Author name: Prashanthi Arokiam

Sri Lanka’s HR landscape isn’t just shifting—it’s undergoing a seismic overhaul. In late 2025, managers across Colombo are grappling with a convergence of critical policy changes: a significant hike in the national minimum wage, contentious proposals for the plantation sector, and the drafting of sweeping new unified labor laws. For many businesses already navigating a […]

As a manager in Colombo, you’re fighting a war on two fronts. Last week, your best senior engineer resigned to move overseas—another contributor to the $5.81 billion in remittances Sri Lanka just recorded in the first nine months of 2025, according to Central Bank data reported by Xinhuanet. This week, you’re trying to train two

As a manager in Colombo, you’re living in a paradox. From one side, you hear the government’s ambitious plans for a National AI Strategy. From the other, you see your team—talented and hardworking, but perhaps not fully equipped for the tidal wave of AI tools reshaping your industry. This is the dangerous chasm every Sri

A company’s compensation strategy is more than a financial calculation; it is a powerful statement of its values and its role within the national community. In Sri Lanka today, a single policy announcement is forcing every business leader to re-examine what “fair pay” truly means. The President’s definitive pledge to raise the daily wage for

The success of Sri Lanka’s fragile economic recovery hinges on a series of ambitious fiscal reforms. Yet, even the most perfect policy is destined to fail if the human capital required to implement it is missing. A stark revelation from the recent CA Sri Lanka conference has exposed a critical vulnerability at the heart of

As Sri Lanka’s banking sector celebrates a stunning recovery, a new, high-stakes battle is brewing not on the balance sheets, but in the talent market. The “war for talent,” dormant during the recent crisis, is about to return with a vengeance—and most companies are dangerously unprepared. The data is undeniably impressive: after a period of

A tectonic shift is underway in Sri Lanka’s talent landscape. The government’s landmark partnership with Google, announced as a “game changer,” will provide every student in the nation with free access to advanced Gemini AI tools. This visionary initiative is designed to build the human capital for a $15 billion digital economy, forging a new

Understanding the SVAT Crisis: A Simple Breakdown For years, Sri Lankan exporters operated under a system called the Simplified Value Added Tax (SVAT), which was a critical tax suspension scheme. Essentially, this system protected their day-to-day cash flow by allowing them to avoid paying VAT upfront on business inputs like raw materials. However, the government