02. DECLARATION OF A NATIONAL INVENTORS' DAY
When a country develops from the middle-income status to a higher income status, it is believed that new inventions provide a major contribution;therefore, it is the mandate of the country to provide all facilities and encouragement to them. The proposal made by Hon. Susil Premajayantha, Minister of Science, Technology and Research, to declare 26th of October which is the birthday of Deshabandu Dr. A N S Kulasinghe, Eminent Civil Engineer, Inventor, the 1st Commissioner of the Inventors' Commission and the founder of several engineering organizations as the National Inventors' Day, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
03. SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY & RESEARCH EDUCATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAMME WITH FACILITIES FOR PROTOTYPE MANUFACTURING OF SOLAR PANELS
Government's policy is to develop renewable energy resources (other than hydro) to 20% of total power generation by the year 2020. Accordingly, with the intention of assisting the rapidly developing solar power related industries, a group of about 2,000 students including University undergraduates and postgraduates from science, technology and engineering streams, vocational training colleges, former military veterans, and GCE A/L qualified high school leavers will be provided with hands-on advanced training for research and development of solar cells, manufacturing solar panels, and installation and services of solar power generation systems.The proposal made by Hon. Susil Premajayantha, Minister of Science, Technology and Research, to enter into MoUs with the University of Illinois and Sivananthan Laboratories Inc. in USA for obtaining consultation and guidance on the above purpose and to establish relevant research and training facilities in universities of Peradeniya, Jaffna, Ruhuna and Kelaniya, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
04. REHABILITATION OF ROADS UNDER CHINA DEVELOPMENT BANK FUNDED PRIORITY ROADS PROJECT 3 – PHASE II
The proposal made by Hon. Lakshman Kiriella, Minister of Higher Education and Highways, to develop 20 roads of 128.85 km in length in Central and Sabaragamuwa Provinces under the above project, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
05. CONSTRUCTION OF RESEARCH AND TRAINING COMPLEX AT THE FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE, UNIVERSITY OF JAFFNA
Japanese government has agreed to provide a grant of 1,667,000,000 Japanese Yen (Approximately Rs. 2,100 million) for the above purpose. The main objective of this project is to improve research programmes, education and promotion activities in dry zone agriculture in Northern Province in an effective manner. In addition it is expected to increase the number of specialized fields under the Faculty of Agriculture in order to meet the future demand in major agricultural sectors such as Animal Science, Crop Science, Agricultural Chemistry, Agricultural Biology, Agricultural Engineering and Agricultural Economics etc. The proposal made by Hon. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his capacity as the Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs, to enter into a grant agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency for the implementation of the above project, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
06. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA AND THE MINISTRY OF DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE OF THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF SRI LANKA ON COMPREHENSIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF INVESTMENT, ECONOMIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL AGREEMENT
Sri Lanka has taken steps to encourage Chinese investors to promote investments in Sri Lanka through non-traditional financial methods by directing the relationship between the two countries in a new path. Accordingly the proposal made by Hon. Malik Samarawickrama, Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade, to sign the above MoU during the official visit of the Hon. Prime Minister to China, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
07. PAYMENT OF COMPENSATION FOR THOSE WHO ARE AFFECTED DUE TO LAND ACQUISITIONS MADE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES IMPLEMENTED BY THE METRO COLOMBO URBAN DEVELOPMENT PROJECT UNDER THE MINISTRY OF MEGAPOLIS AND WESTERN DEVELOPMENT
Objectives of the above project include flood control in Colombo metropolitan area and suburbs, infrastructure development and institutional development. Fifty six sub projects have been implemented under the said project. Most of the construction and rehabilitation work proposed under this project are to be implemented in main cities and in highly populated areas and it has also been planned to acquire private lands for the proposed project activities. Thejoint proposal made by Hon. Ravi Karunanayake, Minister of Finance and Hon. Patali Champika Ranawaka, Minister of Megapolis and Western Development, to adopt Land Acquisition (Payment of Compensation) Regulations published in the Gazette Extra Ordinary No. 1864/54 dated 30.05.2014 for payment of compensations for affected persons by the above project, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
08. ESTABLISHMENT OF A BUDDHIST REVIVAL FUND
Sri Lanka has about 12150 Buddhist Temples and 750 out of them maintain Pirivenas. There are about 150 Forest Hermitages island-wide as well. These temples render an invaluable service to protect the cultural heritage related to Buddhist religious traditions and to promote the knowledge of the priests as well as laymen throughout the Pirivena education. However Bikkhus face many difficulties in rendering their social services and many of the expenses are unbearable by temples. Though the Ministry of Buddha Sasana, Department of Buddhist Affairs and the Ministry of Education make a substantial contribution towards management of physical resources it is restricted to annual budgetary allocations. The Venerable Sangha have pointed out the need to establish and maintain a Fund that could be utilized under a formal methodology, to make use of various income and donations in addition to the direct contributions made by the government. The proposal made by H.E. the President Maithripala Sirisena, to establish the above fund as "Buddhist Revival Fund" and to facilitate selected Buddhist monasteries on a common policy, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
09. PROGRAMME UNDER IMPLEMENTATION IN 2016 IN RELATION TO THE NATIONAL FOOD PRODUCTION PROGRAMME (2016-2018)
The proposal made by H.E. the President Maithripala Sirisena, on providing seeds and planting materials for subsidiary crop production free of charge in the Yala Season, promoting toxin-free cultivation by encouraging farmers and facilitating the sale of their harvest, operation of the overall programme, supervision, follow-up and progress review at provincial, district and divisional level related to the activities to be carried out in 2016 under the National Food Production Programme, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
10. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN CENTRAL BANK OF SRI LANKA AND THE CHINA DEVELOPMENT BANK
The proposal made by Hon. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his capacity as the Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs, to sign the above MoU during the official visit of the Hon. Prime Minister to China in view of maintaining financial stability of the country, enhancing liquidity of the market and promoting the development of agriculture and infrastructure in Sri Lanka, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
11. CRITERIA FOR CONSIDERATION FOR APPOINTMENT OF CHAIRMAN AND BOARDS OF DIRECTORS OF STATE OWNED ENTERPRISES
The lack of a clear-cut policy directives with regard to management of Public Enterprises, failure to delegate decision-making to senior management, absence in commercial consideration in business decisions, political interference in appointment if staff, failure to adopt practical guidelines for the selection and failure to adopt practical guidelines for appointment of management level officers have been identified as some of the key constraints to improve performance of Public Enterprises. Hence, it is a timely need to adopt a formal and transparent method in such appointments. The proposal made by Hon. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his capacity as the Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs, to adopt criteria on professional and management experience, maximum age limits, provisions for prevention of conflicts of interest, disqualifications, prepared by the committee appointed by H.E. the President in making recommendations for such appointments, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
12. SIGNING OF THE PARIS AGREEMENT ON CLIMATE CHANGE
Signing Ceremony of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change is scheduled to be held on 22 April 2016 at the UN headquarters, New York. In addition the UN General Assembly on the World Drug Problem and the High Level Thematic Debate on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals will also be held on preceding days. The proposal made by H.E. the President Maithripala Sirisena, to entrust Hon. Susil Premajayantha, Minister of Science, Technology and Research to sign the above agreement and to participate in said other functions in line with the ceremony, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
