Examination

Over the last two decades, rice barons have reshaped the industry. Fueled by credit, they’ve bought expensive machinery and built vast warehouses. As small millers are running out of business, the industry is becoming an oligopoly, and controlled prices are regularly flouted.

Hayeshika Fernando, an influencer-tutor, helps grade five students crack the life-changing scholarship exam by relying on a combination of love-bombing and well-executed teaching. Controversies surround her, but many seek her out. In some parents’ books, she’s become a modern-day guru devi.

Justice Ministry secretary and attorney-general at 33, Nihal Jayawickrama was the architect of the justice system’s most radical overhaul. Over a leisurely lunch at Tintagel we talk about the speed of justice, an independent public prosecutor, and the 1972 constitution.

Corrupt and lethargic, the mining bureau has locked genuine investors out of mines. Fraudsters and license traders, meanwhile, have been making a quick buck. The government is reviewing past licenses and re-thinking its mineral policy.

It’s been seven months since Pushpalatha Paramasivam died after falling ill at her factory. Her family is suspicious as the police aren't investigating properly. Brandix’s internal inquiry finds the company isn’t at fault.

Nearly two decades after the war ended, there are still two commemorations. Though the Lankadeepa is the most read newspaper on the island, it ignores the Mullivaikkal commemorations. But how the frontpage remembers the war has changed since 2009.

AI and robots are replacing humans in industries from car-manufacturing to financial services. Could apparel be next? It’s unlikely for Sri Lanka, especially as the island focuses on more complex garments. But recruitment may take a hit.

Sinhalese smut online is flaccid, having lost the emotional complexity of classical and modern erotic literature. Yet audiences are turning to niche subgenres, like Korean-inspired boys’ love and erotica written by women.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s victory marked a high-water point for Sinhalese nationalism. But the NPP’s recent success in the North shows that its power is receding. Reading Rajesh Venugopal’s 2018 economic history suggests that the structural conditions which sustain this ideology are becoming weaker.

Tech layoffs are here, but they aren’t as bad as the rumours suggest. Small outsourcing companies, and specific jobs like tech writers and quality-assurance engineers face the greatest threat. Tech education isn’t keeping up.