The Hon. Chathuranga Abeysinghe - Deputy Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development

¶ 01 Hon. Chairman, this Ministry is the heart of the economy, taking the country towards growth. We must shift from failed neoliberal economics to development economics, and this Government is making those critical changes.

¶ 02 The Opposition, which now lectures us, left a Rs. 2 trillion Budget deficit and a US$8 billion trade deficit that triggered currency issues and pushed us to borrow ISBs — US$12 billion from 2015–2019 alone — contributing to bankruptcy, alongside mismanagement and corruption.

¶ 03 We have presented a Budget to enable recovery within IMF constraints that we must work with for three years to return to repayments by 2029. Our hands are tied on taxes, but we can optimize and prioritize. We are improving tax collection efficiency, widening the net, and choosing taxes with least harm to people and investment to reach 15.1% of GDP in revenue. We are cutting wasteful expenditure. For example, in our Ministry, line‑item spending of the Minister over four months was Rs. 11 million versus Rs. 28 million last year.

¶ 04 Given constraints on tax policy, we pursue expansionary policy through expenditure. The Rs. 110 billion public sector salary increase will directly boost consumption and reduce service disruptions. Welfare packages — Rs. 749 billion — will lift aggregate demand. As Keynes noted, government spending per se stimulates the economy. Growth this year will come via Rs. 1.3 trillion in capital expenditure and direct transfers.

¶ 05 We are investing Rs. 21 billion in digital transformation to enhance transparency, expand the tax net, and improve the ease of doing business — something past governments failed to do. We plan Rs. 433 billion on roads and transport, with construction’s multiplier effects and industrialization spillovers. Private investment in energy will aim to cut energy costs by one‑third in the coming years. About Rs. 39 billion is allocated to support SMEs. Health and education investments, including Rs. 15.1 billion for technical skills, will power the next growth phase. R&D is also prioritised.

¶ 06 We will not sell SOEs wholesale. Instead, through PPPs and strategic investments we will strengthen them to increase Treasury revenues. The idea that markets alone solve everything has failed globally, even in the US. This Budget positions the State, co‑operatives and private sector together to ensure competition that benefits consumers, under proper regulation.

¶ 07 We are opening to FDI for technology, capital and market needs — especially in energy, maritime opportunities under the Blue Economy, and private‑led industrial parks — for both foreign and local investors.

¶ 08 This is a historic shift after 1997, aiming to reach heights achieved by India, Vietnam and South Korea. We leave behind neoliberalism and corrupt political culture, moving to a development state role: building a strong base in production, agriculture, exports and trade, and strengthening co‑operatives. This Budget is integrated across Ministries. We invite industrialists to join this strategy.

¶ 09 Thank you.