Sunday Observer

According to the latest world ICT facts and figures for 2012 and 2013, released by International Telecommunication Union (ITU), mobile subscription and internet penetration is increasing rapidly and continuously in all regions of the world.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa will launch the official website of the CHOGM 2013, detailing the main agenda, dates, programs and venues connected to the event, in two weeks time.

The Tea Small Holdings Development Authority (TSHDA) last week launched e-services to improve efficiency and reduce administrative costs of the services provided by the Authority.

Public procurement can play a major role in promoting information technology (IT) sector development in developing countries, a new joint study by UNCTAD and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) revealed.

The police raided a reputed garment manufacturer's office suspected of using pirated and unlicensed software. The raid took place in Colombo on April 11. Police seized over 50 computers installed with suspected pirated business software valued at over Rs 5 million.

A group of teachers from Rambuka eVillage School in the Southern Province has leveraged Skype in virtual classroom exchange programs, enabling students from urban and city schools to experience a tropical rain forest. Located on the edge of a rainforest, the school often brings its students for field trips into the rainforest, allowing them to learn and experience nature beyond the classroom.

Intel Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Education, launched the new and improved skoool.lk website for students and teachers recently. The official web site of skoool learning and teaching program now has content from the local syllabus for two important subjects, Science and Mathematics which are now available in Sinhala and Tamil. The Sinhala and Tamil translations were facilitated by the University of Moratuwa.

Sri Lanka is now journeying from version 1.0 to version 2.0 of Development Agenda, 'Smart Sri Lanka' moving from pure technology and focusing more on innovation, transformation, entrepreneurship and inclusion, said ICT Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA), CEO Reshan Dewapura at the inauguration of IBMSoftwareUniverse2013 in Colombo. It was organised by IBM Sri Lanka.

"The permanent Nenasala computer laboratory at the Hardy Advanced Technology Institute, Ampara (HATI) fulfils a dire need," said Telecommunication and Information Technology Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya at the launch of the Nanesala computer laboratory at HATI recently. "As the ICT Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) is wont to do, this time too it has come out with a mechanism for accelerated development through ICT," he said.

IFS, a global enterprise applications company stated that Vantaa Energy Ltd, one of Finland's largest urban energy companies, has chosen IFS Applications 8 to streamline its business processes.

“Infrastructure development is vital for the growth of the IT BPO industry,” said the chairman of the Sri Lanka Association of Software Service Companies (SLASSCOM) Sujeewa Devaraj. He was speaking at the SLASSCOM CXO Lunch Briefing in Colombo last week. In the cost structure of the IT BPO industry, HR cost is the highest and infrastructure comes second. Several global reports on real estate costs have recognised Sri Lanka as one of the most cost-effective destinations in the region.

The amended bill on dual citizenship will soon be implemented introducing a residency scheme for foreign nationals who want to work or start businesses in Sri Lanka, said Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The Higher Education Ministry will introduce a novel concept to identify the innovative talents of university and school students, the public and private sector employees for the country’s development.

Sustainability of profits during an economic slump is possible if businesses maintain lean operations. Maximising profits in a fiercely competitive market with frequent steep fluctuations in demand is possible only if you have the minimum fixed and maximum variable costs.

Sri Lanka Customs' operations will be fully online by March 31. It is now in the final stages of automating its processes to ensure that the trade is facilitated to the maximum with no operational delays at a minimal cost. The ASYCUDA World (AW) system is now being fully implemented for both imports and exports, Director General of Customs Jagath Wijeweera said recently.

ICT has been the enabler in the country's tremendous improvement and development, said Information and Communication Technology of Sri Lanka (ICTA), CEO Reshan Dewapura.

Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel recorded an impressive revenue growth of 13% in 2012 despite intensified competition in the mobile telephony sector. In absolute terms, Mobitel recorded a revenue of Rs. 24.93 billion in 2012 compared to Rs.22.08billion in 2011, an increase of Rs. 2.85 billion.

Bangladesh is ahead of Sri Lanka in the IT/BPO industry which has grown leaps and bounds, IFS Sri Lanka and South Asia, Managing Director Jayantha de Silva said. Consistent and coherent government policies have helped Bangladesh to spearhead growth in the IT/BPO sector which makes a salient contribution to the economy of the country. “Bangladesh’s fibre optic cable layout is one of the best in the world. Its total exports are around $ 25 billion while Sri Lanka’s export income is around $ 10 billion,” de Silva said.Bangladesh has focused on the export of pharmaceuticals and ship building.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa who is now reviewing the progress of Ministries held extensive discussions on Friday with Higher Education Ministry officials on their Mid Term National Higher Education Strategic Management Plan 2013-2015.

International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) global ambassador, Bobby Varnasi said that Sri Lankan outsourcing companies are not visible in international markets and companies should be visible from the buyers point of view rather than be dependent on independent assessments. He was speaking at the launch of IAOP Sri Lanka Chapter in Colombo last week.

The Ministry of Higher Education has made arrangements to admit new students to universities by 27th March 2013.The admission of students to universities for the year 2011-2012 was postponed due to unavoidable circumstances in the recent past.

The Higher Education Ministry is holding discussions with the Education Ministry to enact changes in the education system to get students to State universities at least one or two years earlier than at present, Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayake said. He was addressing the media at the University Grants Commission. The Minister said the idea was mooted by the Vice Chancellors’ Forum of the Universities and he had already referred it to the Education Ministry for the consideration of experts in the education sector to seek their opinion for the change.

The Australian Government will provide A$ 34 m for education in Sri Lanka, the Australian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Robyn Mudie said at the launch of Adyapana 2013 a higher education and career exhibition which from October 4-6 at the BMICH.

Last week in London, representatives from 93 countries attended the largest non-declaration-producing gathering of international education leaders worldwide.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) awarded training partner status to Dialog Axiata PLC and Bodyline (Pvt) Ltd, at ceremony at the Institute's premises.