COLOMBO : ormer Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy noted that the maiden budget of the new government is very constructive since it has been very well crafted in every aspect.
He made these observations delivering the keynote address under the theme “Structural Reforms for Crisis Driven Poverty Reduction” at the Centre for Poverty Analysis (CEPA) forum on crisis driven poverty, held in Colombo yesterday (27). It was jointly organized by the CEPA and Asian Development Bank (ADB).
He said that the budget can be identified as a well crafted balanced budget. Moreover, it paves the way for having a sound fiscal policy and macro economic framework. “In my view I think it is a very constructive budget, which consists of good sound policies for the growth of trade and investments. When talking about the poverty alleviation dimension, a significant and decent amount of funds have been allocated amounting to 604 billion rupees,” he noted.
Besides, the allocation on education and education related research sectors is 619 billion rupees. The allocation for Aswesuma and other social and welfare facilities is 234 billion rupees whilst the allocation for food security and agriculture sector is 254 billion rupees. There has been a clear policy direction and a shift in policy direction aiming to increase support for serious multidimensional cash transferring activities, he added.
Speaking on the digitization programme, Dr. Coomaraswamy said that the government is very committed to the digitization effort, which brings many benefits to the entire country.
“That commitment on the digitization programme, paves the way for economic boost, increasing state revenue whilst reducing leakages. It significantly increases state revenue and fiscal ratio for poverty and multidimensional activities. The single window policy will increase efficiency of state employees since that is something that needs to be implemented to increase the quality of public service ,” he added.
Meanwhile, CEPA announced the appointment of Dr. Coomaraswamy alongside Dr. Herath Gunatilake and Dr. Ganeshan Wignaraja, who are well known economists as Senior Advisors of CEPA. These appointments bring a wealth of expertise to CEPA, reinforcing its commitment to evidence-based policy research and sustainable development in Sri Lanka.
Welcoming the new leadership, CEPA’s Executive Director Dr. Sirimal Abeyratne stated that CEPA has a vital role to play in shaping Sri Lanka’s economic and development policies through rigorous research and analysis. “The expertise of Dr. Coomaraswamy, Dr. Gunatilake, and Dr. Wignaraja will be invaluable in strengthening CEPA’s impact and guiding evidence-based solutions for national and regional challenges. With this strengthened leadership, CEPA is well-positioned to drive impactful policy research and contribute to Sri Lanka’s economic and social development,” he added.CDN
