School bags and shoe prices to be slashed Keeping with rupee appreciation against the dollar

Immediate steps will be taken to slash the prices of school bags and shoes, State Finance Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said.  

With the appreciation of the rupee, the manufacturing costs of school bags and shoes in the local market should have come down, he said following a discussion held at the Finance Ministry. Siyambalapitiya said that the Finance Ministry has called for a report to monitor if local traders have reduced prices of shoes and school bags accordingly.  

"The report must be submitted within a week. Once the report is tabled, it will be forwarded to the President and a decision will be taken to give parents some relief," he said.