PM orders purchase of a million tonnes of rice- Minister | Page 3 | Daily News

PM orders purchase of a million tonnes of rice- Minister

State Minister of Finance and Media Eran Wickramarathne said that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe ordered to purchase one million tonnes of rice.

The Minister was speaking at a press conference at Sirikotha yesterday. He further said that measures are being taken to reduce the prices of rice. Speaking about the 2018 Budget, Minister Wickramarathne said the budget would further strengthen the economy.

He added that the primary balance has always been negative in this country,

but for the first time, it is showing positive signs and its estimated to be Rs.45 billion in the year 2017.

“The primary balance is the difference between the income and the expenditure and excluding the interest rate. And its a way to measure the strength of the economy. Accordingly in 2018, the primary balance will estimated to be Rs. 145 billion. It shows that the present government is taking the country towards economic stability and putting it on a sound financial footing,” he said.

The Minister said that Minister Mangala Samaraweera has already appointed Task Forces to look into all new sectors mentioned in the budget.

“The present government has taken efforts to strengthen the economy, while initiating measures to advance reconciliation and democracy,” he said.

Minister Wickremarathne explained all the positive initiatives taken by the government and added that the government received A good response from people about the 2018 budget.

He noted that the measures taken by the government are long term and it intends to benefit people from all walks of life.

Responding to a question raised by a journalist about the upcoming Local Government Elections, Minister Wickramarathne said they have received nearly 17,000 nominations and added that they are currently going through the list.

He further said that they give more priority to women politicians and hope that more professionals would enter the Local Government bodies this time.


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