Google has agreed to provide the features of its AI platform, Gemini and other related benefits for free to students from mid-October, and the move is the culmination of months of efforts between the Digital Finance Ministry and Google Company, modern digital Honorable Deputy Minister of Digital Finance Eranga Weeraratne informed that this will be initiated with the purpose of providing tools and educational resources.
The National AI Exhibition and Conference 2025 at Monak Imperial on 29 September 2025 was organized by the Ministry of Digital Finance and SLT-MOBITEL together, this two-day conference and exhibition marks a huge step for this country to build a robust AI ecosystem.
This is positioned as a conference with national and regional importance, will accelerate the integration of artificial intelligence through key aspects of the economy and thereby building Sri Lanka as a regional AI center.
Attending the event as the chief guest, Hon. Prime Minister, Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, showed the government's plan for advancing AI innovations and positioning Sri Lanka as a hub for digital transformation.
Also attending the event, the Hon. Deputy Minister of Digital Economy Mr. Eranga Weerarathne delivered a keynote lecture where he showed the government's vision for a digitally empowered nation and emphasized the role of AI in leading economic growth and innovation.
The exhibition is scheduled to be held tomorrow, in collaboration with government leadership and industry and global partners. Accordingly, the conference and exhibition will mark a crucial moment in the journey to Sri Lanka to make it a future-ready AI center.
Honorable, Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Minister Sunil, Digital Finance Ministry Secretary (Wa.) for this event. B) Varuna Sri Dhanapala, Sri Lanka Telecom, Mobitel Chairman, Dr. Mothilal De Silva and ministry officers, home and foreign scholars were together.
National AI Exhibition and Conference 2025 Kicks Off — Marking a New Chapter in Sri Lanka’s Digital Journey The inaugural National AI Exhibition and Conference 2025 officially commenced on 29 September 2025 at the Monarch Imperial, marking a major milestone in Sri Lanka’s path toward building a vibrant and future-ready AI ecosystem. Jointly organized by the Ministry of Digital Economy and SLT-MOBITEL, this landmark two-day event is positioned as a platform of national and regional significance. It aims to accelerate the integration of artificial intelligence across key economic sectors, paving the way for Sri Lanka to emerge as a regional AI hub.
Gracing the opening ceremony as Chief Guest, Hon. Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Training, outlined the government’s vision to advance AI innovation and lead the country’s digital transformation journey.
Delivering the keynote address, Hon. Eng. Eranga Weeraratne, Deputy Minister of Digital Economy, shared the government’s strategy for building a digitally empowered nation, emphasizing the critical role of AI in driving economic growth, innovation, and national competitiveness.
The exhibition will continue tomorrow, bringing together government leadership, industry stakeholders, and global partners. This inaugural conference and exhibition marks a defining moment in Sri Lanka’s journey to becoming a future-ready AI hub, showcasing the nation’s commitment to embracing artificial intelligence as a national priority.
The event was graced by Hon. Sunil Handunnetti, Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development; Mr. Waruna Sri Dhanapala, Secretary (Acting) to the Ministry of Digital Economy; Dr. Motilal de Silva, Chairman of Sri Lanka Telecom and Mobitel; along with senior ministry officials, and a distinguished gathering of local and international Guests.
In connection with the 2025 Sri Lanka Financial Technology Summit (FinTech Summit) held at BMICH on 24th and 25th September, a special discussion was held between Deputy Minister of Digital Finance Hon. Eranga Weeraratne and CEO of PhonePe, India. The discussion highlighted the importance of regional collaboration and knowledge sharing in Sri Lanka's digital transformation journey.
India's successful transition to a noteless economy, the dialogue focused on key sectors including strategies to empower citizens with low digital literacy to embrace digital payments, and identify challenges with practical solutions for widely expansion. They also emphasized the crucial role of digital payments in expanding smooth financial streams across the economy.
The discussion will mark an important milestone for learning from the most successful uses globally and shaping the path in Sri Lanka towards an all-inclusive and efficient digital economy. Mr. Sumudu Ratnayake, Advisor of Digital Finance Ministry and Mr. Jeffrey Sulfur, ICTA Director were also present in the event.
In parallel with the Sri Lanka FinTech Summit 2025, held on the 23rd and 24th of September at BMICH, a special discussion took place between Hon. Eng. Eranga Weeratne, Deputy Minister of Digital Economy, and Mr. Ritesh Pai, CEO of PhonePe, India. This high-level exchange underscored the importance of regional collaboration and knowledge sharing in advancing Sri Lanka’s digital transformation journey.
The dialogue focused on key areas, including India’s successful transition towards a cashless economy, strategies to empower citizens with low digital literacy to embrace digital payments, and identifying challenges with practical solutions to drive wider adoption. They also emphasized the critical role digital payments play in ensuring smooth financial flows across the economy.
This discussion marks another significant milestone in learning from global best practices and applying those insights to shape Sri Lanka’s path towards a more inclusive and efficient digital economy. Also present at the occasion were Mr. Sumudu Rathnayaka, Advisor to the Ministry of Digital Economy, and Mr. Jiffry Zulfer, Director of ICTA.
The international conference organized by the Global Dialogue Forum (GDF) and the Roman Society of India on “Strengthening Green Energy, Food Security and Cyber Security” was successfully held last September 20 at Galle Muwadora Hotel Colombo.
Sri Lanka became a hub for global policy dialogues at the meeting, with the presence of Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia and ASEAN representatives, emphasizing the transformative power of AI in the fields of green energy, agriculture, financial and cyber security.
A number of global and local policymakers, innovators and experts attended this conference where, shared their vision and ideas on finding solutions to challenges faced by AI around the world. Attending the event, Deputy Minister of Digital Economy Hon. Eranga Weerarathne explained her vision for a sustainable and greener digital future. Also, presented by retired Lutenant General Arun Sahni, Secretary General of Roman Society of India regarding strategic vision. Opening lecture Indonesia Air First Marshal Dr. Ir. Many local and global experts including Moses Manoharan (Chairman, GDF), Asela Medicalankara (Chief of Cyber Security and AI Policy) and Mayura Malagala (Deloit Sri Lanka) attended this.
The Global Dialogue Forum (GDF), in collaboration with the Club of Rome – India, successfully hosted its international conclave on AI in Powering Green Energy, Food Security & Cybersecurity on 20th September at the Galle Face Hotel.
This full-day event brought together global policymakers, academics, innovators, and industry leaders to explore how artificial intelligence can help address some of the world’s most pressing challenges. With participants representing Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, and across ASEAN, the conclave firmly positioned Colombo as a hub for global policy dialogue. Discussions underscored AI’s transformative potential in green energy, agriculture, finance, and cybersecurity, emphasizing the importance of collaboration to build inclusive, secure, and sustainable societies.
Hon. Deputy Minister of Digital Economy, Eranga Weeraratne, graced the occasion and shared his vision for building a resilient and green digital future powered by AI. Strategic insights were provided by Lt. Gen. Arun Sahni (Retd), Secretary General of the Club of Rome – India, while the inaugural address was delivered by Air First Marshal Dr. Ir. Arwin Sumari of Indonesia. Local and international experts, including Moses Manoharan (Chairman, GDF), Asela Waidyalankara (Cybersecurity & AI Policy Leader), and Mayura Malagala (Deloitte Sri Lanka), contributed valuable perspectives on regulation, ethics, and responsible AI adoption.
Opening of National Cyber Security Operations Center (NCSOC) and introduction of National Cyber Security Strategy (2025-2029) under the leadership of the President.
ජාතික සයිබර් ආරක්ෂණ මූලෝපාය (2025- 2029) හඳුන්වා දීම සහ ජාතික සයිබර් ආරක්ෂණ මෙහෙයුම් මධ්යස්ථානය (NCSOC) විවෘත කිරීම ජනපති ප්රධානත්වයෙන්
• ඩිජිටල්කරණය තුළින් අපට දියුණු රාජ්යයන් සමඟ සමාන්තරව ගමන් කළ හැකියි
රට ආර්ථික වශයෙන් ඉදිරියට ගෙන යාමට නම් සියලු ක්ෂේත්රවල කාර්යක්ෂමතාව සහ විනිවිදභාවය තහවුරු කළ යුතු බවත්, වත්මන් රජයේ ඩිජිටල්කරණ වැඩපිළිවෙළ ශ්රී ලංකාව ආර්ථික මෙන්ම සමාජයීය වශයෙන් නව තලයකට ඔසවා තැබෙන වැඩපිළිවෙළක් බවත් ජනාධිපති අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක මහතා පැවසීය. ජනාධිපතිවරයා මේ බව සඳහන් කළේ, ජාතික සයිබර් ආරක්ෂණ මූලෝපාය (2025- 2029) හඳුන්වා දීම සහ ජාතික සයිබර් ආරක්ෂණ මෙහෙයුම් මධ්යස්ථානය (NCSOC) විවෘත කිරීමේ අවස්ථාවට අද (19) පෙරවරුවේ කොළඹ බණ්ඩාරනායක අනුස්මරණ ජාත්යන්තර සම්මන්ත්රණ ශාලාවේදී එක් වෙමිනි.
ඩිජිටල් ආර්ථික පරිවර්තන වැඩපිළිවෙළෙහි සුවිශේෂී අවස්ථාවක් ලෙස ආරක්ෂිත, විශ්වාසනීය සහ සියලු පුරවැසියන් ආවරණය කෙරෙන ඩිජිටල් පරිසර පද්ධතියක් නිර්මාණය කිරීමේ අරමුණ ඇතිව ශ්රී ලංකා පරිගණක හදිසි ප්රතිචාර සංසදය (Sri Lanka CERT), ඩිජිටල් ආර්ථික අමාත්යාංශය සමඟ එක්ව ලෝක බැංකුවේ තාක්ෂණික සහායද ඇතිව ශ්රි ලංකාවේ ජාතික සයිබර් ආරක්ෂණ මූලෝපාය 2025-2029 හඳුන්වා දී තිබේ.
සයිබර් ආරක්ෂණය සඳහා අවශ්ය නීති සහ පරිපාලන රාමුව සකස් කිරීම, සයිබර් ආරක්ෂණය පිළිබඳ දැනුම සහ කුසලතාවලින් පරිපූර්ණ වූ ශ්රම බලකායක් නිර්මාණය කිරීම, මහජනතාවගේ සහ පාසල් දරුවන්ගේ සයිබර් ආරක්ෂණය පිළිබඳ දැනුම සහ ආකල්ප වර්ධනය, රාජ්ය ආයතනවල සයිබර් ආරක්ෂණ සූදානම වැඩිදියුණු කිරීම, ශ්රී ලංකා සර්ට් ආයතනයේ ධාරිතාව වැඩිදියුණු කිරීම, තීරණාත්මක ඩිජිටල් යටිතල පහසුකම් පවත්වාගෙන යන ආයතන ආරක්ෂා කිරීම සහ ආරක්ෂිත සයිබර් අවකාශයක් නිර්මාණය කිරීම සඳහා විවිධ පාර්ශ්ව සමඟ සහයෝගීතාව වර්ධනය කිරීම මෙම මූලෝපාය මගින් අපේක්ෂා කෙරේ. අද ආරම්භ කෙරුණු ජාතික සයිබර් ආරක්ෂණ මෙහෙයුම් මධ්යස්ථානය මගින් ආගමන හා විගමන දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව, මෝටර් රථ ප්රවාහන දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව, දේශීය ආදායම් දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව ඇතුළු තීරණාත්මක ඩිජිටල් යටිතල පහසුකම් පවත්වා ගෙන යන ආයතන 37ක් දවසේ පැය 24 පුරා නිරික්ෂණය කරමින්, ඒවාට එල්ල වන සයිබර් ප්රහාර හදුනාගැනීමට කටයුතු කරනු ඇත.
සයිබර් තර්ජන, අවදානම් සහ ආක්රමණ අඛණ්ඩව නිරීක්ෂණය කිරීමෙන් සහ සුදුසු පාර්ශ්වකරුවන්ට වහාම දැනුම් දීමෙන් රජයේ සයිබර් පද්ධති සහ පොදු ඩිජිටල් සේවා ආරක්ෂා කිරීම මෙහි වගකීමයි.
ශ්රී ලංකාවේ ඩිජිටල් පද්ධතියේ ආරක්ෂාව සහ ඔරොත්තූ දීමේ හැකියාව වැඩිදියුණු කිරීම, සයිබර් සහ අවදානම් සඳහා පුර්ව අනතුරු ඇඟවීම සහ වේගවත් ප්රතිචාර සැපයීම, ආරක්ෂිත ඩිජිටල් මෙහෙයුම් පවත්වාගෙන යාම සඳහා රාජ්ය ආයතන සහ පෞද්ගලික අංශයට සහාය වීම සහ දැනුවත් කිරීම මෙම මධ්යස්ථානය මගින් සිදු කරනු ඇත. මෙහෙයුම් අඛණ්ඩතාව, වේගවත් ප්රතිචාර, අඩු පිරිවැය, අනුකූලතාව සහ විශ්වාසය මෙහි ප්රතිලාභ වේ. මෙම ජාතික සයිබර් ආරක්ෂණ මූලෝපාය (2025- 2029) ඩිජිටල් ආර්ථික කටයුතු පිළිබඳ නියෝජ්ය අමාත්ය එරංග වීරරත්න මහතා විසින් ජනාධිපති සහ ඩිජිටල් ආර්ථික අමාත්ය අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක මහතා වෙත පිළිගන්වනු ලැබීය.
මෙහිදී අදහස් දැක් වූ ජනාධිපතිවරයා වැඩිදුරටත් සඳහන් කළේ තාක්ෂණය සහ විද්යාව අත්පත් කරගන්නා ජයග්රහණ වේගයෙන් උකහා ගැනීමට සමත් රාජ්ය ඉතා ඉක්මනින් දියුණුවේ හිණි පෙත්තටම ගමන් කරන බවයි. මෙම ජාතික සයිබර් ආරක්ෂණ පද්ධතිය අපේ රටේ ජාතික ආරක්ෂාවටත්, ජාතික ආර්ථිකයටත්, පුරවැසියන්ගේ ජීවන රටාව පිළිබඳ ආරක්ෂණයේදීත් ඉතා වැදගත් කාර්යයක් ඉටු කරනු ඇතැ’යි ජනාධිපතිවරයා වැඩිදුරටත් සඳහන් කළේය. මෙහිදී අදහස් දැක් වූ ජනාධිපති අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක මහතා මෙසේද පැවසීය.
අපි අද සුවිශේෂි කාර්යයකට මුල පුරනවා. අපි මේ විවෘත කරනු ලැබුවේ හුදු ගොඩනැඟිල්ලක්, කාර්යාලයක් පමණක් නොවෙයි. ඩිජිටල්කරණය පිළිබඳව අපි ශක්තිමත් ගමනක් යනවා නම්, ඒ සඳහා ආරක්ෂිතභාවය, ශක්තිමත්භාවය සහ විශ්වාසනීයත්වය අත්යවශ්ය වෙනවා. ඒ සඳහා අවශ්ය වන සයිබර් ආරක්ෂණ පද්ධතිය තමයි අද අපි විවෘත කරනු ලැබුවේ. එය අපේ රටේ ඩිජිටල් ආර්ථික ගමනේදි ඉතා වැදගත් අවස්ථාවක්.
අපි දේශපාලනිකව බැලුවත් ලෝක ආර්ථිකයේ ගමන් මඟ දෙස බැලුවත් එහි ප්රධාන සාධකය වන්නේ, ඒ මොහොතේ තාක්ෂණය සහ විද්යාව විසින් අත්පත් කරගන්නා ජයග්රහණය වේගයෙන් උකහා ගැනීමට සමත් රාජ්ය ඉතා ඉක්මනින් දියුණුවේ හිණි පෙත්තට ගමන් කරනවා. තාක්ෂණයේ සහ විද්යාවේ දියුණුව වේගයෙන් අත්පත් කර ගැනීමට අසමත් වූ රාජ්ය, ඒ හා සමාන ලෙසම පරිදියේ තවත් ඈතට තල්ලු වෙනවා. මම හිතනවා ලංකාව ලෙස අප මුහුණ දී තිබෙන අර්බුදය තිබෙන්නේ ඒ තුළයි.
අපි කවුරුත් දන්නවා බොහෝ සංකල්ප නිර්මාණය වුණේ 16 සහ 17 වන සියවස්වල. හැබැයි, මේ සංකල්පමය වශයෙන් ගොඩනැගුණු බොහෝ දේ යථාර්ථයක් බවට පත් වූයේ විසි වන සියවසේදීයි. සෞඛ්ය ක්ෂේත්රය අත්පත් කරගත් ජයග්රහණ, දේශපාලනය හුදු රාජ-ධුරාවලියකින් පාලනය වූ ලෝකයක ජනතාවගේ සහභාගීත්වයෙන් ප්රජාතන්ත්රවාදී පාලකයන් තෝරා පත් කර ගැනීම, ඒ වගේම මිනිස් සබඳතාවල නව ස්වරූප මේ සියල්ල ප්රායෝගික තලයට ගෙන ආවේ 20 වන සියවසේදීයි. ඒ අනුව, 20 වන සියවස අගභාගයේ සිට මේ ඩිජිටල්කරණ වූ ලෝකය විශාල කාර්යභාරයක් ඉටු කිරීමට පටන් ගත්තා.
අපිට තෝරා ගත හැකි මාවත් දෙකක් තිබෙනවා. එහි පළමුවැන්න මේ ඩිජිටල්කරණය ඉතා වේගයෙන් උකහාගෙන එය ප්රායෝගික යථාර්ථයක් බවට පත් කර ගැනීම. එවිට අපිට දියුණු රාජ්ය සමඟ සමාන්තරව ගමන් කළ හැකියි. එම තාක්ෂණික ජයග්රහණ නිසි පරිදි අත්පත් කර ගැනීමට අසමත් වීම තුළින් ලෝකයෙන් තවදුරටත් අප ඈත්වෙමින් යනවා.
මේ නවීන තාක්ෂණය විසින් අත්පත් කර ගන්නා ලද දැනුම, නව මෙවලම්, නව පද්ධති වේගයෙන් අපේ රාජ්යයට කැඳවාගෙන ආ යුතුයි. ඒ නිසා තමයි අපේ රජයේ ප්රධාන වැඩපිළිවෙළක් ලෙස ඩිජිටල්කරණය හඳුනාගෙන තිබෙන්නේ. ඒ වෙනුවෙන් විද්වතුන්, වෘත්තීයවේදීන් විශාල කැපවීමකින් කටයුතු කරනවා.
අපේ රාජ්ය සේවය සැලකිය යුතු ප්රමාණයකින් නටබුන් වූ ඉතිහාසයකට උරුමකම් කියනවා. 70 දශකයේ අපිට ප්රෞඪ රාජ්ය සේවයක් තිබු බවට උදම් අනන අපි ප්රෞඪත්වය තුළම සිර වී නටබුන් රාජ්යයකට උරුමකම් කියනවා. ඒ නිසා මේ ඩිජිටල්කරණය මඟින් නටබුන් වූ රාජ්ය යාන්ත්රණය වඩා කාර්යක්ෂම රාජ්ය යාන්ත්රණයක් බවට පරිවර්තනය කළ යුතුයි. විශේෂයෙන් රාජ්ය යාන්ත්රණය විසින් පුරවැසියාට ලබා දෙනු ලබන සේවාව කාර්යක්ෂම කළ යුතුයි. තෘප්තිමත්, කාර්යක්ෂම රාජ්ය සේවයක් ලබා දීමට නම් නව පද්ධති නිර්මාණය කොට එහි කාර්යක්ෂමතාවේ ප්රතිලාභ ජනතාවට ලබා දිය යුතුයි. ඒ වගේම විනිවිදභාවය ඉතා වැදගත් වෙනවා. අපේ රාජ්ය යාන්ත්රණය ගැඹුරුම අර්බුදයකට මුහුණ දී තිබෙනවා විනිවිදභාවය කියන කාරණයේදී. මිලදී ගැනීම්, ප්රදානය කිරීම, බඳවා ගැනීම්, ප්රතිපත්තිමය තීන්දු තීරණවලදී එය දැඩිව බලපානවා. ඒ නිසා මේ විනිවිදභාවය තහවුරු කිරීමේදීත් මේ ඩිජිටල්කරණය ඉතා වැදගත් වෙනවා.
ඒ වගේම, මිනිස් අවශ්යතා සපුරා ගැනීමේ දී මෙන්ම නව වෙළෙඳපොළ සහ ආර්ථික අවස්ථා නිර්මාණය කිරීමේදී ඩිජිටල්කරණය ඉතා වැදගත් වෙනවා. එහිදී ව්යාපාරිකයින්ට ඩිජිටල්කරණය මඟින් නව වෙළෙඳපොළ අත්පත් කර ගැනීමට හැකියාව ලැබෙනවා. මෑත කාලයේ දියුණුව අත්පත් කර ගත් රාජ්ය සහ පෞද්ගලික ආයතන දෙස බැලුවත් මේ නවෝත්පාදන මගින් නව වෙළෙඳපොළ නිර්මාණය කර ගෙන තිබෙනවා. ඒ නිසා ව්යාපාරික ලෝකයටත් මෙය ඉතා වැදගත් වෙනවා. ආර්ථික වශයෙන් රටක් ඉදිරියට ගෙන යාමට නම් සමාජ ජීවිතය කාර්යක්ෂම කළ යුතුයි. එය සිදුවන්නේ ඩිජිටල් ආර්ථිකය හරහායි. තවදුරටත් සිර කළ ජීවිතයක් වෙනුවට, නිදහස් පරිසරයක තමන්ගේ දෛනික අවශ්යතා සපුරාගත හැකි මෙවලම් මේ ඩිජිටල්කරණයෙන් නිර්මාණය වෙනවා. ඒ නිසා රාජ්ය සේවයේදීත්, ව්යාපාර ලෝකයේදීත්, සාමාන්ය පුරවැසියන් දෙස බැලුවත් මෙය තමයි අපේ ආර්ථිකයේ ප්රධාන මූලෝපාය බවට පත් විය යුත්තේ.
ඇතැමුන් කියනවා මිනිස්සු යන්ත්ර බවට පත් වේවි, මිනිසුන්ගේ හැගීම නැති වේවි කියලා සංවාද ගොඩනඟනවා. එහෙම වෙන්නේ නැහැ. මිනිසුන් ස්වභාවිකවම හැගුම්බරයි, සමාජ සබඳතාවලින් පිරි තිබෙනවා. ඒ නිසා මේ දිශාව තමයි මාවත, මෙහිදී සිදු විය හැකි අනතුරු වළක්වා ගැනීම සඳහා වූ ප්රවේශය වන්නේ ශක්තිමත් ජාලයක් නිර්මාණය කර ගැනීමයි. එම තාක්ෂණය තුළින්ම එය නිර්මාණය කරගත හැකියි.මෙය තවදුරටත් දියුණු විය යුතුයි. දැන් අත්පත් කරගෙන තිබෙන දැනුම විසින්ම නව දැනුම උත්පාදන කරනු ලබනවා . වේගයෙන් එම පරිවර්තනය සිදු වෙනවා. ඒ නිසා මෙය ගතික දෙයක්. මීට පෙර කොටු පවුරක් බැඳ තර්ජනයට මුහුණ දිය හැකියි. හැබැයි, සයිබර් ආරක්ෂණ පද්ධතිය කොටු පවුරක් නොවෙයි. මෙය නිරන්තරයෙන් තර්ජනයට මුහුණ දිය හැකියි, නිරන්තරයෙන් එය වළක්වා ගැනීමට අවධානය යොමු කළ යුතුයි. ඒ නිසා මේ ජාතික සයිබර් ආරක්ෂණ පද්ධතිය අපේ රටේ ජාතික ආරක්ෂාවත්, ජාතික ආර්ථිකයත්, පුරවැසියන්ගේ ජීවන රටාව පිළිබඳ ආරක්ෂණයේදීත් ඉතා වැදගත් වෙනවා. ඒ සඳහා දායකත්වය දැක් වූ විද්වතුන්, වෘත්තීයවේදීන් සියලුදෙනාට ස්තූතිය පළ කරමින්, මේ ගනු ලැබු පියවර තවත් ශක්තිමත්ව ඉදිරියට ගෙන යාමට සුභාසිංසන පළ කරනවා.
ඩිජිටල් ආර්ථික කටයුතු පිළිබඳ නියෝජ්ය අමාත්ය එරංග වීරරත්න, ආරක්ෂක නියෝජ්ය අමාත්ය විශ්රාමික මේජර් ජෙනරාල් අරුණ ජයසේකර, ඩිජිටල් ආර්ථිකය පිළිබඳ ජනාධිපති ජ්යෙෂ්ඨ උපදේශක සහ තොරතුරු හා සන්නිවේදන තාක්ෂණ නියෝජිතායතනයෙහි සභාපති ආචාර්ය හාන්ස් විජේසූරිය, ලෝක බැංකුවේ ජ්යෙෂ්ඨ ඩිජිටල් සංවර්ධන විශේෂඥ Ida S Mboob යන මහත්ම මහත්මීහුද, අග්රාමාත්ය ලේකම් ජී. ප්රදීප් සපුතන්ත්රි, ඩිජිටල් ආර්ථික අමාත්යාංශයේ වැඩබලන ලේකම් වරුණ ශ්රී ධනපාල, ශ්රී ලංකා සර්ට් ආයතනයේ සභාපති තිලක් පතිරගේ,ශ්රී ලංකා සර්ට් ආයතනයේ ප්රධාන විධායක නිලධාරී (වැඩබලන) ආචාර්ය කණිෂ්ක කරුණාසේන යන මහත්වරු සහ ක්ෂේත්රයේ ප්රවීණයන්, විද්වතුන් ඇතුළු පිරිසක්ද මෙම අවස්ථාවට එක්ව සිටියහ.
ஜனாதிபதியின் தலைமையில் தேசிய சைபர் பாதுகாப்பு மூலோபாயத்தை (2025 - 2029) அறிமுகம் செய்தல் மற்றும் தேசிய சைபர் பாதுகாப்பு செயற்பாட்டு மத்திய நிலையத்தை (NCSOC) திறந்து வைக்கும் நிகழ்வு
• டிஜிட்டல் மயமாக்கல் மூலம், முன்னேறிய நாடுகளுக்கு இணையாக நாமும் முன்னேற முடியும்
நாட்டை பொருளாதார ரீதியாக முன்னோக்கி கொண்டு செல்ல வேண்டுமாயின், அனைத்து துறைகளிலும் செயல்திறன் மற்றும் வெளிப்படைத்தன்மை உறுதி செய்யப்பட வேண்டும் என்றும், தற்போதைய அரசாங்கத்தின் டிஜிட்டல் மயமாக்கல் திட்டம் இலங்கையை பொருளாதார ரீதியாகவும் சமூக ரீதியாகவும் புதிய நிலைக்கு உயர்த்தும் ஒரு திட்டமாகும் என்றும் ஜனாதிபதி அநுரகுமார திசாநாயக்க தெரிவித்தார். தேசிய சைபர் பாதுகாப்பு மூலோபாயத்தை (2025 - 2029) அறிமுகம் செய்தல் மற்றும் தேசிய சைபர் பாதுகாப்பு செயற்பாட்டு மத்திய நிலையத்தை (NCSOC) திறந்து வைக்கும் நிகழ்வில் இன்று (19) முற்பகல் கொழும்பு பண்டாரநாயக்க சர்வதேச மாநாட்டு மண்டபத்தில் கலந்துகொண்டபோதே ஜனாதிபதி இதனைக் குறிப்பிட்டார்.
டிஜிட்டல் பொருளாதார மாற்றத் திட்டத்தில் ஒரு தனித்துவமான சந்தர்ப்பமாக பாதுகாப்பான, நம்பகமான மற்றும் அனைத்துப் பிரஜைகளையும் உள்ளடக்கிய வகையில் டிஜிட்டல் சுற்றுச்சூழல் கட்டமைப்பை உருவாக்கும் நோக்கத்துடன், இலங்கை கணனி அவசர தயார்நிலை குழு (CERT), டிஜிட்டல் பொருளாதார அமைச்சுடன் இணைந்து உலக வங்கியின் தொழில்நுட்ப ஆதரவுடன், இலங்கையின் தேசிய சைபர் பாதுகாப்பு மூலோபாயத்தை (2025-2029) அறிமுகப்படுத்தியுள்ளது.
சைபர் பாதுகாப்பிற்கு தேவையான சட்ட மற்றும் நிர்வாக கட்டமைப்பை உருவாக்குதல், சைபர் பாதுகாப்பு அறிவு மற்றும் திறன்களைக் கொண்ட ஒரு தொழிற் படையை உருவாக்குதல், பொதுமக்கள் மற்றும் பாடசாலை மாணவர்களிடையே சைபர் பாதுகாப்பு குறித்த அறிவு மற்றும் மனப்பாங்கை வளர்த்தல், அரச நிறுவனங்களில் சைபர் பாதுகாப்பு தயார்நிலையை மேம்படுத்துதல், இலங்கை செர்ட் நிறுவனத்தின் திறனை மேம்படுத்துதல், முக்கியமான டிஜிட்டல் உட்கட்டமைப்பு வசதிகளை பேணும் நிறுவனங்களைப் பாதுகாத்தல் மற்றும் பாதுகாப்பான சைபர்வெளியை உருவாக்குவதற்காக பல்வேறு தரப்பினருடனான ஒத்துழைப்பை மேம்படுத்தல், இந்த மூலோபாயம் ஊடாக எதிர்பார்க்கப்படுகிறது.
இன்று ஆரம்பிக்கப்பட்ட தேசிய சைபர் பாதுகாப்பு செயற்பாட்டு மத்திய நிலையத்தின் மூலம் குடிவரவு மற்றும் குடியகல்வுத் திணைக்களம், போக்குவரத்துத் திணைக்களம் மற்றும் உள்நாட்டு இறைவரித் திணைக்களம் உள்ளிட்ட முக்கியமான டிஜிட்டல் உட்கட்டமைப்பு வசதிகளை பேணும் 37 நிறுவனங்களை 24 மணிநேரமும் கண்காணித்து, அவற்றுக்கு விடுப்படும் சைபர் அச்சுறுத்தல்களை அடையாளம் காண நடவடிக்கைகள் மேற்கொள்ளப்படும். சைபர் அச்சுறுத்தல்கள், பாதிப்புகள் மற்றும் ஊடுருவல்களைத் தொடர்ந்து கண்காணித்து, பொருத்தமான தரப்பினர்களுக்கு உடனடியாகத் தெரிவிப்பதன் மூலம் அரசாங்க சைபர் கட்டமைப்புகள் மற்றும் பொது டிஜிட்டல் சேவைகளைப் பாதுகாப்பது இதன் பொறுப்பாகும். இலங்கையின் டிஜிட்டல் கட்டமைப்பின் பாதுகாப்பு மற்றும் தாங்கும் திறனை மேம்படுத்தல், சைபர் மற்றும் அச்சுறுத்தல்களுக்கு முன்கூட்டியே எச்சரிக்கை விடுத்தல் மற்றும் விரைவாக பதிலளித்தல், பாதுகாப்பான டிஜிட்டல் செயல்பாடுகளைப் பேண அரச நிறுவனங்கள் மற்றும் தனியார் துறைகளுக்கு ஆதரவு வழங்கல் மற்றும் தெளிவூட்டல் இந்த மத்திய நிலையத்தால் முன்னெடுக்கப்படும். செயல்பாட்டுத் தொடர்ச்சி, விரைவான பதிலளிப்புகள், குறைந்த செலவுகள், இணக்கத்தன்மை மற்றும் நம்பிக்கை ஆகியவை இதன் பிரதிபலன்கள் ஆகும்.
இந்த தேசிய சைபர் பாதுகாப்பு மூலோபாயம் (2025-2029) டிஜிட்டல் பொருளாதார பிரதி அமைச்சர் எரங்க வீரரத்னவினால் ஜனாதிபதியும் டிஜிட்டல் பொருளாதார அமைச்சருமான அநுரகுமார திசாநாயக்கவிடம் கையளிக்கப்பட்டது.
இதன்போது கருத்துத் தெரிவித்த ஜனாதிபதி, தொழில்நுட்பம் மற்றும் விஞ்ஞானத்தால் கிடைக்கும் வெற்றிகளை விரைவாக உள்வாங்கிக் கொள்ளக்கூடிய நாடுகள், மிக விரைவாக முன்னேற்றத்தை நோக்கி நகரும் எனவும் குறிப்பிட்டார். இந்த தேசிய சைபர் பாதுகாப்புக் கட்டமைப்பு நமது நாட்டின் தேசிய பாதுகாப்புக்கும், தேசிய பொருளாதாரத்திற்கும், பிரஜைகளின் வாழ்க்கை முறையைப் பாதுகாப்பதிலும் மிக முக்கிய பங்கு வகிக்கும் என்றும் ஜனாதிபதி மேலும் தெரிவித்தார்.
நிகழ்வில் உரையாற்றிய ஜனாதிபதி அநுரகுமார திசாநாயக்க மேலும் கூறியதாவது: இன்று நாம் ஒரு சிறப்பான பணியைத் தொடங்குகிறோம். நாம் வெறுமனே ஒரு கட்டிடத்தையோ அல்லது அலுவலகத்தையோ திறக்கவில்லை. டிஜிட்டல் மயமாக்கலை நோக்கி நாம் ஒரு வலுவான பயணத்தை மேற்கொள்ள வேண்டுமென்றால், பாதுகாப்பு, வலிமை மற்றும் நம்பகத்தன்மை அவசியம். இன்று, அதற்குத் தேவையான சைபர் பாதுகாப்பு கட்டமைப்பை நாம் ஆரம்பித்து வைத்துள்ளோம். நமது நாட்டின் டிஜிட்டல் பொருளாதார பயணத்தில் இது ஒரு மிக முக்கியமான தருணம் ஆகும்.
அரசியலைப் பார்த்தாலும் சரி, உலகப் பொருளாதாரத்தின் தன்மையைப் பார்த்தாலும் சரி, முக்கிய காரணி என்னவென்றால், அந்த நேரத்தில் தொழில்நுட்பம் மற்றும் விஞ்ஞானத்தின் வெற்றிகளை விரைவாக உள்வாங்கக்கூடிய நாடுகள் மிக விரைவாக வளர்ச்சியின் விளிம்பை நோக்கி நகர்கின்றன. தொழில்நுட்பம் மற்றும் விஞ்ஞானத்தின் முன்னேற்றங்களை விரைவாக உள்வாங்கத் தவறும் நாடுகள் அதேபோன்று பின்தள்ளி விடப்படுகின்றன. இலங்கை என்ற ரீதியில் நாம் எதிர்நோக்கும் நெருக்கடி அதில்தான் அடங்கியுள்ளது என நான் நினைக்கிறேன்.
16 மற்றும் 17 ஆம் நூற்றாண்டுகளில் பல கருத்தியல்கள் உருவாக்கப்பட்டன என்பதை நாம் அனைவரும் அறிவோம். ஆனால், இந்த கருத்தியல் ரீதியாக கட்டமைக்கப்பட்ட பல விடயங்கள் இருபதாம் நூற்றாண்டில்தான் யதார்த்தமாகின. அரசியல் வெறும் அரசாட்சியால் நிர்வகிக்கப்பட்ட உலகில் மக்களின் பங்கேற்புடன் ஜனநாயக ஆட்சியாளர்களைத் தேர்ந்தெடுப்பது அதேபோன்று மனித உறவுகளில் புதிய வடிவங்கள் இவை அனைத்தும் 20 ஆம் நூற்றாண்டிலே நடைமுறை நிலைக்கு கொண்டு வரப்பட்டன. அதன்படி, 20 ஆம் நூற்றாண்டின் பிற்பகுதியிலிருந்து, இந்த டிஜிட்டல் மயமாக்கப்பட்ட உலகம் ஒரு முக்கிய பங்கை வகிக்கத் தொடங்கியது.
எமக்கு தெரிவு செய்ய இரண்டு பாதைகள் உள்ளன. முதலாவது, இந்த டிஜிட்டல் மயமாக்கலை மிக விரைவாக ஒருங்கிணைத்து அதை ஒரு நடைமுறை யதார்த்தமாக மாற்றுவதாகும். பின்னர் நாம் முன்னேறிய தேசங்களுடன் இணையாக பயணிக்க முடியும். அந்த தொழில்நுட்ப சாதனைகளை முறையாகப் பெறத் தவறுவதன் மூலம், நாம் உலகத்திலிருந்து நம்மை மேலும் தூரமாக்கிக் கொள்கிறோம்.
இந்த நவீன தொழில்நுட்பத்தால் பெறப்பட்ட அறிவு, புதிய கருவிகள், புதிய கட்டமைப்புகள் விரைவான வேகத்தில் நமது தேசத்திற்கு கொண்டு வரப்படm வேண்டும். அதனால்தான் டிஜிட்டல் மயமாக்கல் நமது அரசாங்கத்தின் முக்கிய திட்டமாக அடையாளம் காணப்பட்டுள்ளது. அறிஞர்கள் மற்றும் நிபுணர்கள் அதற்காக மிகுந்த அர்ப்பணிப்புடன் பணியாற்றி வருகின்றனர்.
நமது அரச சேவை, குறிப்பிடத்தக்க அளவினால் சிதைவடைந்த ஒரு வரலாற்றைப் பெற்றுள்ளது. 70களில் பெருமைமிக்க அரச சேவையை நாங்கள் பெற்றிருந்ததாக பெருமை பேசும் நாம், எங்கள் பெருமையில் சிக்கி, சீரழிந்த அரசைப் பெற்றுள்ளோம். எனவே, இந்த டிஜிட்டல் மயமாக்கலின் மூலம், சிதைவடைந்த அரச இயந்திரத்தை மிகவும் திறமையான அரச இயந்திரமாக மாற்ற வேண்டும். குறிப்பாக, அரச இயந்திரத்தால் பிரஜைகளுக்கு வழங்கப்படும் சேவையை திறமையானதாக மாற்ற வேண்டும். திருப்திகரமான மற்றும் செயற்திறனான அரச சேவையை வழங்க, புதிய கட்டமைப்புகள் உருவாக்கப்பட வேண்டும், மேலும் அதன் செயல்திறனின் பலன்கள் மக்களை சென்றடைய வேண்டும்.
அதேபோன்று வெளிப்படைத்தன்மையும் மிக முக்கியமானது. நமது அரச இயந்திரம் வெளிப்படைத்தன்மை என்ற விடயத்தில் ஆழமான நெருக்கடியை எதிர்கொள்கிறது. கொள்முதல், மானியங்கள், ஆட்சேர்ப்பு மற்றும் கொள்கை முடிவுகளில் இது வலுவான தாக்கத்தை ஏற்படுத்துகிறது. எனவே, இந்த வெளிப்படைத்தன்மையை உறுதி செய்வதில் இந்த டிஜிட்டல் மயமாக்கல் மிகவும் முக்கியமானது.
மேலும், மனித தேவைகளைப் பூர்த்தி செய்வதிலும், புதிய சந்தைகள் மற்றும் பொருளாதார வாய்ப்புகளை உருவாக்குவதிலும் டிஜிட்டல் மயமாக்கல் மிகவும் முக்கியமானது. வர்த்தகர்கள் டிஜிட்டல் மயமாக்கல் மூலம் புதிய சந்தைகளை எட்ட முடிகிறது. சமீபத்திய காலங்களில் முன்னேற்றம் அடைந்த அரச மற்றும் தனியார் நிறுவனங்களைப் பார்த்தாலும், இந்த புத்தாக்கங்கள் மூலம் புதிய சந்தைகள் உருவாக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன. எனவே, வர்த்தக உலகிற்கும் இது மிகவும் முக்கியமானது.
ஒரு நாட்டை பொருளாதார ரீதியாக முன்னோக்கி நகர்த்துவதற்கு, சமூக வாழ்க்கையை திறமையானதாக மாற்ற வேண்டும். இது டிஜிட்டல் பொருளாதாரம் மூலம் நிகழ்கிறது. இனியும் சிறைப்படுத்தப்பட்ட வாழ்க்கைக்கு பதிலாக, சுதந்திரமான சூழலில் ஒருவரின் அன்றாட தேவைகளைப் பூர்த்தி செய்யக்கூடிய கருவிகள் இந்த டிஜிட்டல்மயமாக்கல் மூலம் உருவாக்கப்படுகின்றன. எனவே, அரச சேவையாக இருந்தாலும் சரி, வர்த்தக உலகமாக இருந்தாலும் சரி, சாதாரண பிரஜைகளுக்காக இருந்தாலும் சரி, இதுவே நமது பொருளாதாரத்தின் முக்கிய மூலோபாயமாக மாற வேண்டும். மக்கள் இயந்திரங்களாக மாறி மனித உணர்வுகளை இழப்பார்கள் என்று சிலர் கருத்தாடல்களை உருவாக்குகிறார்கள். அவ்வாறு நடக்காது. மக்கள் இயல்பாகவே உணர்ச்சிவசப்பட்டு சமூக உறவுகளால் நிரப்பப்பட்டிருக்கிறார்கள். எனவே, இந்த திசையே அதற்கான பாதை. சாத்தியமான விபத்துகளைத் தடுப்பதற்கான அணுகுமுறை ஒரு வலுவான வலையமைப்பை உருவாக்குவதாகும்.
அந்த தொழில்நுட்பத்தின் மூலம் அதை உருவாக்க முடியும். இதை மேலும் மேம்படுத்த வேண்டும். இப்போது பெறப்பட்ட அறிவு புதிய அறிவையே உருவாக்குகிறது. அந்த மாற்றம் வேகமாக நடைபெறுகிறது. முன்பு, அச்சுறுத்தலை எதிர்கொள்ள ஒரு சுவரைக் கட்ட முடியும். இருப்பினும், சைபர் பாதுகாப்பு கட்டமைப்பு ஒரு சுவர் அல்ல. இது தொடர்ந்து அச்சுறுத்தலை எதிர்கொள்ள முடியும், மேலும் அதைத் தொடர்ந்து தடுப்பதில் கவனம் செலுத்தப்பட வேண்டும். எனவே, இந்த தேசிய சைபர் பாதுகாப்பு கட்டமைப்பானது தேசிய பாதுகாப்பு, தேசிய பொருளாதாரம் மற்றும் நமது நாட்டின் குடிமக்களின் வாழ்க்கை முறையைப் பாதுகாப்பதில் மிகவும் முக்கியமானது. இதற்கு பங்களித்த அனைத்து அறிஞர்கள் மற்றும் மற்றும் நிபுணர்களுக்கும் எனது நன்றியைத் தெரிவித்துக் கொள்கிறேன், மேலும் இந்த நடவடிக்கைகளை இன்னும் வலுவாக முன்னெடுத்துச் செல்வதற்கு அவர்களுக்கு வாழ்த்துத் தெரிவிக்கிறேன்'' என்றும் ஜனாதிபதி தெரிவித்தார்.
டிஜிட்டல் பொருளாதார விவகாரங்களுக்கான பிரதி அமைச்சர் எரங்க வீரரத்ன, பாதுகாப்பு பிரதி அமைச்சர் ஓய்வுபெற்ற மேஜர் ஜெனரல் அருண ஜயசேகர, டிஜிட்டல் பொருளாதாரத்திற்கான சிரேஸ்ட ஜனாதிபதி ஆலோசகர் மற்றும் தகவல் மற்றும் தொடர்பு தொழில்நுட்ப நிறுவனத்தின் தலைவர் கலாநிதி ஹான்ஸ் விஜேசூரிய, உலக வங்கியின் சிரேஸ்ட டிஜிட்டல் அபிவிருத்தி நிபுணர் Ida S Mboob , பிரதமரின் செயலாளர் ஜி. பிரதீப் சபுதந்திரி, டிஜிட்டல் பொருளாதார அமைச்சின் பதில் செயலாளர் வருண ஸ்ரீ தனபால, இலங்கை சர்ட் நிறுவன தலைவர் திலக் பதிரகே மற்றும் இந்தத் துறையுடன் தொடர்புள்ள அறிஞர்கள் மற்றும் நிபுணர்கள் குழுவும் இந்த நிகழ்வில் பங்கேற்றனர்.
Launch of National Cyber Protection Strategy (2025–2029) and Opening of National Cyber Security Operations Centre (NCSOC) under President’s Patronage
• “Through digitalisation, we can progress in parallel with developed nations.”
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake stated that in order to advance the country economically, it is essential to ensure efficiency and transparency across all sectors. He further noted that the current government’s digitalisation programme is designed to elevate Sri Lanka not only economically but also socially.
The President made these remarks today (19), while participating in the ceremony held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH), Colombo, to launch the National Cyber Protection Strategy (2025–2029) and to declare open the National Cyber Security Operations Centre (NCSOC).
The Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (Sri Lanka CERT), in collaboration with the Ministry of Digital Economy and with the technical support of the World Bank, has introduced the National Cyber Protection Strategy 2025–2029. This initiative aims to establish a secure, reliable and inclusive digital ecosystem as a significant step in the country’s digital economic transformation programme.
The strategy envisions the establishment of the necessary legal and administrative framework for cyber security, the creation of a skilled workforce equipped with knowledge and expertise in cyber security and the enhancement of public awareness, including among schoolchildren. It also seeks to improve the preparedness of state institutions, strengthen the capacity of Sri Lanka CERT, protect institutions that manage critical digital infrastructure and foster collaboration with multiple stakeholders to create a secure cyberspace.
The National Cyber Security Operations Centre, inaugurated today, will provide 24-hour monitoring of 37 institutions managing critical digital infrastructure, including the Department of Immigration and Emigration, the Department of Motor Traffic and the Department of Inland Revenue, in order to identify and respond to potential cyber-attacks. Its mandate includes the continuous monitoring of cyber threats, risks and attacks, issuing immediate alerts to relevant parties and protecting government systems and public digital services. The centre will also support both state institutions and the private sector to ensure safe digital operations by strengthening system resilience, providing early warnings, ensuring swift responses to threats and raising awareness. The benefits of the centre include continuity of operations, rapid response, cost-effectiveness, compliance and trust.
The National Cyber Protection Strategy (2025–2029) was formally presented to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who also serves as the Minister of Digital Economy, by the Deputy Minister of Digital Economy, Mr. Eranga Weeraratne.
Addressing the gathering, the President further observed that countries capable of swiftly harnessing advances in science and technology achieve rapid progress. He emphasised that the national cyber security framework will play a crucial role in safeguarding national security, strengthening the economy and protecting citizens’ way of life.
Commenting further, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that today marks the beginning of a significant undertaking. He noted that what has been opened is not merely a building or an office. If Sri Lanka is to pursue a strong path of digitalisation, he stressed, security, resilience and reliability are indispensable. The cyber security system inaugurated today is therefore a vital milestone in Sri Lanka’s digital economic journey.
Whether considering politics or the global economic trajectory, the key factor is that countries able to rapidly absorb technological and scientific advancements move swiftly toward the forefront of development. Conversely, states that fail to adopt these advances are increasingly left behind. This, I believe, is the core of the crisis currently facing Sri Lanka.
We all know that many ideas and concepts were generated in the 16th and 17th centuries, yet most of them only became a reality in the 20th century. Advances in health, the emergence of democratic elections allowing people to choose their leaders in a world once dominated by royal hierarchies and new forms of human interaction all came into practical existence during this period. Similarly, the digitalized world began to assume a major role from the late 20th century onward.
We are faced with two possible paths. The first is to rapidly embrace digitalization and transform it into a practical reality, enabling us to progress in step with advanced nations. The alternative failing to adopt these technological advancements will only widen the gap between us and the rest of the world.
The knowledge, tools and systems enabled by modern technology must be swiftly integrated into our state. For this reason, digitalization has been recognized as a priority programme of the government, with scholars and professionals contributing their expertise and dedication to its advancement.
Our public service has inherited a history of significant decline. Once proud of having a strong and respected public service in the 1970s, we remain trapped in that past glory while burdened with a system in decay. Through digitalization, this failing state machinery must be transformed into one that is efficient and responsive. Most importantly, the services provided to citizens must be streamlined to ensure efficiency and reliability. To deliver a satisfactory and effective public service, new systems must be established, ensuring that the benefits of this efficiency are directly experienced by the people.
Transparency is equally crucial. Our state machinery currently faces a profound crisis in transparency, affecting areas such as procurement, grants, recruitment and policy decisions. Digitalization, therefore, plays a vital role in establishing and ensuring this transparency.
Moreover, digitalization is essential not only for meeting human needs but also for creating new markets and economic opportunities. Through digitalization, businesses can access and capture emerging markets. Recent successes in both public and private institutions demonstrate that such innovations have led to the creation of new markets. Therefore, digitalization holds significant importance for the business sector as well.
For a country to progress economically, social life must be made efficient and this is achieved through the digital economy. Rather than living a constrained life, digitalization provides tools that allow daily needs to be met freely and conveniently. Therefore, whether in public service, the business sector or among ordinary citizens, digitalization should become the central strategy of our economy.
Some express concern that people might become like machines and lose their human emotions. This is not the case. Humans are naturally emotional and socially connected. The path forward lies in creating a robust network to prevent potential risks and this network can be built using technology itself. It must continue to be developed, as the knowledge gained today is generating new knowledge, driving rapid transformation. This is a dynamic process. In the past, threats could be countered by building walls, but cyber-security is not a static wall, it must continuously confront and mitigate threats. Therefore, the national cyber-security system is crucial for safeguarding national security, the economy and the daily lives of citizens. Appreciation is extended to all scholars and professionals who have contributed to this effort and congratulations are offered for advancing these initiatives with even greater strength.
The event was also attended by Deputy Minister of Digital Economy Eranga Weeraratne, Deputy Minister of Defence Major General (Retired) Aruna Jayasekara, Senior Advisor to the President on Digital Economy and Chairman of the Information and Communication Technology Agency Dr. Hans Wijesuriya, Senior Digital Development Specialist at the World Bank Ida S. Mboob, Secretary to the Prime Minister G. Pradeep Saputhanthri, Acting Secretary to the Ministry of Digital Economy Waruna Sri Dhanapala, Chairman of the SLCERT Thilak Pathirage, Dr. Kanishka Karunasena, Chief Executive Officer (Acting) of Sri Lanka CERT along with a group of experts and scholars in the field.
Deputy Minister of Digital Economy Eranga Weeraratne announced that the Sri Lankan government will launch a startup fund in January 2026 to support innovation, attract investment, and help local startups scale globally.
Weeraratne acknowledged that while Sri Lanka has talent and ideas, it has struggled to build a complete startup ecosystem. He cited limited access to venture capital, misaligned academic research, and policy bottlenecks as key barriers to growth. “We will remove red tape, introduce investor-friendly reforms, and build infrastructure that lowers the cost of innovation,” he said. “Most importantly, we will unlock private capital by establishing a fund of funds with initial seed capital from the government.”
The initiative aims to create a sustainable platform for startups, research, and innovation to thrive within Sri Lanka, while remaining globally competitive.
ශ්රී ලංකාවේ ප්රමුඛතම නව ව්යවසායක සමුළුවක් සහ නවෝත්පාදන උළෙල වන “Disrupt Asia 2025හි ප්රධාන සමුළුව අද (18) කොළඹ සිනමන් ලයිෆ් හෝටලයේදී පැවැත්වුණු අතර, එම සමාරම්භක අවස්ථාවේ ප්රධාන ආරාධිතයා ලෙස ජනාධිපති අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක මහතා සහභාගිවිය. රටවල් 20ක පමණ ව්යාපාරිකයින් සහ ආයෝජකයින් එක්ව සිටින Disrupt Asia 2025 ඊයේ (17) දින ආරම්භ වූ අතර, එය සැප්තැම්බර් 20 වන දා දක්වා පැවැත්වේ.
ජාත්යන්තර අවධානය දිනා ගනිමින්, ශ්රී ලංකාව දකුණු ආසියාවේ නැගී එන නවෝත්පාදන කේන්ද්රස්ථානය ලෙස ස්ථානගත කිරීම මෙහි අරමුණ වේ. නව ව්යවසාය සහ නවෝත්පාදන දිරි ගැන්වීම මගින් ඩිජිටල් ආර්ථිකයක් ගොඩනැඟීමේ රජයේ වැඩපිළිවෙළ සාර්ථක කර ගැනීම සඳහා මෙමඟින් මනා පිටුබලයක් හිමිවෙතැයි අපේක්ෂා කෙරේ.
Disrupt Asia 2025 Highlights Sri Lanka’s Bid to Become South Asia’s Innovation Hub
The second day of Disrupt Asia 2025, Sri Lanka’s premier startup conference and innovation festival running from September 17–20, unfolded today at Cinnamon Life with the main conference, drawing international attention and underscoring the country’s ambition to position itself as South Asia’s emerging innovation hub. The event has attracted more than 100 venture capitalists from 20 countries, alongside global startup delegations, reflecting unprecedented confidence in Sri Lanka’s digital future.
The main conference was held today (18) at Cinnamon Life under the patronage of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who underscored the government’s commitment to positioning innovation at the heart of national development. The president also toured the Startup Showcase.
ஜனாதிபதியின் தலைமையில் Disrupt Asia 2025” பிரதான மாநாடு
இலங்கையில் முன்னணி புதிய தொழில்முனைவோர் மாநாடு மற்றும் புத்தாக்க விழாவான “Disrupt Asia 2025” பிரதான மாநாடு இன்று (18) கொழும்பில் உள்ள சினமன் லைஃப் ஹோட்டலில் நடைபெற்றது. இதன் ஆரம்ப நிகழ்வில் ஜனாதிபதி அநுர குமார திசாநாயக்க பிரதம அதிதியாகக் கலந்து கொண்டார். சுமார் 20 நாடுகளைச் சேர்ந்த வர்த்தகர்கள் மற்றும் முதலீட்டாளர்கள் பங்கேற்கும் Disrupt Asia 2025, நேற்று (17) ஆரம்பமானதோடு செப்டம்பர் 20 வரை நடைபெறும்.
சர்வதேச கவனத்தை ஈர்ப்பதன் மூலம் தெற்காசியாவில் வளர்ந்து வரும் புத்தாக்க மையமாக இலங்கையை நிலைநிறுத்துவதே இந்த மாநாட்டின் நோக்கமாகும். புதிய தொழில்முனைவு மற்றும் புத்தாக்கங்களை ஊக்குவிப்பதன் மூலம் டிஜிட்டல் பொருளாதாரத்தை கட்டியெழுப்புவதற்கான அரசாங்கத்தின் திட்டத்திற்கு இது சிறந்த பக்கபலமாக இருக்கும் என எதிர்பார்க்கப்படுகிறது. இன்று நடைபெற்ற பிரதான மாநாட்டின் ஆரம்ப அமர்வில் கலந்து கொண்ட ஜனாதிபதி, புதிய தொழில்முனைவோர் கண்காட்சியையும் பார்வையிட்டார்.
According to the concept of Hon. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the GovPay state digital payment application was officially launched at Jaffna District Secretariat on September 18th.
Jaffna District Secretary and all Jaffna District Secretaries also participated in this event under the leadership of Hon'ble Minister of Transport, Highways, Port and Civil Aviation, Mr. Bimal Rathnayake.
This initiative marked an exclusive organization in this huge project of leading the country towards public service powered by digital technology aims to create transparent public service easily accessible, minimizing inefficiencies, and enhancing public trust in public service. Our sovereignty as a government is to provide the opportunity to all Sri Lankans across the country to enjoy the convenience and security of digital services and create a digital future where everyone inclusive.
GovPay Digital State Payment Platform Launched in Jaffna In line with the vision of H.E. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to bring digital services closer to the people of the Northern Province, the GovPay Digital State Payment Platform was officially launched on 18th September at the Jaffna District Secretariat. The ceremony was held under the patronage of Hon. Bimal Rathnayaka, Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports & Civil Aviation, with the participation of the Jaffna District Secretary and all Divisional Secretaries of the district.
This landmark launch marks a significant milestone in the country’s journey towards a digitally empowered public service. GovPay is designed to provide citizens with easy access to transparent, secure, and efficient government services, reducing inefficiencies while enhancing public trust in state institutions.
As a government, our ultimate objective is to ensure that all Sri Lankans across the nation can benefit from safe, accessible, and reliable digital services, paving the way for an inclusive and connected digital future for the country.
අධිකරණ සේවාවවල කාර්යක්ෂමතාවය ඉහළ නංවා මහජනතාවට ඵලදායී අධිකරණ සේවාවක් ලබාදීමේ අරමුණින් ක්රියාත්මක අධිකරණ පද්ධතිය ඩිජිටල්කරණ කටයුතු වේගවත් කිරීමේ වැඩසටහනෙහි පළමු පියවර ලෙස ශ්රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණය ඩිජිටල්කරණය කිරීමේ කටයුතු ආරම්භ කරමින් අධිකරණ e court ව්යාපෘතියෙහි පළමු අදියර වශයෙන් ශ්රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණ නඩු කළමණාකරණ පද්ධතිය දියත් කිරීම සහ නවීකරණය කරන ලද ශ්රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණ වෙබ් අඩවිය විවෘත කිරීම අග්රවිනිශ්චයකාර ප්රිති පද්මන් සුරසේන මහතාගේ ප්රධානත්වයෙන් අධිකරණ සහ ජාතික ඒකාබද්ධතා අමාත්ය, නීතිඥ, හර්ෂණ නානායක්කාර මහතා, ඩිජිටල් ආර්ථික නියෝජ්ය අමාත්ය එරංග වීරරත්න මහතාගේ සහභාගිත්වයෙන් පසුගිය දා (12) කොළඹ 12, අධිකරණ මාවත, විනිසුරු පුහුණු ආයතන පරිශ්රයේදී පැවැත්විණි.
ශ්රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණ නඩු කළමණාකරණ පද්ධතිය දියත් කිරීම සහ නවීකරණය කරන ලද ශ්රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණ වෙබ් අඩවිය විවෘත කිරීම අග්රවිනිශ්චයකාර ප්රිති පද්මන් සුරසේන, අධිකරණ සේවා කොමිෂන් සභාවේ සාමාජික ශ්රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණ විනිසුරු, මහින්ද සමයවර්ධන සහ ශ්රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණ විනිසුරු එස්.තුරෙයිරාජා මහත්වරුන් අතින් සිදු විය.
අධිකරණ කාර්යල තුළ සිදුවන දුෂණ අක්රමිකතා අවම කිරීම, අධිකරණ පිළිබඳව මහජන විශ්වාසය වර්ධනය කිරීම හා අධිකරණයට පැමිණෙන ජනතාවට සහ නීතිඥවරුන්ට කඩිනමින් සේවා ලබා ගැනීමේ පහසුව ලබාදීම ඩිජිටල්කරණ වැඩසටහනෙහි අරමුණ වන අතර එහි පළමු පියවර ලෙස ශ්රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණයේ කටයුතු ඩිජිටල්කරණය කිරීමට නියමිත අතර, ඉන්පසුව අභියාචනාධිකරණය, මහාධිකරණ, දිසා මහෙස්ත්රාත් අධිකරණ සහ සෙසු අධිකරණ කටයුතු ඩිජිටල්කරණය කිරීමට නියමිතව තිබේ.
අධිකරණ දඩ ගෙවීම්, නඩු ගාස්තු, මුද්දර ගාස්තු, සහතික පිටපත් ගාස්තු යන සියලු ගෙවීම් බැංකු කාඩ්පත් මගින් ගෙවීමේ පහසුකම් අධිකරණ පද්ධතියට හදුන්වාදීම පසුගියදා සිදු වු අතර, ඒ යටතේ කොළඹ අවට අධිකරණ කිහිපයක් සඳහා ගෙව්ම් යන්ත්ර බෙදාදීම ද මෙහිදී සිදු විය.
මෙම අවස්ථාවට නීතිපති, ජනාධිපති නීතිඥ, පාරින්ද රණසිංහ, ඩිජිටල් ආර්ථිකය පිළිබඳ ජනාධිපති ජ්යේෂ්ඨ උපදේශක ආචාර්ය හාන්ස් විජයසූරිය. අධිකරණ සේවා කොමිෂන් සභාවේ සාමාජික ශ්රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණ විනිසුරු, මහින්ද සමයවර්ධන, ශ්රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණ විනිසුරු එස්.තුරෙයිරාජා, අධිකරණ සහ ජාතික ඒකාබද්ධතා අමාත්යාංශයේ ලේකම්, ජනාධිපති නීතිඥ, අයෙෂා ජිනසේන, ශ්රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණ රෙජිස්ටාර් අරවින්ද ගුණරත්න මහතා, ශ්රී ලංකා නීතිඥ සංගමයේ සභාපති, නීතිඥ, රජිව් අමරසූරිය, මහජන බැංකුවේ සභාපති ආචාර්ය නාරද ප්රනාන්දු, ශ්රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණ තොරතුරු තාක්ෂණ රෙජිස්ටාර් අචින්තනාත් වැලිදෙණිය යන මහත්ම මහත්මීන් ඇතුළු ශ්රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණ විනිසුරුවරුන්, අභියාචනාධිකරණ විනිසුරුවරුන්, දිසා හා මහෙස්ත්රාත් අධිකරණ විනිසුරුවරුන්, අධිකරණ රෙජිස්ටාර්වරුන් හා අධිකරණ කාර්ය මණ්ඩලය මෙම අවස්ථාවට එක්ව සිටියහ.
Supreme Court Launches Case Management System and Revamped Website as First Step in e-Court Project.
The Supreme Court Case Management System and the revamped Supreme Court website were officially launched as the first phase of the e-Court Project, under the patronage of Chief Justice Prithi Padman Surasena, at the Judges Training Institute, Court Road, Colombo 12.
The ceremony was attended by the Minister of Justice and National Integration, Attorney-at-Law Harshana Nanayakkara, and the Deputy Minister of Digital Economy, Hon. Eranga Weeraratne, marking the beginning of a comprehensive program to accelerate the digitalization of Sri Lanka’s judicial system.
The initiative aims to enhance efficiency, reduce corruption and irregularities, strengthen public confidence in the judiciary, and provide both citizens and lawyers with faster, more convenient access to judicial services. Digitalization will begin with the Supreme Court and later expand to the Court of Appeal, High Courts, District Courts, Magistrates’ Courts, and other judicial institutions.
As part of the modernization process, facilities have already been introduced to enable the payment of court fines, case fees, stamp fees, and certificate copy fees via bank cards. Payment machines have been distributed to several courts around Colombo, further advancing convenience and transparency.
The event was graced by Attorney General, President’s Counsel Parinda Ranasinghe, Senior Presidential Advisor on the Digital Economy, Dr. Hans Wijeyasuriya, Secretary to the Ministry of Justice and National Integration, President’s Counsel Ayesha Jinasena, Supreme Court Registrar Aravinda Gunaratne, and President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, Attorney-at-Law Rajiv Amarasuriya. Also in attendance were Chairman of People’s Bank, Dr. Narada Fernando, Supreme Court Information Technology Registrar Achinthanath Welideniy, members of the judiciary including Supreme Court Judges, Court of Appeal Judges, District and Magistrates’ Court Judges, court registrars, and staff.
