The Hon. (Dr.) Chrishantha Abeysena - Minister of Science and Technology

¶ 01 Madam Deputy Chairperson, I must first express disappointment. Today’s Committee Stage debate concerns the Votes of our Ministry and the Ministry of Digital Economy, yet almost no Opposition Member commented substantively on science and technology. I am not surprised; the Opposition often peddles unscience—remember the “infertility kotthu,” charms, “infertility undergarments,” and “Dhammika paniya.” They lack a vision for science and technology.

¶ 02 Under the NPP, our policy platform is now government policy. Our vision is that expenditure on science and technology is an investment. We will fund quality research that is economically integrated—research that increases national income, earns dollars, substitutes imports with domestic production, and scales exports.

¶ 03 We set research priorities across sectors, allocate funds accordingly, and insist on rigorous scientific evaluation and protocols. We also emphasize innovation and its commercialization; we have allocated Rs. 1,000 million for that in this Budget.

¶ 04 We have many institutions, some working in silos with overlapping functions. A key task is inter-institutional coordination—not only administratively, but practically on research. Other ministries also oversee research entities; we are building coordination across all ministerial research arms.

¶ 05 For example, on elephant fences, many studies exist with good findings. We are now validating evidence and moving to policy. We have engaged the Ministry of Environment and its officials to develop solutions to human–elephant conflict, compiling policy briefs with all relevant agencies.

¶ 06 On elephant–train collisions, we convened all relevant parties, including Sri Lanka Railways, Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies, and NERD. We learned we do not need to import certain braking systems; we can manufacture them domestically. We also agreed to improve rail gate technologies at crossings and establish cross-training among institutions.

¶ 07 In fisheries, we will raise productivity through applied research and compile policy briefs with responsible officials.

¶ 08 On medicine: we have strong traditional (Hela) medicine with established remedies, but need scientific evidence. We have formed teams to research and generate such evidence and make these treatments available domestically and abroad. In Western medicine, innovators have developed new medicines and devices, but commercialization lags—we are addressing that too.

¶ 09 On renewable energy: we have integrated sources like solar into the grid; we also have promising thermal resources with evidence that must be advanced.