Sri Lanka will soon introduce a new Act to promote the development of technological innovations and research, said State Minister of Technology Kanaka Herath during an observation tour of Vega Innovation Company at the Trace City Complex, Maradana.
Herath said that the President has given instructions to the Ministry of Technology to prepare a concept paper on it.
“There isn’t a separate Act for research and development in our country. As the Ministry of Technology, we hope to work for it in the future. We hope to provide more opportunities for research and development in the country through this,” adding that this will especially help university students and other researchers to create opportunities.
He said that Vega Institute’s products are crucial for research work and the government too admires its work.
“We are making an effort as a Government to give utmost support to this institute. If we are successful in introducing the electric tricycle, the country can save almost 3 million dollars every day.
“Similarly, initiatives must be implemented to replace gasoline-powered three-wheelers with electric three-wheelers. This will also benefit the economy as it will help to reduce the use of fuel, helping the government to save forex on gasoline imports. We are pleased to note that the Vega Institute is actively testing different vehicles,” said Herath.
The State Minister also discussed with the Chief Executive Officer of Vega Innovation Company, Dr. Harsha Subasinghe, about the inventions of the technical sector in Sri Lanka and the challenges in the field.
The State Minister said that President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s ambition is to move the country towards a digital economy. “For this more promotions are needed in the field use of Artificial Intelligence in the country. We are now in the process of appointing a task force consisting of veterans and submit more proposals to further promote this segment.”