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The impact of the war depends on how long it lasts and how far it spreads; if it ends in a few weeks, stability can return in a few months. If it continues for months, it will take years for the global economy to stabilise. 

කොළඹින් ගෙයක්? හීනයක් තමයි!

The Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority (MCRA) Bill 2025, is legislation which introduces a consolidated regulatory framework to govern Sri Lanka’s microfinance and moneylending sectors. By repealing the Microfinance Act No. 6 of 2016, the Bill establishes a more empowered statutory authority with expanded supervisory, licensing, and enforcement capabilities. Arutha’s latest brief analyses the latest Bill and whether it does enough to protect the most vulnerable.

Economist, Co-Founder and Director of Arutha's Civic Education Initiatives, Rehana Thowfeek spoke to Ruwandi Perera from LMDtv.

Arutha Executive Director Yolani Fernando speaking to The Morning, commented on new collection strategies to strengthen tax compliance.

This report examines how China’s SOEs have operated and evolved in Sri Lanka over the past two decades.

Executive Director of Arutha, Yolani Fernando shed light on the current economic situation following Cyclone Ditwah.

China remains central to Sri Lanka’s economic and diplomatic landscape, particularly in the aftermath of its sovereign default. The debt restructuring process underscored China’s dual role as both a bilateral and commercial creditor, while trade and investment links highlight a structural asymmetry — Sri Lanka imports heavily from China but exports little in return.

While many fear that reducing the VAT threshold to Rs 36 million will cause inflation, Sri Lanka's recent history with VAT threshold reductions have proven otherwise. Read the latest op-ed on VAT threshold reductions by Arutha Director Rehana Thowfeek.

The government’s Budget 2026 proposal to subsidise part of plantation worker wages raises questions on fairness, employer responsibility and accountability. Arutha’s latest brief analyses the impact and practicality of this proposal.

GoSL has reached an 'agreement in principle' with creditors to restructure a USD 175 million bond issued by Sri Lankan Airlines (SLA).

Signals a mismatch between announced policy and revenue projections. 

JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva’s claims on the timeline of Sri Lanka’s sovereign default its seeking support from the IMF is inaccurate.

Prices should have reduced by 15%, but in reality only reduced by 6%.

"If revenue from PAL, CESS and SCL are expected to grow every year until 2028, signaling a clear mismatch between the hashtag#budget2026 policy announcement and the numbers underpinning the budget".

The Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) has expressed support for the 2026 Budget’s proposed daily wage increase for plantation workers, while urging clear implementation and wider structural reforms.

“In some ways you want a boring budget,” says Yolani Fernando, an ex-Treasury staffer who now heads Arutha, a think tank. “On the fiscal side, this budget is boring. That's a good thing. It means there is policy continuity. The rest of it isn’t bold. You're staying on the track, going as fast as you were in the past. But that’s not going fast enough for seven percent growth.”

Is Budget 2026 bold enough for a 7% GDP growth target? Rehana Thowfeek analyses #Budget2026 from the lens of structural economic reforms covering tax administration, public sector, SOE and trade reforms.

අද අපි කතා කළේ නොවැම්බර් 7 වැනිදා පාර්ලිමේන්තුවට ඉදිරිපත් කිරීමට නියමිත 2026 වර්ෂය සඳහා වන අයවැය ගැන. මේ ගැන කතා කරන්න Neon සහ Arutha team එකත් එක්ක එකතු වුණේ මහාචාර්ය රොහාන් සමරජීව.