Today (07), Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya convened a meeting with senior officials from key government institutions, under the Ministry of Technology, and public sector institutions providing information technology services.

The Prime Minister underscored the importance of advancements in science and technology within the ministry and reviewed the ongoing progress of IT services to foster Sri Lanka’s development. Key discussion topics included digitization efforts, the integration of artificial intelligence, and current challenges to IT development in the public sector.

Pradeep Saputantri Secretary to the Prime Minister, Secretary of the Ministry of Education, science, and Technology Ms.Thilaka Jayasundara, additional secretaries A.K. R. Alawatta, H. W. K. Atawoodage, Sri Lanka Telecom CEO Janaka Abeysinghe, CEO of the Information and Communication Technology Agency, Mahesh Perera, CEO of Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Response Forum Kanishka Karunasena, Director General of Sri Lanka Standards Institute Siddhika G. Senaratne, Director General of Sri Lanka Data Protection Authority Varuna Sri Dhanapala, and other representatives have been participated.

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ආචාර්ය හරිනි අමරසූරිය සහ විද්‍යා හා තාක්ෂණ අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ නිලධාරීන් අතර හමුවක්.​

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ආචාර්ය හරිනි අමරසූරිය, ඊයේ (07) විද්‍යා හා තාක්ෂණ අමාත්‍යාංශය යටතේ ඇති ප්‍රධාන රාජ්‍ය ආයතනවල සහ තොරතුරු තාක්ෂණ සේවා සපයන රාජ්‍ය අංශයේ ආයතනවල ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ නිලධාරීන් සමඟ හමුවක් කැඳවා තිබිණි.

අමාත්‍යාංශය තුළ විද්‍යාව හා තාක්‍ෂණය භාවිතයේ වැදගත්කම අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරිය මෙහිදී අවධාරණය කළ අතර ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ සංවර්ධනය නංවාලීම සඳහා තොරතුරු තාක්ෂණ සේවාවන්හි පවතින ප්‍රගතිය පිළිබඳවද සමාලෝචනයක නිරත විය.

නව රජයේ ඩිජිටල්කරණ ප්‍රයත්නය සහ රාජ්‍ය අංශයට නවීන තාක්ෂණය මුසු කිරීමේදී කෘත්‍රිම බුද්ධිය භාවිතා කිරීමේ ඇති හැකියාව සහ තොරතුරු තාක්ෂණ අංශයේ සංවර්ධනය සඳහා වන වත්මන් අභියෝග පිළිබඳවද මෙම හමුවේදී සාකච්ඡා කෙරිණ.

මෙම අවස්ථාවට අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ලේකම් ප්‍රදීප් සපුතන්ත්‍රි, අධ්‍යාපන, විද්‍යා හා තාක්ෂණ අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම් තිලකා ජයසුන්දර, අතිරේක ලේකම්වරුන් වන ඒ.කේ. ආර් අලවත්ත, එච් ඩබ්ලිව් කේ අතාවුදගේ, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ටෙලිකොම් ප්‍රධාන විධායක නිලධාරී ජානක අබේසිංහ, තොරතුරු හා සන්නිවේදන තාක්ෂණ නියෝජිතායතනයේ ප්‍රධාන විධායක නිලධාරී මහේෂ් පෙරේරා, ශ්‍රී ලංකා පරිගණක හදිසි ප්‍රතිචාර සංසදයේ ප්‍රධාන විධායක නිලධාරී කණිෂ්ක කරුණාසේන, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ප්‍රමිති ආයතනයේ අධ්‍යක්ෂ ජනරාල් සිද්ධිකා ජී සේනාරත්න, ශ්‍රී ලංකා දත්ත ආරක්ෂණ අධිකාරියේ අධ්‍යක්ෂ ජෙනරාල් වරුණ ශ්‍රී ධනපාල යන මහත්ම මහත්මීන් ඇතුළු නියෝජිතයින් සහභාගී විය.

Digiecon Global Investment Summit 2024 is scheduled happen on the 25th of June in Colombo & The Media Conference about this event was held at the President’s Media Center.

DigiEcon Global Investment Summit 2024 will focus on connecting domestic and foreign investors with Sri Lanka’s leading tech startups, allowing them to showcase their innovative products and services.

It will also facilitate knowledge sharing between the government and industry, thereby supporting the vision of Sri Lanka becoming a digital-first nation.

The summit will include a host of activities, such as keynote address by subject matter experts, panel discussions involving government and industry representatives, and one-to-one interactions between investors and startups. The event will delve into subjects, such as emerging technologies, fintech, and the potential of the digital economy.

his summit is a must-attend for investors, innovators, and policymakers interested in Sri Lanka's thriving tech scene. Ministry of Technology of Sri Lanka is organizing the event in association with Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sri Lanka Ministry of Investment Promotions & also Finance Ministry.

The event will be powered by Mastercard and the industry partners for the event will be Computer Society of Sri Lanka (CSSL), BCS The Chartered Institute for IT (Sri Lanka Section), SLASSCOM and FITIS.

The Ministry of Technology proudly announced the successful launch of AI Clubs in Schools, marking a significant step towards enhancing AI literacy among young students. The initiative, part of the National AI Strategy 2024-2028, aims to promote AI knowledge and skills, preparing students for a future where AI competencies will be crucial for success.

The initiative is a collaborative effort involving the Ministry of Technology, the Ministry of Education, AIClub, SLASSCOM, and IronOne. Dr. Nisha Talagala, a world-renowned pioneer in AI literacy and the CEO of AIClub, leads the programme. Her extensive experience and leadership are pivotal to the success of this initiative. Hon Kanaka Herath addressing the gathering said “Our National AI Strategy is a five-year roadmap designed to address the challenges of AI adoption and take AI to the grassroots level. The Ministry of Technology is launching AI clubs in schools nationwide along with the Ministry of Education to promote AI literacy and innovation, with the aim of creating a thriving AI ecosystem in Sri Lanka that benefits all sectors of society.”

The combination of this world-class platform, the expertise of AIClub, the involvement of the private sector and development agencies, and the strong leadership and commitment from policymakers and administrators positions Sri Lanka to be on par with advanced countries in AI literacy at the school level if the pilot program is successfully scaled up. The vision is for all schools in Sri Lanka, across all parts of the country, and covering all demographics, to have access to AI education.

The event was graced by the Minister of Education Hon. (Dr.) Susil Premajayantha, the State Minister of Technology Hon. Kanaka Herath, Chairman of the National AI Committee Dr. Romesh Ranawana, CEO of AI Club Dr. Nisha Talagala, Secretary of Ministry of Education Ms. Thilaka Jayasundara and Secretary Ministry of Technology Dr. Dharmasri Kumaratunge. Further, many dignitaries from both government and private sectors attended the event & it was witnessed by over 300 school students.

Meeting was held to discuss regarding the implementation plans of IT park concept in the country with the officials of Ministry of Industry Promotion, SLASSCOM and Ministry of Technology. Meeting was co chaired by State ministers of Ministry of Industry Promotion and Ministry of Technology.

විදුලි සංදේශ නියාමන පනතේ 22 වගන්තිය යටතේ ශ්‍රී ලංකාව තුළ චන්ද්‍රිකා තාක්ෂණය ඔස්සේ අන්තර්ජාල පහසුකම් සේවාව සැපයීම සඳහා "Starlink" ස්ටර්ලින්ක් ආයතනය වෙත ශ්‍රී ලංකා විදුලි සංදේශ නියාමන කොමිෂන් සභාවේ මූලික අනුමැතිය අද ලබාදීමට කටයුතු කළා.

චන්ද්‍රිකා තාක්ෂණය ඔස්සේ මේ ආකාරයට අන්තර්ජාල පහසුකම් මෙම අන්තර්ජාල සේවාව ලබාගැනිම සඳහා පාසල් දරුවන්ට, ධීවර ජනතාවට හා පර්යේෂකයන්ට සහන පැකේජයක් ලබාදීමට ජනාධිපති රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහතා උපදෙස් ලබාදී තිබෙනවා. ඒ පිළිබඳ ඉදිරියේදී සැලසුම් සකස් කරනවා.

ශ්‍රී ලංකා විදුලි සංදේශ නියාමන කොමිෂන් සභාවේ අධ්‍යක්ෂ ජනරාල් මධුසංක දිසානායක මහතා සහ තාක්ෂණ පර්යේෂණ අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම් ආචාර්ය ධර්ම ශ්‍රී කුමාරතුංග මහතාද මෙම මාධ්ය සාකච්ඡාවට එක්විය.

Approval Granted for “Starlink” to Provide Satellite-Based Internet Services in Sri Lanka

Approval Granted for “Starlink” to Provide Satellite-Based Internet Services in Sri Lanka The President has instructed the introduction of relief packages for the education and fishing sectors. State Minister of Technology, Kanaka Herath, announced that the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) has granted preliminary approval for ‘Starlink’ to provide satellite-based internet services in Sri Lanka.

The State Minister emphasized that a two-week period has been allocated for a formal public consultation process regarding the approval of this internet service. Following this period, the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission will take steps to implement the service in Sri Lanka.

State Minister Kanaka Herath shared these remarks during a special media briefing held today (06) at the Presidential Media Centre (PMC).

The minister emphasized that this initiative will deliver a fast internet service as well as to the education, research, tourism, fisheries, and agriculture sectors, while also providing global access via this internet facility.

During his participation in the high-level session of the 10th World Water Conference in Indonesia, President Ranil Wickremesinghe held discussions with renowned businessman Mr. Elon Musk regarding expediting the application process to connect Sri Lanka with the “Starlink” network.

Consequently, “Starlink” has received approval to provide internet services via satellite technology.

Currently, approximately 2000 “Starlink” network centres are operational worldwide, providing high-speed internet access to 32 countries.

State Minister of Technology, Kanaka Herath, further said,

Starting today, we are collaborating with Starlink to provide internet facilities via satellite technology, marking a significant transformation in the technology sector. Unlike the limited internet facilities provided by towers, this satellite-based technology allows for internet connectivity from virtually anywhere. This represents a major advancement in the field of technology.

This internet facility offers significant benefits to education, research, tourism, agricultural and fisheries sectors by delivering the fastest internet service through this innovative technology. The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka has approved Starlink to offer satellite-based internet services. A fourteen -day period has been allocated for public consultation, and action will be taken within two weeks following this consultation period.

Under Section 22 of the Telecommunications Act, internet services will be provided via satellite technology. President Ranil Wickremesinghe has instructed that a relief package be made available to school children, fishermen, and researchers to ensure they can access this internet service. Plans for implementing this relief package are currently being prepared.

Director General of Sri Lanka Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, Madusanka Dissanayake,

“Starlink” is not yet established as a telephone network company in Sri Lanka. However, the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission has approved it under Sections 17 and 22 of the Telecommunications Regulatory Act, granting it a frequency license. The Act will be amended in the future to issue a Telecommunication Service provider license.

The initial setup or the registration cost, for this service ranges between US$ 400 and US$ 600, with a monthly fee of US$ 99. The satellite technology allows for internet access anywhere in the world and offers speeds several times faster than the existing fibre technology in Sri Lanka. This will significantly enhance the technology sector in the country. Secretary of the Ministry of Technology and Research Dr. Dharma Sri Kumaratunga also attended the event.

State Minister of Technology Kanaka Herath announced that the TRCSL has granted preliminary approval for Starlink to provide satellite-based internet services in Sri Lanka, following a formal public consultation process.

The Sinhala Press Release is annexed herewith, Tamil & English Press Releases will follow

• Details : https://bit.ly/4bSoXpR
• Photos Link : https://we.tl/t-0Ztk9cLPGn
• Video Link : https://we.tl/t-LmOTuLmP7R

කුඩා හා මධ්‍ය පරිමාණ ව්‍යාපාර සඳහා තාක්ෂණික නවෝත්පාදනය කෙරෙහි අවධානය යොමු කරවීමේ සුවිශේෂී වැඩසටහනක් 2024 ජූනි 3 දින අරණායක ප්‍රාදේශීය ලේකම් කාර්යාලයේදී පැවැත්විණ. ඒ සඳහා 250 අධික දේශීය ව්‍යවසායකයින් සහභාගී විය.

මෙහිදී මොවුන්ට GMP සහතික ලබාගැනීම පිළිබඳ ව්‍යවසායකයින් දැනුම්වත්කිරීම (ශ්‍රී ලංකා ප්‍රමිති ආයතනය), අන්තර්ජාලය හරහා වෙළඳ පහසුකම් ලබා ගැනීම පිළිබඳ දැනුවත් කිරීම හා Freelancing පිළිබඳ හදුන්වා දීම (ICTA), ව්‍යවසායකයන් වෙනුවෙන් හදුන්වා දී ඇති තාක්ෂණික යන්ත්‍රෝපකරණ පිළිබඳ දැනුම්වත් කිරීම (NERD) සිදුවිය.

මෙයට තාක්ෂණ අමාත්යංශ ලේකම් ධර්මශ්‍රී කුමාරතුංග, අතිරේක ලේකම් AKR අලවත්ත යන මහත්වරු මෙන්ම, අපනයන සංවර්ධන මණ්ඩලය (EDB), කාර්මික සංවර්ධන මණ්ඩලය (IDB), විදාතා අංශය, සමූපකාර සංවර්ධන දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව, ලංකා බැංකුව හා මහජන බැංකුව ආදී ආයතන වල නියෝජිතයින් ද මේ සඳහා සහභාගි විය.

Digiecon Global Investment Summit 2024 is scheduled happen on the 25th of June in Colombo & The Media Conference about this event was held at the President’s Media Center.

DigiEcon Global Investment Summit 2024 will focus on connecting domestic and foreign investors with Sri Lanka’s leading tech startups, allowing them to showcase their innovative products and services.

It will also facilitate knowledge sharing between the government and industry, thereby supporting the vision of Sri Lanka becoming a digital-first nation.

The summit will include a host of activities, such as keynote address by subject matter experts, panel discussions involving government and industry representatives, and one-to-one interactions between investors and startups. The event will delve into subjects, such as emerging technologies, fintech, and the potential of the digital economy.

his summit is a must-attend for investors, innovators, and policymakers interested in Sri Lanka's thriving tech scene. Ministry of Technology of Sri Lanka is organizing the event in association with Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sri Lanka Ministry of Investment Promotions & also Finance Ministry.

The event will be powered by Mastercard and the industry partners for the event will be Computer Society of Sri Lanka (CSSL), BCS The Chartered Institute for IT (Sri Lanka Section), SLASSCOM and FITIS.

Uber, the global ride hailing and food and grocery delivery platform, hosted ‘Uber Springboard’, an initiative to encourage Sri Lankan start-ups to strengthen the country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

With support from the Technology Ministry, government of Sri Lanka, Uber has selected three start-ups from a tech start-up competition that are set to travel to Uber’s centre of excellence in India for a mentorship programme.

As part of DIGIECON 2030, Uber’s tech leaders interacted with 26 Sri Lankan start-ups and provided feedback and guidance. After a rigorous evaluation process, the jury of Uber Springboard has selected three start-ups for further mentorship, which include KReader, ManKiwwa and Megic.

At the showcase event in Colombo, the start-up founders shared their story with Technology Ministry Secretary Dharmasri Kumaratunge, who was the guest of honor for the event. US Embassy Economic Officer Andrew Shinn and Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) Associate Chief Digital Economy Officer Sachindra Samaratne also lent support to the initiative.

Commenting on the initiative, Technology State Minister Kanaka Herath said, “I want to applaud Uber for their outstanding efforts in recognising start-ups in Sri Lanka. I am also deeply grateful to the Government of Telangana for extending a special invitation to these startups to attend the Telangana Global AI Summit. This exposure to cutting-edge knowledge will be invaluable.”

The long-awaited amended Bill to revise the Telecommunications Regulatory Act, after 28 years, will be submitted to Parliament today.

Previously, regulations concerning undersea cables were non-existent. Now, legislation addressing this matter has become feasible, revealed State Minister for Technology Kanaka Herath during a briefing at the Presidential Media Centre.

He also outlined plans for the formulation of the National Cyber Security Act.

Hon. Minister said the user base across all social networks has surged from 60 to 74 million. However, there is an imperative for a National Cyber Security Act. Consequently, plans are underway to draft the pertinent legislation by May 2024.

Additionally, collaborative efforts involving 29 Government agencies, alongside Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (SL CERT), have been undertaken to strengthen cyber security, resulting in the implementation of five projects.

The State Minister also said the Cabinet approval has endorsed the National Digital Strategy 2030, featuring six key points. Among these, the initial focus is on infrastructure, connectivity, access, skills, literacy, industries, jobs, and establishing a connected digital government.

Moreover, emphasis is placed on cyber security, data security, privacy, digital financial services, and the digitization of small and medium-sized businesses. Additionally, a global project promotion conference, in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Investment Promotion is scheduled for 25th June, 2024.

Minister of Technology Hon. Kanaka Herath had a visit to the University College Computing (UCSC) to review the significant advancements in AI research underway.

Dr. Ajantha Athukorala, Director of the University's Department of Computing, and Professor Kasun de Soyza, provided a thorough overview of the projects.

Notably, research efforts by faculty, undergraduate and postgraduate students are strategically aligned with the national priorities set by the Ministry of Technology along with the GOSL.

Following this, the team toured the research laboratory, including a fascinating exhibit of vintage computer equipment used by the university since 1967, highlighting the institution's rich history in computing.

The visit included Dr. Dharmasri Kumaratunge -Secretary Ministry of Technology, AI Strategy Committee Chairman Dr. Romesh Ranawana, Committee Member Dr. Srinath Perera, Ministry of Technology Development Director Janaka Geekiyanage and Ministry of Technology Information Technology Director - Chanaki Mallikarachchi.