The Hon. Thanura Dissanayake

¶ 01 Hon. Chairman, at a time when the Jathika Jana Balawegaya Government is transforming many sectors, I am pleased to share a few thoughts as we discuss Budget Heads of several Ministries that are key to the world’s current transformations.

¶ 02 Sri Lanka missed many technological shifts and global changes over past decades. Our challenge now is to align policy, human capital and the State machinery so our economy can integrate with the modern world. Much of human activity is now digitized. Moving forward requires solid frameworks, platforms and infrastructure.

¶ 03 We have introduced GovPay as a platform now integrated with many banks and fintechs. We must enhance digital platforms and applications and ensure connectivity, especially in rural areas. We plan 100 new communication towers per year, with five-year tax holidays to encourage rollout. We have enacted and amended the Personal Data Protection Act and established the Data Protection Authority, building the governance and regulatory base.

¶ 04 We declared September 2025 as Digital Economy Month—our theme being to accelerate and lay the foundation to make Sri Lanka a digitally empowered nation. We set an ambitious target to expand the digital economy to US$15 billion by 2030—challenging, but achievable—taking it beyond 12% of GDP. We are accelerating renewed and new digital projects.

¶ 05 On the energy side, powering digitalization demands reliable, affordable, greener energy. AI and data centres are growing globally; we are reforming the power sector for quality and cost, and building a base to attract data centres through cheaper, green energy.

¶ 06 We held “Disrupt Asia 2025” (Sept 17–20) for startups and innovation ecosystems, the Sri Lanka FinTech Summit on digital financial inclusion and solutions, and the National AI Expo. We are extending these efforts over 100 days, engaging globally, with institutions and the public, to plan next steps in digital transformation.

¶ 07 In early 2026 we will commence awareness on Sri Lanka’s Unified Digital Identity (SLUDI) and aim to introduce the digital ID by Q3 2026, to spur economic activity and ease citizens’ lives.

¶ 08 We also introduced a core digital payments system for transport. A personal experience: previously, to access the President’s Fund, one had to come to Colombo and queue. Last year, about 3,000 beneficiaries were processed. We decentralized via an online system through Divisional Secretariats; now qualified applicants receive benefits within about two weeks. We have roughly 6,000 requests already, including many who submitted on our public day and received benefits promptly.

¶ 09 This year’s Budget is structured to digitize government and improve lives, taking maximum measures to build a digital nation. Thank you for the extra time.