The debate on the second reading of budget 2016 will be conducted for nine days and the vote on the second reading will be taken in the afternoon of December 02.

The committee stage or the third reading of the budget commences on December 03.

The committee stage debate will be held for 15 days and the vote on the third reading is scheduled to be taken in the afternoon of December 19.

Budget at a glance:

Taxes on English and Tamil films and advertisements removed.

25% extra tax on tobacco production and gambling. Annual tax on betting and gambling increased to Rs 400 million.

Price of infant milk to be reduced by Rs 100.

Special commodity levy on imported potatoes and big onions to be reduced by Rs 25. Maximum price for canned fish (Rs 125), 1kg of Sprats (Rs 410) and Dhal (Rs 169).

Domestic cylinder of LP gas (12.5 kg) to be reduced by Rs 150 and kerosene to be reduced by Rs 10 per litre.

Rs 3,000 million to be allocated to build three new Cancer Hospitals in Nallur, Kandy and Matara.

New pension scheme for tho enter public sector from 2016 including Members of Parliament.

Number of police stations to be increased from 428 to 600. Rs 1,000 million to be allocated for this.

New domestic airports to be built in Digana, Badulla and Puttalam. Mattala Airport to be converted into a transfer terminal for air cargo.

Rs 90,000 million has been allocated for education (5.41 % of GDP) - Ravi

A Rs 250 savings account to be introduced to all Grade 1 students while all teachers to get 2 years training.

Import tax on printed book, journals and magazines to be complexly removed.

Rs 2000 million to supply electricity for all schools without electricity and Rs 10,000 million to develop 3,577 primary schools.

Rs 4,000 million to be allocated for the improving of sanitation facilities and water supplies for all schools in the island by end of 2016.

5 working days a week for the private sector.

A minimum Rs 2,500 salary hike for private sector employees.

Free WiFi Zones for every university.

New university named “Mahapola University” to be established in Malabe with an investment of Rs 3,000 million.

All employees to instruct their employers to open a bank account for the purpose of remitting their salaries.

Merge HTFC Bank and State Mortgage and Investment Bank (SMIB) to create a much stronger and large National Housing Bank.

Lankaputhra Bank to be merged with Regional Development Bank to create Lanka Enterprise Development Bank and also Sri Lanka Saving Bank to be merged with National Savings Bank.

The Divineguma Bank to be merged with the National Savings Bank.

Special emphasis will be placed on developing Bentota, Deduwa, Mirissa, Colombo Fort locality as tourist zones with participation of private sector. Galle to be developed as Heritage City.

Import duties on carriages, yachts, mini boats, surfing equipment etc; to be removed in order to promote tourism.

Special zone to be reserved in D.R. Wijewardena Mawatha for the establishing of the Colombo International Financial Center.

Plans to convert Sri Lanka into a shopping paradise. Duties on electronic items, shoes, garments and other accessories to be reduced to make the country a shopping hub like Singapore.

50% tax holiday for 5 years to those in MICE tourism

3,000 to be trained in hospitality industry

100,000 housing units to be constructed for low income families within 5 yeas. Import taxes imposed on construction materials to be reduced.

A new state-of-the-art convention hall to be built at a cost of Rs 3,000 million in the New Town Hall area in Colombo.

Abolish Securities Investment Account (SIA) trough which the foreign investors have been requested to channel their investments to the country.

Super gain tax to be removed.

An Export Import Bank to be set up from April 01, 2016 and to be listed as the Colombo Stock Exchange.

Rs 50 million seed capital to be allocated.

Removal of the tax imposed on leasing of land to foreigners also to remove all restrictions on ownership of identified investments imposed through the land restriction on alienation act.

Sri Lanka to be made one of the quickest places to get investments in the world (within 50 days).

National Digital Identification system will be introduced from January 01, 2016. Rs 10 billion to be allocated for this project.

All government buildings to be digitized by 2018.

Auction of the gem and Jewellery institution will be held.

Two year tax relief for rubber industry.

Guaranteed price for paddy (Keeri Samba - Rs 50, Samba - Rs 41, Nadu - Rs 38)

Government to allocate Rs 4 billion for wildlife conservation and to solve the human-elephant conflict over a period of 3 years.

Rs 1.5 billion to be allocated for each Grama Niladhari Division for rural economy development.

New economic zone to be created in Vavuniya.

Government to promote export of chicken.

Rs 750 million to be allocated for the development of the fisheries harbours in Chilaw, Mirissa, Kalmunai, Valvettithurai

Life insurance scheme for Rs 1 million for fishermen will be introduced

The maximum retail price of a 400g packet of locally manufactured milk powder will be reduced from Rs 325 to Rs 295 – Finance Minister

The government will establish a regulatory authority to streamline micro, small and medium scale enterprises.