02. Amendments to the Buddhist Temporalities Ordinance, No.19 of 1931 - the proposal made by Hon. D.M. Jayaratne, Minister of Buddha Sasana and Religious Affairs, to refer the proposed amendments to the Buddhist Temporalities Ordinance, No.l9 of 1931, to the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Legislation, for its recommendations in the first instance, was approved by the Cabinet.
03. Collaboration Agreement on Strengthening Human Resources for Mental Health in Sri Lanka - this Collaboration Agreement is made between the University of Melbourne through its Centre for International Mental Health of Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, Australia and the Directorate of Mental Health and National Institute of Mental Health of the Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka to strengthen the capacity of human resources for mental health in Sri Lanka. Commonwealth of Australia represented by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) is providing a Grant of Australian Dollars 199,000 to undertake this activity. The proposal made by Hon. Maithripala Sirisena, Minister of Health, to accept this Collaboration Agreement on Strengthening of Human Resources for Mental Health in Sri Lanka, was approved by the Cabinet.
04. Enhancing Health Care Education in Sri Lanka, collaboration with the Singapore International Foundation (SIF) - enhancing Health Care Education in Sri Lanka is a three year project which is to be implemented with the collaboration of Singapore International Foundation, the Ministry of Health and the University of Colombo. The project intends to enhance the quality of health care education in Sri Lanka, reaching out to both national and institutional levels. The proposal made by Hon. Maithripala Sirisena, Minister of Health, to implement this project with the collaboration of the above institutions, was approved by the Cabinet.
05. Introduction of the new Technological Subject Stream for the G.C.E. (Advance Level) Students - this new subject stream has been introduced in 200 Mahindodaya Technological Schools for the academic year 2013 and at present, 13,100 students are following the said subject stream. It has been proposed to increase the number of schools up to 250 due to the increased demand of students and accordingly, the proposal made by Hon. Bandula Gunawardena, Minister of Education, to recruit 150 teachers who possess the necessary qualifications to teach the relevant subjects, was approved by the Cabinet.
06. Signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Republic of Maldives for the Development of Sports - covering approval of the Cabinet was granted for the MoU signed between the National Sports Institute of the Republic of Maldives and the Institute of National Sports Science in Sri Lanka, during the visit of the President of Maldives to Sri Lanka, for the development of sports in the two countries. This MoU will provide opportunities to share expertise and knowledge in the field of sports, training opportunities, sports equipment, infrastructure facilities and sports technology, for the development of sports in the two countries.
07. Construction of a Disaster Recovery Center Building at Technology Park in Sooriyawewa, Hambantota - Cabinet approval has already been granted for the collecting of data of all Sri Lankans, digitizing them for developing a persons' database and issuing an electronic National Identity Card, with the view to minimizing the issues and inconveniences related to manual paper based registering system and issuing of identity cards with hand written information. It has been found necessary to establish a Disaster Recovery Centre in order to provide uninterrupted service and secure the main data centre from natural disasters such as storms, floods or earthquakes and technological problems such as network failure etc. The proposal made by H.E. the President, in his capacity as the Minister of Defence and Urban Development, to establish a Disaster Recovery Centre at the Technology Park in Sooriyawewa, Hambantota, where the required infrastructure facilities are available, was approved by the Cabinet.
08. Japan International Cooperation Agency Funded Landslide Disaster Protection Project of the National Road Network - award of contract for the consultancy services for investigation, detail design and construction supervision - the Government of Sri Lanka has received a loan of Japanese Yen 7619 million from the Government of Japan through its lending arm, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), towards the cost of the Landslide Disaster Protection Project of the National Road Network. The main objective of this project is to mitigate landslide disasters, targeting 'A' Class National Roads as basic infrastructure by implementing appropriate counter measures in highland areas. The proposal made by H.E. the President, in his capacity as the Minister of Highways, Ports and Shipping, to award the above Contract as recommended by the Standing Cabinet Appointed Procurement Committee (SCAPC), was approved by the Cabinet.
09. Supply and Installation of 03 Nos. CT Scanners - the proposal made by Hon. Maithripala Sirisena, Minister of Health, to award the above Contract at a cost of US Dollars 816,000.00 plus LKR 2,040,000.00, as recommended by the Standing Cabinet Appointed Procurement Committee (SCAPC), was approved by the Cabinet.
10. Tender for Supply of 300,000 Vials of Rabies Vaccine (Human Use) (1mI/0.5ml) - the proposal made by Hon. Maithripala Sirisena, Minister of Health, to award the above tender to the lowest responsive bidder as recommended by the Standing Cabinet Appointed Procurement Committee (SCAPC), was approved by the Cabinet.
11. National Health Week - 2014 - the proposal made by Hon. Maithripala Sirisena, Minister of Health to declare the period from 10th to 16th March 2014 as the "National Health Week - 2014" and to conduct related programmes in association with other relevant Ministries and institutions under their purview, was approved by the Cabinet.
12. A Credit of United States Dollars 102 million from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) of the World Bank for emergency climatic disasters - Sri Lanka had faced an increased occurrence of natural disasters such as floods, landslides, cyclones etc. during the last two decades, particularly due to climatic changes. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) of the World Bank through its system of financing gives immediate access to funds after a natural disaster. IBRD has agreed to provide a credit of US Dollars 102 million for the purpose and funds will be made available for disbursement after the occurrence of a national disaster. The proposal made by H.E. the President, in his capacity as the Minister of Finance and Planning, to conduct negotiations and to enter into a Financing Arrangement, was approved by the Cabinet.
13. A Credit of United States Dollars 147 million from the International Development Association (IDA) of World Bank for the Strategic Cities Development Project - the Economic Policy Framework of the Government envisages a well planned and connected network of cities and townships throughout the country by 2020. The Government has identified Colombo, Hambantota, Trincomalee and Jaffna as Large Cities to be developed under this programme. Nine other cities covering the entire country will also be developed as Urban Growth Centres. The IDA of the World Bank has agreed to provide a credit of US $147 million for the above project. The proposal made by H.E. the President, in his capacity of the Minister of Finance and Planning, to conduct loan negotiations and enter into a Financial Agreement with the IDA, was approved by the Cabinet.
14. Rs.625 million (Japanese Yen 500 million) Grant for the Provision of Japanese Advanced Products (Medical Equipment and Welfare Apparatus) under Japanese Non-Project Grant Aid - the Government of Japan has agreed to provide grant assistance under Non-Project Grant Aid amounting to Japanese Yen 500 million (approximately Rs. 625 million) for the provision of Japanese Advanced Products (Medical Equipment and Welfare Apparatus) to uplift the health standards of Sri Lankan citizens. The proposal made by H.E. the President, in his capacity as the Minister of Finance and Planning, to sign the Exchange of Notes for the purpose with the Government of Japan, was approved by the Cabinet.
