Deputy Minister of Economic Development Anil Jayantha told Parliament that the government has not printed money, rejecting claims made by various groups that Rs. 1.2 trillion had been issued under the current administration.
He said such allegations were made either “intentionally or out of ignorance.”
The Deputy Minister clarified that the government neither has the ability nor the legal authority to print money. Instead, he explained that the recent monetary expansion was the result of reserve money operations conducted by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL)—a process distinct from government-driven money printing.
He stressed that portraying the expansion as government-led printing was misleading the public.
According to the Deputy Minister, Sri Lanka currently holds Rs. 1.6 trillion in reserve money, while the broad money supply has expanded to nearly Rs. 15 trillion, growth that he attributed solely to Central Bank interventions.
