A tender for 500,000 machine-readable passports (MRPs) is to be floated in coming days, authoritative sources said, adding that a committee is now drafting the relevant documents.
Meanwhile, the number of passports released daily has been raised to between 2,500 and 2,700 from the previous per-day cap of between 1,500 and 1,800. They include issuances via one-day and normal service, overseas missions and the Department of Immigration and Emigration’s (DIE) four branches.
The quota—which is necessary to stretch current limited stocks as far as possible—was increased on the instructions of the Public Security Ministry. The Sunday Times reported last week that an influx of applications is expected in the coming weeks from candidates aspiring to take the Korean language proficiency test who must furnish passport numbers to qualify to sit.
Read tomorrow's The Sunday Times for full details
Former Chairman of SriLankan Airlines, Nishantha Wickramasinghe, arrested on allegation of corruption by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) has been remanded until July 1 by the Colombo Magistrate court.
Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Stabilization and NPP National List MP Harshana Suriyapperuma who is tipped to be named the next Finance Ministry Secretary resigned from Parliament today.
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