President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in his capacity as the Minister of Finance will present the Second Reading of the Appropriation Bill for 2025 (Budget Speech) in Parliament tomorrow at 10.30 a.m. The Budget is expected to focus on economic recovery as Sri Lanka emerges from the financial and economic crisis of 2022.
The debate on the Appropriation Bill (Budget Debate) will be held from February 18 to March 21.
The Appropriation Bill for 2025 was presented to Parliament for the First Reading on January 9. The Second Reading debate will be held for seven days from February 18 to 25. The vote on the Second Reading of the Appropriation Bill will be held on February 25 at 6.00 p.m.
The Committee Stage Debate on the Appropriation Bill will be held for 19 days, including four Saturdays, from February 27 to March 21. The vote on the Third Reading of the Appropriation Bill will be held on March 21 at 6.00 p.m. During the Budget period – 9.30 am to 10.00 am has been allotted for five questions for oral answers, and the Budget Debate will be held from 10.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. Time has been allotted from- 6.00 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. for Motions at the Adjournment Time on all other days, except for February 25 and March 21 when the votes will be taken.
A preliminary discussion on the final phase of drafting the Budget 2025 was held on Thursday at the Presidential Secretariat under the leadership of President Disanayake. Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation K.D. Lalkantha, Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Co-operative Development, Wasantha Samarasinghe, Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando, Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, Mahinda Siriwardana and several senior Government officials were present.
