Tracking delivery on manifesto promises

Establish a National Institute to oversee the preservation, study, and research of past and present visual arts and photography.

Why this status: The government adopted an official cultural policy or ministerial function that repeats this commitment as a key activity. This is evidence of a live implementation direction, but the source does not prove nationwide completion, so the promise remains in the works.

Build a network of registered dance institutions.

Why this status: The government adopted an official cultural policy or ministerial function that repeats this commitment as a key activity. This is evidence of a live implementation direction, but the source does not prove nationwide completion, so the promise remains in the works.

Establish a National Institute dedicated to the preservation and promotion of dance.

Why this status: The government adopted an official cultural policy or ministerial function that repeats this commitment as a key activity. This is evidence of a live implementation direction, but the source does not prove nationwide completion, so the promise remains in the works.

Organize grants and provide tax relief for theatre production and exhibition.

Why this status: Cabinet approved a Rs. 50 million 2026 allocation for projects promoting drama, performing arts and literature at national and regional level, including support for new drama productions and performances and facilities around cinema clusters. This is direct public support for theatre and related arts, but the promise also requires tax relief and the evidence does not show a dedicated tax-exemption package or full production-and-exhibition grant scheme.

Establish a National Institute for Research and Training in contemporary theatre arts.

Why this status: The government adopted an official cultural policy or ministerial function that repeats this commitment as a key activity. This is evidence of a live implementation direction, but the source does not prove nationwide completion, so the promise remains in the works.

Establish a National Film and Television Study Institute for emerging filmmakers and create a National Film Archive.

Why this status: Cabinet has authorised drafting a replacement cinema law whose stated regulatory areas include film conservation and cinema education. This is a relevant early reform step, but it does not establish a National Film and Television Study Institute or a National Film Archive; the pledge remains at an early implementation stage.

Establish a classification board for film and television works to standardize content.

Why this status: The government adopted an official cultural policy or ministerial function that repeats this commitment as a key activity. This is evidence of a live implementation direction, but the source does not prove nationwide completion, so the promise remains in the works.

Reform the National Film Corporation and establish a National Film Institute.

Why this status: Cabinet approved instructions to draft a Bill repealing the National Film Corporation Act and creating a National Cinema Council with modern regulatory and cinema-promotion functions. That is substantial, official progress on reforming the Corporation, but the Bill is not yet an enacted reform and the evidence does not show a National Film Institute has been established.

Establish a research fund for the literary arts sector and organize annual international research sessions.

Why this status: The government adopted an official cultural policy or ministerial function that repeats this commitment as a key activity. This is evidence of a live implementation direction, but the source does not prove nationwide completion, so the promise remains in the works.

Provide tax exemptions to various art sectors on selected materials and equipment, such as paper.

Why this status: The government adopted an official cultural policy or ministerial function that repeats this commitment as a key activity. This is evidence of a live implementation direction, but the source does not prove nationwide completion, so the promise remains in the works.

Provide scholarships to eligible individuals for international training in all fields of art.

Why this status: Official India–Sri Lanka scholarship information identifies dedicated ICCR scholarships for Sri Lankan students and practitioners in classical music, dance, visual arts, theatre, painting and fine arts, coordinated in Colombo with Sri Lanka's Ministry of Education. This provides real international arts-training opportunities, but the evidence does not show a Sri Lankan-government-funded scholarship programme covering all art fields or the full eligibility and scale promised.

Establish a 'National Fund' for literature, cinema, drama, and other arts, supported continuously by government and private sector.

Why this status: The Central Cultural Fund already provides financial assistance to artistes, and Cabinet gave policy approval in March 2026 to amend its governing Act to suit present needs. The 2025 cultural budget also lists Rs. 52 million for assistance to artists. These measures provide public arts support, but they do not establish the promised continuously supported national fund backed by both government and the private sector.

Regulate all health services, including private medical services, to ensure the delivery of high-quality healthcare to patients.

Why this status: The Health Ministry’s 2025 action plan includes strengthening private-health regulation, updated guidelines, a grading system for private medical institutions, accreditation, and worker qualification standards. These are substantial implementation steps, but the documentation is a plan and does not prove that all health services are already effectively regulated.

Ensure the continuous supply of all essential medicines to public health institutions.

Why this status: The objective remains unmet. In July 2025, Health Ministry officials told a parliamentary oversight committee that shortages had arisen, with only 80–90% of essential items expected to be available by year-end; this falls short of continuous supply of all essential medicines. Cabinet has since approved a 2026–2030 medicinal-drug policy to address access, quality and supply-chain challenges, but that is a response in progress rather than proof the continuity problem has been resolved.

Establish an efficient pharmaceutical testing laboratory to ensure drug safety.

Why this status: The National Medicines Regulatory Authority currently operates a National Medicines Quality Assurance Laboratory that tests medicines and related products for quality, safety and efficacy. This substantially covers the function described in the pledge, but the laboratory predates the manifesto and the available evidence does not show that this government established or materially upgraded a new efficient pharmaceutical testing laboratory. The promise is therefore only partially creditable as a new delivery.

Introduce a patient charter to ensure accountability of health workers and protect patients’ rights.

Why this status: The Ministry of Health publishes a Citizen Charter dated 5 February 2024, before the NPP government took office. A patient-rights/accountability document therefore exists, but the available official evidence does not show that this government introduced a new patient charter or strengthened the existing one. It should not be credited as a newly fulfilled pledge.

Certify all laboratory tests and procedures in government health institutions according to ISO standards and provide 24/7 phone access to medical professionals and nurses.

Why this status: The official health policy repeats the ISO-certification component for laboratory tests and procedures, but does not include the manifesto’s separate 24/7 phone-access requirement for medical professionals and nurses. This is a partial match.

Cluster health institutions into primary care institutions (base hospitals), secondary care institutions (general hospitals), and tertiary care institutions (teaching hospitals) to ensure effective and continuous care.

Why this status: The government has begun a phased expansion of primary care and Cabinet has approved 1,000 Arogya Health and Wellness Centres for 2026–28, taking the primary-care network to 2,000 institutions. This supports the promised health-system reorganisation, but no official record yet confirms that all hospitals have been formally clustered into the exact primary, secondary and tertiary structure promised.

Establish an organization to regulate food-related advertisements and implement a code of ethics to ensure advertisements provide accurate information to consumers.

Why this status: Food-advertising regulation has progressed: the Ministry of Health lists Food (Labelling and Advertising) Regulations 2026 among the current regulations, and the related 2026 draft has been opened for public and industry comment. This is relevant to accurate consumer information. However, there is no official evidence that a dedicated food-advertising regulator or the promised standalone code of ethics has been established, so the full pledge is only partially delivered.

Establish national health promotion programs to control severe and chronic malnutrition and obesity.

Why this status: Delivered substantially as a programme commitment. The Ministry of Health is implementing National Nutrition Month 2026 to address undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, overweight and obesity through nationwide awareness, nutrition education and multisectoral collaboration. This verifies the promised national health-promotion programme, not a completed reduction in malnutrition or obesity outcomes.

Implement online registration for medical appointments in health services institutions.

Why this status: There is genuine but limited implementation. The Ministry's 2025 hospital-quality manual directs facilities to establish online appointment systems where possible, and Teaching Hospital Badulla operates a live online OPD booking portal. This demonstrates the promised model in a public health institution, but the evidence does not establish a national rollout across health-service institutions; the pledge is therefore underway rather than kept.

Establish an independent regulatory unit under the Ministry of Education to regulate the quality and fees of programs offered by existing private educational institutions.

Why this status: The official policy commits to an independent regulatory unit to regulate programmes at existing private educational institutions, but it does not include the manifesto’s separate fee-regulation requirement. This is a partial policy match, not full delivery.

Establish a dedicated university for postgraduate research and development.

Why this status: The official higher-education policy explicitly commits to establishing a university for postgraduate research and development. No evidence in this source demonstrates that the university has been established, so it remains in the works.

Establish special units in every tertiary education institution to enhance basic qualifications, including English language skills, for students pursuing postgraduate education in international universities, and to foster relationships for securing such opportunities.

Why this status: The Ministry's progress report says the government expects to establish special units in every tertiary institution for foundational qualifications including English and international postgraduate opportunities. The UGC's 2025–2029 plan separately commits targeted funding for English courses. Both are implementation signals, but neither source confirms that the promised units are operating at every institution.

Establish a Vocational Education Regulatory Department staffed by professionals to advise on qualitative and quantitative changes in the vocational education sector, considering job market demands and global trends.

Why this status: The Ministry of Education's published reform programme says a vocational education regulatory bureau will be set up with industry and education professionals to advise on changes responsive to job-market and global trends. This closely matches the pledge, but the source frames it as a future action rather than evidence that the regulatory body is operating.