The state administrative system has been significantly weakened due to the lack of proper recruitment to fill vacancies in the public service for many years, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake stated.

President Dissanayake made these remarks while presenting the Budget Proposals in Parliament.

The President further said that, following a formal study conducted through a committee established under the leadership of the Prime Minister to review the public service recruitment process and manage the workforce, approval has been granted to recruit nearly 75,000 individuals through an appropriate procedure.

These recruitments include essential positions such as technical officers, law enforcement officers and revenue officers, who are required to maintain vital state services.

Moreover, the President added that, moving forward, all recruitments, promotions and related functions in the public sector will be carried out strictly according to prescribed examinations and service regulations, free from political interference thereby ensuring equal opportunities for young men and women.

President Dissanayake also announced several new measures to provide financial and welfare benefits to public sector employees in his 2026 budget speech.

The President stated that the housing and property loan scheme for public servants will be restructured to allow loans up to Rs. 5 million.

Under this revised system, Rs. 500 million will be allocated to provide loans at a 4% concessional interest rate for the first Rs. 3 million, and at a 2% interest rate for amounts between Rs. 3 million and Rs. 5 million.

To ensure the continued stability of health benefits under the Agrahara Insurance Scheme, the employee contribution rate will be revised. The minimum contribution of Rs. 125 will be increased by Rs. 75, while the monthly contributions of Rs. 300 and Rs. 600 will be increased by Rs. 150 each.

The President further proposed to increase the interest-free festival advance provided to government employees from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 15,000.

In addition, the distress loan advance available to public servants will be increased from Rs. 250,000 to Rs. 400,000, at an interest rate of 4.2%. To ensure the smooth and timely issuance of these advances, an allocation of Rs. 10 billion has been made to expand the public servants’ advance account limit.