There are many interesting things in the speech itself and in the attached Tables at the end, but two things in particular caught my eye as I was reading:
(1)
Scholarship for Pursuing Undergraduate Courses at High-ranking Universities
We propose to create a programme to offer scholarships for students who show outstanding performance in G.C.E. A/L examination to study undergraduate degree programmes at high-ranking universities and return to Sri Lanka to apply their acquired knowledge and skills to the country. For this purpose, we propose to allocate Rs. 200 million to initiate this programme in 2025.
(2)
We propose to implement a Special Interest Scheme for Senior Citizens.
Under this scheme, individuals above 60 years of age will be eligible for one-year fixed deposits of up to Rs. 1 million with an annual additional interest rate of 3 percent, above the prevailing interest rates in the market for ensuring their financial stability. To implement the scheme, we propose to allocate Rs. 15,000 million to subsidize the 3 percent additional interest to be paid for the senior citizens. This scheme will be implemented from July 2025.
There are many interesting things in the speech itself and in the attached Tables at the end, but two things in particular caught my eye as I was reading:
(1)
Scholarship for Pursuing Undergraduate Courses at High-ranking Universities
We propose to create a programme to offer scholarships for students who show outstanding performance in G.C.E. A/L examination to study undergraduate degree programmes at high-ranking universities and return to Sri Lanka to apply their acquired knowledge and skills to the country. For this purpose, we propose to allocate Rs. 200 million to initiate this programme in 2025.
(2)
We propose to implement a Special Interest Scheme for Senior Citizens.
Under this scheme, individuals above 60 years of age will be eligible for one-year fixed deposits of up to Rs. 1 million with an annual additional interest rate of 3 percent, above the prevailing interest rates in the market for ensuring their financial stability. To implement the scheme, we propose to allocate Rs. 15,000 million to subsidize the 3 percent additional interest to be paid for the senior citizens. This scheme will be implemented from July 2025.