More attention will be paid to reduce paper consumption, by turning paper documents into electronic ones, State Minister for Samurdhi, Home Economics, Micro Finance, Self Employment, Business Development, and Underutilized State Resource Development Shehan Semasinghe said in parliament yesterday (23).

The State Minister was responding to a question raised by MP Mohamed Muzammil yesterday (23), asserting that approximately Rs.369 billion had been spent on paper imports during the past five years.

State Minister Semasinghe explained that at a time when there was a focus on the environment, special attention was being paid to the use of documents online, including newspapers. “Measures will be implemented to protect the environment and reduce the cost of paper imports,” he stated.

Further, the State Minister noted that, as per President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's policy declaration, factories have been set up to produce high-quality papers that can compete internationally.

Meanwhile, responding to a query on tax policy, the State Minister stated measures have been taken by the government to simplify the tax system in order to attract more investors into the country.