Sri Lanka, Feb. 17 -- The first budget of the National People's Power government is set to be presented to Parliament today, marking the 79th budget of independent Sri Lanka. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, in his capacity as Minister of Finance, inspected the final document yesterday and will present the budget at 10:30 a.m.

The Budget Appropriation Bill was submitted to Parliament on January 9, and the debate will take place from tomorrow until March 25. The committee stage debate, or third reading, will be held from February 27 to March 21, with the final vote scheduled for March 21 at 6:00 p.m.

This year's total estimated government expenditure is Rs. 4,218 billion, a reduction of Rs. 2,760 billion compared to last year's Rs. 6,...