Thursday Apr 23, 2026
Thursday Apr 23, 2026
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Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa
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The Cabinet of Ministers has approved steps to draft legislation to establish a new apex body aimed at streamlining the country’s industrial and enterprise development framework.
“It was approved to instruct the Legal Draftsman to prepare a Bill to formally create the new authority,” Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa said at the weekly post-Cabinet meeting media briefing yesterday.
The proposed Sri Lanka Industrial Transformation and Innovation Authority will consolidate three existing institutions; the Industrial Development Board, National Enterprise Development Authority, and the Small Enterprise Development Division, into a single entity.
The move follows recommendations by an officials’ committee chaired by the Secretary to the Prime Minister, which reviewed non-commercial State-owned institutions and proposed restructuring to improve efficiency and coordination.
Policy approval for the new authority was initially granted at the Cabinet meeting held on 29 December 2025. Subsequently, the Ministry of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development, in consultation with stakeholders and with technical support from the Asian Development Bank, prepared a draft legal framework for its establishment.
He said the proposed body is expected to enhance policy coherence, reduce institutional overlap, and strengthen support for industrial transformation, innovation, and small and medium enterprise development in Sri Lanka.
