Sri Lanka’s Debt Path After Restructuring: Why Stock Relief Is Not Enough
Sri Lanka has crossed the hardest miles of debt restructuring. Eurobonds were exchanged in December 2024. Bilateral deals have advanced with Japan, India, and others. According to IMF Mission Chief Evan Papageorgiou, only about US$500 million of the US$28 billion “under the perimeter” remains to be finalised. That is real progress. It is not, by […]
International Day for Universal Access to Information: Why Sri Lanka Must Lead on Environmental Transparency
Universal access to information is not symbolic. It is the operational backbone of accountability, climate resilience, and investment certainty. A new global statement issued in Manila on 29–30 September 2025 places environmental information at the centre of the right to know. It urges governments to proactively publish data, strengthen oversight, and remove barriers to timely […]
Essential medicines in Sri Lanka: where the chain breaks today
Sri Lanka still runs a fragile medicine supply chain. Imports account for most items, so any policy, forex, or logistics shock turns into stock-outs at the ward. The crisis of 2022 exposed systemic weaknesses. Many remain. The following map shows the binding constraints today and the quickest levers to relieve them. 1) Planning and demand […]
Corruption: Patterns, Signals, and Systemic Dynamics
Corruption rarely distributes evenly across a public sector. It clusters where discretion, value, and opacity intersect. That triad explains why certain interfaces carry outsized risk compared with routine services. It also explains why public perception often diverges from the locations of greatest fiscal harm. Citizens notice corruption where they stand in queues or meet officers. […]
Rightsizing the Public Sector: World Bank’s Roadmap for Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s fiscal crisis has forced a difficult debate: how to balance essential public services with the need to cut spending and stabilise debt. In its Public Finance Review 2025, the World Bank urges the government to “trim” the public sector, not through sudden layoffs, but through a careful process of rightsizing and efficiency reforms. […]
Overhauling Sri Lanka’s Outdated Statistics Law: A Blueprint for Credible Data and Modern Governance
Sri Lanka’s official statistics still rest on the Statistics Ordinance of 1957. That law was written for a world of paper surveys and manual tabulation. In 2025 it no longer supports the country’s need for accurate, timely and trusted data. An overhaul of the national statistics law is overdue. Why the 1957 Law Fails The […]
Nepal’s Political Upheaval and Lessons from Sri Lanka’s 2022 Crisis
Nepal is in turmoil. On 9-10 September 2025, youth-led anti-corruption protests escalated after a sweeping social media ban. At least 19 people were killed, a nationwide curfew was declared, and Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli resigned. Kathmandu airport shut down temporarily, forcing flight diversions, and the government rolled back the ban as it lost […]
Sri Lanka’s Public Transport Upgrade: Long Overdue, Still Possible
The Daily Struggle of Sri Lanka’s Public Transport Sri Lanka’s Public Transport | For millions of Sri Lankans, buses and trains are not a choice—they are the only way to get to work, school, or home. Yet anyone who has squeezed into a packed bus or waited endlessly for a delayed train knows how broken […]
AI and Policy: Sri Lanka at the Crossroads of Innovation
AI and Policy in Sri Lanka | AI or Artificial Intelligence, has become the buzzword of the decade. From voice assistants on smartphones to complex algorithms that power global financial markets, AI is shaping the way the world works. For Sri Lanka, a nation balancing economic recovery with ambitions of becoming a modern hub in […]
Tax Digitisation in Sri Lanka: Progress or Pitfall?
Tax Digitisation in Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka is entering a crucial phase in its economic reform journey. Among the many measures rolled out to increase state revenue, the digitisation of the tax system is one of the most ambitious. The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has pushed forward with online filing, e-payments, and digital platforms […]
