Lal Kantha, Plantation and Community Infrastructure Minister Samantha Vidyarathna, Ports and Civil Aviation and Energy Minister Anura Karunathilaka, Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe, and Housing, Construction and Water Supply Minister Susil Ranasinghe.

During the meeting, letters of appointment were presented to members of the Officials’ Committee.

The President’s Office said the latest assessment indicated a 63% probability of a strong El Niño event and a 33% probability of a weak event, prompting authorities to prioritise contingency planning for drinking water, irrigation and electricity supplies.

Given expectations that global El Niño conditions could bring varying degrees of drought or below-normal rainfall to Sri Lanka, the relevant ministries and departments were instructed to submit comprehensive response plans within two weeks covering all possible scenarios.

The meeting also decided that all official public statements relating to El Niño would be issued exclusively by the Department of Meteorology, replacing multiple interpretations from different agencies with a single authoritative source of information.

Chief of Staff to the President and Officials’ Committee Chairman Prabath Chandrakeerthi, Environment Ministry Secretary Anjali Kumaratunga, Agriculture Ministry Secretary D.P. Wickramasinghe, Trade Ministry Secretary K.A. Vimalenthirarajah, Housing Ministry Secretary Eng. Kumudulal Bogahawatta and officials from the relevant ministries and departments attended the meeting, according to the President’s Office.

In 1996 – the same year a small island nation lifted the Cricket World Cup and believed, perhaps more than ever, that it could take on the world – four people set up shop in a 100-square-foot basement office down Walukarama Road in Colombo 3. With a modest capital, a handful of computers to sell, and a conviction that would prove far larger than their premises: that Sri Lanka deserved access to the same technology transforming the rest of the world, and that a Sri Lankan company could deliver it.

Three decades later, that basement venture is one of the country’s foremost systems and solutions integrators, employing over one hundred skilled professionals and quietly underpinning many of the digital systems the nation relies on every day. This is the story of how a dealership for desktop computers grew into a builder of national infrastructure – Just In Time Group (JIT) and of the people and principles that carried it there.

Humble beginnings, an outsized vision

JIT was founded by a stalwart of Sri Lanka’s IT industry whose career in technology stretches back well before the company itself. What began with marketing computers and laptops was never meant to stay there. From the outset, the founding vision was to bring the latest and most essential technology to Sri Lanka, to facilitate knowledge transfer, and to build local skills rather than simply import finished products.

‘We never set out to sell technology – we set out to build capability for our country. Thirty years on, what makes me proudest is not how far we have come, but the trust placed in us by the institutions that keep this nation running, and the talented Sri Lankans who have made it all possible,’ said Just In Time Group Founder and Chairman Jit Warnakulasuriya.

From boxes to backbone

The defining shift in JIT’s journey was the move from selling hardware to integrating entire systems, pioneering the concept of ‘Integrated Solutions’ in a market that had not yet embraced it, and introducing technologies never before used in Sri Lanka. Today the Group’s expertise spans systems integration, information security, data analytics, infrastructure solutions etc. serving the banking, telecommunications, government, defence, and enterprise sectors.

But the clearest measure of how far JIT has travelled lies in the projects that now carry its fingerprints, work that touches the daily life of nearly every Sri Lankan, often without them knowing it.

Building the financial system the country runs on

JIT’s most enduring contribution has been to Sri Lanka’s financial infrastructure. As the local implementation and support partner, JIT helped deliver and implement the Central Bank’s Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system, the high-value interbank payment rail that moves money securely across the country in near real time – a project recognised at The Banker magazine’s Technology Awards in 2004. Sri Lanka became the first nation in South Asia to implement both RTGS and Scripless Securities settlement, with JIT at the heart of both. When the Central Bank modernised its treasury and reserve-management operations, JIT was again the systems integrator.

The company went on to implement LankaClear’s Common Card and Payment Switch, the national payment switch known to the public as LankaPay – which today connects 99.95% of every ATM in the country and operates round the clock, every day of the year.

JIT also supported People’s Bank’s core banking system across a nationwide network serving more than four million customers, and partnered the bank on its digital banking journey, helping turn ordinary branches into full digital branches.

Beyond banking, JIT’s work extends across the systems that keep the wider nation connected and identified. For Sri Lanka Telecom, JIT deployed next-generation OSS and BSS platforms, making SLT the first operator in the Asia-Pacific region to replace all of its legacy systems with a single unified platform supporting the telecommunications backbone of the country – a system where accuracy and uptime are non-negotiable.

JIT has also helped build the foundations of national identity. The company contributed to the National Identity Card system, the bedrock of citizen identification on which countless public and private services depend, bringing modern and highly secure technology to one of the most fundamental records the state maintains for its people.

That same trust extends to how Sri Lankans travel the world. JIT played a part in the National Passport system, supporting the secure issuance of the travel document that represents the country at every border – a responsibility that demands the highest standards of reliability and security.

JIT has also served Sri Lanka’s defence sector, delivering some of the most sensitive and mission-critical technology the country relies on, work carried out with the highest levels of trust and discretion.

Specialised teams for systems that cannot fail

The common thread across this work is not a single sale but decades of unbroken service. Some of these systems JIT has supported for more than twenty years, and because they are mission-critical, the company built specialised, high-performance teams designed around a single principle: keep the country running. These teams operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with the stated goal of reducing downtime to zero, providing proactive, personalised support with direct escalation to management. When payment switches, core banking platforms, and national systems must stay alive through any circumstance, including the country’s most difficult periods – it is these teams, quietly on standby, that keep them alive.

Progressive customers, world-class partners

JIT’s growth has been propelled by two forces working in tandem. The first is a client base of progressive, forward-looking organisations willing to embrace change and trust a local partner with their most critical systems. The second is JIT’s role as the Sri Lankan bridge to the world’s leading technology companies. Over three decades the company has partnered global giants bringing world-class platforms to Sri Lanka and adapting them to local needs. It is a model that delivers the best of global technology with the assurance of local expertise and support.

Stronger together: A member of Agility Innovation

Today JIT stands stronger still as a member of Agility Innovation, the holding company of a growing ICT conglomerate with an asset base exceeding Rs. 10 b. Alongside fellow group companies in enterprise infrastructure, cybersecurity, software, GIS and IT resourcing and consultancy, JIT is part of a wider ecosystem built to deliver future-ready technology at national scale – in cloud, AI, analytics and beyond. For JIT’s customers, it means the agility and personal attention of a trusted partner, backed by the depth and reach of one of the country’s most capable technology groups.

A contribution measured in trust

It takes something rare for a business to keep its doors open and growing for thirty years – especially in an industry that reinvents itself every few years. JIT’s longevity is, in many ways, a story about trust: trust earned from the institutions that form the spine of the national economy, and trust kept through quiet, reliable support during the country’s most challenging times, when keeping essential digital services running was itself a national service. These were never services that could afford to pause; many of them have run without a break for years, as the country nor its economy could function if they stopped.

The road was never smooth. Thirty years brought their full share of challenges – economic shocks, technological upheaval, and seasons of genuine uncertainty. There were ups and downs, moments of doubt, discrimination, and no shortage of those who underestimated a small local company taking on work many believed only foreign giants could deliver. Through all of it, JIT held to the principles it began with: trust and integrity and doing right by its customers. The company counts itself fortunate, and grateful for the blessings that carried it through – and it is no small testament that, three decades on, most of the systems JIT built and stood behind are still running today, still quietly serving the nation.

As a locally owned company, JIT has done more than deliver technology. It has built local skills and ecosystems around the systems it implements, kept high-value technical work and expertise within the country, and increasingly carried Sri Lankan capability outward – extending its footprint regionally and internationally in fields such as cyber security, artificial intelligence, and data.

Three decades, and still building

From four people and a basement to a diversified group -the rails on which the country’s money and identity move – JIT’s thirty-year journey mirrors Sri Lanka’s own digital coming-of-age.

The company that began the year the nation believed it could do anything has spent three decades turning that belief into infrastructure. Thirty years on, the basement is long behind it – but the spirit that started there, of progress for the nation, its people and its customers, remains exactly where it has always been: at the centre of everything.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake recently directed the National Education Commission (NEC) to come up with a policy framework in one month. Judging by the track record of policy frameworks developed by NEC since its inception in 1991, it is inconceivable that they can deliver a usable document unless they rethink policy making with a less is more mindset.

The most significant contribution of the first report of the NEC was to define National objectives of education, introduce the concept of competency-based learning, and identify five basic competencies as the foundation for reaching national goals. However, the five competencies have remained largely ornamental, and success at national examinations have continued to mark educational achievements in Sri Lanka.

The reason for the ineffectiveness of the NEC is apparent from its latest policy framework for 2023-2033. It is a hefty document with 600+ plus ‘strategic’ actions organised along six sectors of education – Early childhood education, General education, Higher education, Technical and vocational education, non-formal education, and Piriven education. Each strategic action is a call for more inputs into each sector with the culminating demand for an incremental increase of public expenditure over the next 10 years on education from the current level of 2.1% to 4.5% of GDP.

There is no prioritising or costing of activities or plans for making current expenditure more efficient. Difficult institutional reforms are rarely discussed. The President at the time did not formally accept the framework as required for its execution by the Ministry of Education. NEC could have made a better impact with fewer recommendations which are better targeted to policymaker requirements.

The national curricular framework 2025 which is currently being implemented suffers from the same problems. The 2025 framework identifies five pillars of reforms but three of those concern inputs such as Curricula, Human resources and Infrastructure. The only structural feature is the administrative reform which is bundled with Infrastructure as one pillar. Funding or resources is not considered as a determining pillar.

Keep it simple and focus on structure not inputs

A useful way to understand any social structure is the ‘Rules, Resources and Actors and Institutions’ triad. This triad is a simplified version derived from the structuration theory by Anthony Giddens where he posits that social life is produced and reproduced through the ongoing interaction between human agency (or actors and institutions) and social structures (rules and resources).

In the case of education, the rules relate to standards or what should be taught and how and by who etc. We simplify actors and institutions pillar as the Institutions pillar, and resources pillar remains the same (See centre rectangle in Figure).

The Figure illustrates how the INPUTS lead to the desired OUTCOMES with STRUCTURE intermediating in the process.

Spending money on inputs like textbooks, learning materials, teacher training and infrastructure development will come to nothing unless standards, resources, and institutions align to deliver the expected outcomes of ‘learning for an uncertain world’.

Standards for learning in an uncertain world

What should children learn in an uncertain world characterised by a rapidly changing global economic order, increasing influence of AI in our lives, and climate change?

The set of three learning domains -knowledge, skills and attitudes – identified by Bloom and others in the 50s is a handy typology for a start. Though not widely used, a more useful typology is ‘subject competency – transversal competency’ by UNESCO where transversal competency is defined as ‘competencies that are transferable and can be applied across disciplines, occupations, and life situations’. These competencies include ‘Critical and innovative thinking; Interpersonal skills; Intrapersonal skills; Global citizenship; Media and Information Literacy; and Other competencies’.

Transversal competencies go beyond 21st century skills of ‘Critical thinking, Creativity, Collaboration, and Communication. But will the subject knowledge plus transversal competencies prescription hold true when humankind is grappling with what human intelligence means in relation to artificial intelligence and how we co-exist with AI?

Interestingly, the new problems lead to the same Subject Knowledge + Transversal Skills prescription.

In using AI, one needs to be able to ask the right questions and evaluate the responses. The intermediate steps of searching, finding, evaluating and synthesising the information are all done for you by AI. But you can’t ask the right question or evaluate the answer if you are an empty vessel without some knowledge, skills and attitudes or values. More so, if you are using Agentic AI where AI will execute the response if an execution is required.

AI also poses the problem of oversupply. When there is so much to know and so many ways to do and feel, where do you begin to learn or be taught?

Increasingly decision makers are choosing simplicity over complexity; less over more, gradual changes over systemic overhauls.

Globally, teaching and learning methods show swings between cognitivists to constructivists approaches. The cognitivist approach emphasises structured knowledge acquisition through teacher instruction and assessment of the same. The constructivist approach emphasises students discovering knowledge and de-emphasises summative examinations.

However, Finland’s education system which went fully constructivists replaced subjects -based on phenomena-based learning is beginning to show its weaknesses. The New Zealand Ministry of Education, unhappy with the results of assessments which were largely school based, made its national evaluation system more relevant and focused on foundational literacy and numeracy. Singapore has continued using written national examinations to evaluate core subjects but is making them smarter allowing students more flexibility.

Now we are at a stage where it is accepted that a balance of cognitivist and constructivist approaches is needed where effective constructivist learning is supported and preceded by a foundation of explicit teaching and guided practice rather than minimally guided discovery alone.

For Sri Lanka too, a pragmatic mix of the cognitivist and constructivist approaches, with a focus on a few core subjects leaving time for students to achieve cross-cutting transversal competencies through structured learning experiences within the curriculum and in co-curricular and extra-curricular activities, would be appropriate.

Although the importance of imparting 21st century skills or transversal skills continues to make headlines, nobody knows how to assess them, because it is hard to judge individual students for their ethical or social-emotional learning etc. However, there is a growing international movement to assess schools not only for their students’ achievements in core subjects at national examinations, but also on the schools’ environment for developing their students’ hard to measure skills and attitudes.

In an action research on holistic education carried out in the Ampara education zone in the 2017-2018 period, the author and a team led by a former minister for education in the Eastern Province successfully assessed a random sample of student outputs from all primary schools in the Ampara education zone to see if the students were indeed receiving a holistic education environment.

Based on emerging international practices and my own experiences I propose two key reforms to simplify and gradually modernise our standards of education.

1. Assess students for a few core subjects only, but assess them at a higher standard

2. Assess schools for the environment they provide for transversal competencies

For Sri Lanka, we are well positioned to simplify as we gradually modernise.

Currently, each student may take only nine subjects and three subjects for their GCE O/L and GCE A/L examinations, respectively. However, the Department of Examination of Sri Lanka offered 50+ and 60+ subjects, respectively, for the two exams. The shortcomings of these exam papers in relation to international standards are discussed elsewhere (NEREC, 2023, for example).

Ongoing curricular reforms begun in 2025 have made the system more complex. If the proposed GCE O/L curriculum is implemented, the Department of Examinations will still have to offer will have to offer 24+ subjects for the national examination; national curriculum developers will have to deal with curricula, teacher guides and teacher training for 60 or more subjects/modules, and teachers will have to grade and report on subjects as well as well modules. There is much room to drastically cut-down subjects and/or modules offered, taking Singapore’s curriculum, for example.

Current education system is free in name only. Considering the amount of money spent by parents to maintain the system, it is really a public-private partnership, but a highly inequitable one because the partnership works only for schools with well-to-do parents.

While the Government provides basic school infrastructure and pays teacher salaries, additional facilities and resources for co-curricular or extracurricular work are all provided by parents and alumni. The over 300 so-called popular schools are popular because of additional resources brought in by well-to-do parents and alumni.

Parents from all walks of life also spend money on private tuition. The current examination system with three major examinations – i.e. Grade 5 Scholarship Examination (G5SE), GEC O/L, and GCE (A/L) – have been offered continuously for decades with little change, except for a brief interlude of more practical subject matter oriented NCGE and HNCE alternatives of 1974-76. Society has settled into a comfort zone with increasing pass rates taken as performance indicators, but unaccounted for is the fact that the tuition industry and money paid by parents for tuition is driving these gains, and these gains may have little to do with learning for life’s challenges.

It is unlikely that the Government will be able to produce hundreds of billions of rupees in additional funding to bring disadvantaged schools up to standard, on top of the current allocation of about Rs. 700 billion for all sectors of education. Funding from new sources must be raised, and here we can take a leaf from the Mahapola Scholarship Fund, the brainchild of Lalith Athulathmudali, where money is raised through a lottery. Ironically, the lottery buyers who ultimately pay for the Mahapola scholarships for the needy few are the needy all who comprise the majority of lottery ticket buyers.

We need a new version of Mahapola to raise additional funds for education.

One idea that is often floated is to repurpose professional qualifications such as medical veterinary, dental, and para medical degrees and even technical qualifications such as those provided by German Tech that are provided free of charge but are increasingly serving the human resource needs of developed countries at the expense of Sri Lanka’s tax paying public.

Following two proposals for reforming resource allocation and modalities for implementation are topics that cannot be ignored any further and should be the subject of open and wide discussions.

3. Prioritise resource allocation for under-served school children and national needs

4. Monetise state or non-instate investments in high-demand professional education

Even when additional resources are deployed, current institutional set up does not allow for efficient utilisation.

The only official admission of the dysfunctional state of the institutions in the education sector is in the 2003 policy framework by the NEC (p.242), but an analysis of the existing structure shows why dysfunction is an inevitability.

The education sector consists of the Ministry of Education (MoE); six statutory bodies – i.e. National Education Commission (NEC), National Institute of Education (NIE), University Grants Commission (UGC) and Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission (TVEC), and other vocational training providers; 19 teacher training colleges; five university faculties or departments offering degrees in education; many centers for continuing professional development of teachers; provincial departments of education and associated zonal and divisional offices with the capability to handle school administration matters. There is much overlap of responsibilities within and across these institutions.

The MoE, for example, consists of 22 divisions, 22 divisions headed by an officer at additional secretary level, and 73 branches again with overlapping responsibility within MoE and across NEC and NIE.

For example, curriculum development which was a function under the ministry has been taken over by NIE while subject wise departments continue to exist at MoE parallel to those at NIE. It is a waste of human resources and a recipe for cross-institutional conflicts and misadventures. The lack of trust and coordination between various entities resulting in the poor quality of outputs was made all too evident in the recent ‘modules’ debacle in the 2025 curricular reforms. On top of these existing redundancies there is now a proposal to establish a statutory body to certify teachers, when there are several branches at MoE that do teacher related matters.

Restructuring is urgently needed, limiting the Ministry to policy formulation and monitoring and evaluation, as detailed in the gazette that describes the duties and functions of the minister. A directorate for general education should be constituted bringing together all human capital within and across the ministry serving executive functions of national importance. For this purpose, the Directorate for General Education should be headed by a director general with departments for curriculum development and publications, teacher professional development, and the existing department of examinations serving under the director general.

The NIE should revert to its original national institute status awarding diplomas and degrees in education, and the institution should be required to compete with existing university faculties and departments for offering top-up degrees for diplomates from national colleges of education. If needed, the NIE can be renamed as National University for Education.

All tertiary programs should be accredited by a Higher Education Commission, which would be a UGC with the expanded scope of serving all higher education seeking public, not just public institutions.

Underlying this national super structure should be clusters of schools consisting of about 10 schools in a cluster, administrating/monitoring the education of all children from early childhood to age 18 in its jurisdiction. The MoE has been working long and hard on developing such a cluster system which is markedly different from previous such concepts.

5. Restructure all education agencies with school clusters as the basic unit of general education

6. Mandate the minister of education to annually report to Parliament on KPIs of education

The six changes proposed here require further study and discussion but that should not take more than a few months if the right personnel are charged with responsibility and a sense of urgency.

Sri Lanka’s rapidly growing combat sports industry has reached a significant milestone, with Karma Fight League (KFL) and Ruhunu Hospital formalising a multi-event partnership, beginning with KFL’s 8th event on 18 July at the Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre, Colombo.

The agreement, signed at an official ceremony attended by representatives from both organisations including Ruhunu Hospital Assistant Medical Director and Specialist in Family Medicine Dr. Hasara Kulatunga, marks the first time a private hospital of this standing has entered a structured, long-term partnership with a combat sports organisation in Sri Lanka.

Ruhunu Hospital brings considerable institutional weight to the table. Established in 1995 and operating out of Karapitiya, Galle, the hospital is the largest private healthcare facility in the Southern Province, with over 150 specialist consultants, four operating theatres, and a nine-unit ICU facility. The institution is currently executing a national expansion strategy anchored around preventative healthcare, and its alignment with a high-performance sport reflects that strategic direction.

For KFL, founded in 2023, the partnership represents a maturation of the league’s commercial and operational framework. Sanctioned by the International Sport Kickboxing Association (ISKA) and featuring competitors across the region, KFL has established itself as South Asia’s largest K-1 fight night organisation, with plans to expand into MMA and other combat sports formats. Ruhunu Hospital joins as title sponsor of KFL 008, and the formal integration of a medical institution of Ruhunu Hospital’s calibre into its event infrastructure elevates athlete welfare standards and strengthens the broader combat sports ecosystem in Sri Lanka, signalling to the corporate market that the sport is experiencing significant growth in viewership and commercial interest.

Dr. Hasara Kulatunga said: ‘As Ruhunu Hospital expands its national footprint, we are proud to support platforms that champion human potential. This partnership reflects our vision of advancing health, performance, and community impact across Sri Lanka.’

The partnership will officially commence at KFL 008, where the organisation expects its largest audience to date. The event is headlined by Sonam Zomba, India’s reigning MFN Champion and the number one ranked pound-for-pound female fighter in South Asia, who faces a Pakistani opponent in an anticipated matchup that the region is watching closely. The fight night reflects KFL’s growing regional ambitions and its ability to attract international competitive talent at the highest level.

KFL 008 will be broadcast live on KFL’s official YouTube channel. To experience it live at SLECC, tickets are available from Rs. 3,000 at KFL’s official website: tickets.karmafightleague.com.

Sterling announced the official launch of its electric mobility drive, revealed at the Colombo EV Motor Show 2026 recently at the BMICH. Through strategic partnerships with Livan Automotive and Henan Henrey Automobile Technology Co., Ltd., Sterling introduced the Livan RL8 and Henrey MinCar models to the Sri Lankan market in the capacity of Authorised Distributor.

The partnership marks Sterling Automobiles’ formal entry into the electric vehicle (EV) sector. Sterling Automobiles operates as the parent company’s specialised arm for sustainable transportation, leveraging Sterling’s established warranty programs and aftercare network to support international EV brands locally.

‘In Sri Lanka, we see a growing demand for electric vehicles but also concerns about service support and ownership confidence,’ said Sterling Automobiles Executive Director Ravi Perera. He added that through their partnership with Livan and Henrey via Sterling Automobiles, would bring proven global manufacturers together with local service infrastructure. ‘Our goal is making daily commuting sustainable and worry-free for families, and business owners,’ he added.

Livan RL8 comes through Livan Automotive, a joint venture between Qianli Technology and Geely Qizheng under Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. The local brand ideology of, ‘All The Way’, reflects the combination of global automotive expertise with intelligent mobility solutions. Designed for modern family life, the Livan RL8 is a seven-seater electric MPV with a driving range of up to 430 kilometres per charge. Supported by the technological expertise of the Geely ecosystem, it combines comfort, practicality and value as the most affordable seven-seater electric MPV in its category.

A significant part of Livan Automotive’s expansion strategy involves partnering with distributors who understand local markets. Sterling’s Aftercare ecosystem provides the foundation for successful EV adoption and the RL8 will cater to Sri Lankan consumers looking for reliable, technology-driven mobility.

Henrey MinCar is manufactured by Henan Henrey Automobile Technology Co., Ltd. founded in 2010 in Beijing’s Zhongguancun Science and Technology Park. With more than a decade of independent EV innovation, Henrey focuses on accessible, low-carbon mobility designed around everyday life. Positioned as both practical and affordable, the Henrey MinCar is designed for first-time vehicle owners and those looking to transition from two-wheel deliveries to four-wheel ride-hailing opportunities, with an impressive range of up to 285 kilometres per charge, with fast – charging capabilities. Positioned as one of the most affordable electric vehicles in the Sri Lankan market, the Henrey MinCar is purpose-built for everyday urban commuting, with an estimated running cost of approximately Rs. 4.00 per kilometre.

A core differentiator for both brands is integration into Sterling’s local service network. The Sterling Aftercare ecosystem covers technical expertise, maintenance support, and service availability across multiple locations locally. Sterling Warranty coverage ensures long-term ownership confidence, addressing one of the primary concerns for new EV adopters in Sri Lanka.