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

¶ 01 Madam Chair, thank you. This first NPP Budget operationalizes policies developed over four years. The Opposition’s scare tactics about economic collapse were rejected by the people; now they lack a platform.

¶ 02 Their model was to divide trillions among cronies, privatize gains, socialize losses, and bankrupt the country. Our economic vision—clearly in the NPP manifesto—works within IMF constraints for three years, then targets rapid growth like Vietnam, South Korea, India from 2029. We pursue a production economy using four modes: full competition, regulation, state intervention, and market organization—mobilizing state, private, and cooperative sectors.

¶ 03 Key pillars: - Ease of Doing Business reforms (stalled for years): Tariff policy, new Customs Act, Statistics Act, Solvency Act, and Rs. 21 billion for digital economy—transparency curbs corruption. - Reduce production costs: energy pricing, improve public transport, rational tariff policy on imported inputs, and strengthen supply chains in export and agro-industries. Allocate Rs. 11 billion for agro-industrial inputs and fisheries production, and promote cooperatives. - Investment promotion: clear PPP path for ports, power, oil tank development, and industrial zones. Allocate Rs. 13.7 billion to prepare industrial lands. - Infrastructure: roads, industrial parks, and Rs. 9 billion for port development; invest in digital infrastructure. - SME support: about Rs. 90 billion across the Budget to boost SMEs, start-up ecosystem, and productivity. - Human capital: Rs. 15 billion for skills development; record education allocation (1.9% of GDP). - Global integration: suitable trade agreements and effective use of diplomatic missions to promote trade and investment. - Development finance: reestablish development banking architecture; government to inject Rs. 1.3 trillion into the economy this year, catalyzing over 2% growth from this channel alone. - R&D and commercialization: fund research and link universities to industry to create globally competitive products and services. - Exports: target US$19 billion this year, ensuring gains diffuse via SMEs and eliminating rent-seeking.

¶ 04 This Budget ends the old neoliberal model and marks the first step back to a development-focused economy, with deeper changes in 2026–2028. Our challenge is to seed these reforms within 8–9 months—we have the strength and resolve to do it.