FITIS and EY to host webcast on ‘Budget 2021: Enabling a Smart Nation’

State Minister of Money and Capital Markets and State Enterprise Reforms Hon Ajith Nivard Cabraal

ICTA Chairman Jayantha De Silva

Dialog Axiata Group Chief Executive Supun Weerasinghe

Ernst & Young, Sri Lanka and Maldives Partner and Consulting Leader Arjuna Herath

FITIS Chairman/Debug Group of Companies Managing Director Abbas Kamrudeen

Since the announcement of the President’s special focus to enhance Digital Governance to simplify Government mechanisms as well as market structures and processes with the use of Information

Technology as a tool and his mission to establish an international e-commerce and e-payment systems, the high-speed data exchange system and the related mobile network systems as investment priorities, the recent National Budget Proposals 2021 relating to the ICT Industry presented by Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Mahinda Rajapaksa laid a strong foundation and an impetus to promote the ICT industry to grow and develop to facilitate a Smart Nation.

FITIS as an apex body of the ICT industry in Sri Lanka, is a key catalyst to encourage private and public sector and citizens of Sri Lanka to embrace digitalisation and to play a leading role in driving Digital Transformation in Sri Lanka supporting the growth of a Digital Economy.

Ernst & Young (EY) keeping to its purpose of ‘building a better working world’ and Nation Building by transforming businesses through the power of people, technology and innovation are the world’s leading transformation consultants. To help set the tone for execution of a Digital Economy and a Smart Nation, FITIS in collaboration with EY hosted a webcast on ‘A Roadmap for Sri Lanka to be a Digital Nation’ in May 2020 to discuss a roadmap for Sri Lanka to promote Digitalisation at a national level to increase economic efficiency in industry and government, through the creation of right policies, required infrastructure, new business models and mechanisms.

FITIS joins hands with Ernst and Young, Sri Lanka to host its second webcast on this subject to focus on “Budget 2021: Enabling a ‘Smart Nation’” on Monday, 30 November from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. under the patronage of State Minister of Money and Capital Markets and State Enterprise Reforms Ajith Nivard Cabraal as the keynote speaker.

ICTA Chairman Jayantha De Silva, Dialog Axiata PLC Group Chief Executive Supun Weerasinghe and FITIS Chairman/Debug Group of Companies Managing Director Abbas Kamrudeen will join the discussion to elucidate the role of the ICT industry to achieve success in creating a Smart Nation leveraging on the Government’s vision and a policy framework. The discussion will be moderated by Ernst & Young, Sri Lanka and Maldives Partner and Consulting Leader Arjuna Herath. Access to the webcast can be obtained by emailing [email protected].