NPP government unveils first budget, eyes 5% growth for Sri Lanka in 2025

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policies, presented his maiden Budget Speech in the Parliament today (17).

The Sri Lankan economy is expected to grow at 5 per cent in 2025, President Anura Dissanayake said Monday while presenting the budget for this year.

This is the first full-year budget presented by the National People's Power (NPP) government, which came to power in November last year.

Introducing the budget, Dissanayake said a budget is a "reflection of the government's approach to building the economy and overall policy." He added that this year's budget intends to set a foundation of an economy where "all citizens are active participants, active stakeholders, and active beneficiaries," news portal Adaderana.lk reported.

We expect the 2025 economic growth to be around 5 per cent, said Dissanayake, also the island nation's Finance Minister.

The 79th budget of the Independent Sri Lanka aimed at developing the country in a way that enables it to repay debt when repayment commences in 2028, encapsulated three main facets;

• Growth of production of industry, services and agriculture.
• Production must take place with the active engagement and participation of people.
• The benefits and gains from production must be equitably shared across society.

The Head of the State also noted that this years’ budget is prepared based on these principles, and that the government intend to set a foundation to create an economy where all citizens are active participants, active stakeholders, and active beneficiaries.

According to the Head of State, the budget deficit for the fiscal year 2025 is estimated at Rs. 2,200 billion, which is 6.7 as a percentage from the GDP.

The total expenditure for next year will be Rs. 7,190 billion, which is 21.8% of the country’s GDP and the total revenue and grants will be Rs. 4,990 billion (15.09%).

The government has allocated Rs. 5,886 billion for recurring expenditure such as subsidies and salary payments. For salaries and wages, Rs. 1,230 billion has been set aside, and Rs. 1,290 billion for subsidies and transfers

The president also announced a phased wage hike for state sector employees while presenting the budget.

We propose to increase the minimum monthly basic salary from SLR 24,250 to 40,000 by 15,750. The current ad-hoc interim allowance and special allowance will be integrated into the basic salary giving a net increase of SLR 8,250 in the minimum salary," he said.

Of the total net salary increase, SLR 5,000 and 30 per cent of the balance amount will be paid starting from April 2025, with the remaining 70 per cent being paid in equal portions beginning in January 2026 and January 2027, he said.