Documents

• LIRNEasia Journal Club: Leveraging Digital Public Infrastructure for Inclusive Social Protection

  The journal club held on the 17th of April 2025 focused on the report ‘Leveraging Digital Public Infrastructure for Building Inclusive Social Protection Systems’ by Priya Vedavalli, Nikita Kwatra, Sharmadha Srinivasan, and Vikram Sinha of Artha Global published in April 2024. Background Portability of social protection, defined as the ease at which beneficiaries can retain access to social protection when they move across geographic lines, is a significant issue in India. This concerns over 400 million Indians (almost a third of the population) who are internal migrants, for whom accessing government services becomes a challenge due to a changing place of residence. The report explores how Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), which the authors define as “digital systems that provide identity, enable payments, facilitate the delivery of population-scale services  by public and private actors, and other functions that are essential for the public good”, can be used to make social protection more portable, specifically in the context of India. Overview of the Report The authors focus on three federally governed Indian social protection schemes: Public Distribution Scheme (PDS) – India’s largest social protection scheme, which provides subsidized grains through fair price shops. Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) – A scheme which […]

• LIRNEasia Shares Insights on Digital Inclusion at ADB–ESCAP–BIMSTEC Workshop on Best Practices for Accelerated Pro-Poor and Inclusive Growth Initiatives

  LIRNEasia’s Senior Research Manager, Gayani Hurulle, was invited to conduct a session on Leveraging Digitalization for Inclusive Growth at a regional workshop on Best Practices for Accelerated Pro-Poor and Inclusive Growth Initiatives, held from 24 to 26 June 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand. The event was jointly organized by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the BIMSTEC Secretariat, and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). The workshop brought together government officials and experts from BIMSTEC Member States: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, along with representatives from ASEAN countries, think tanks, and development organizations. The goal was to share knowledge and experiences on strategies that have successfully addressed poverty and supported inclusive economic growth. In her session, Gayani shared insights from LIRNEasia’s nationally representative surveys conducted in 2017/2018 (After Access) and 2021, to highlight gaps in access and usage, and insights from two case studies on social protection and labour. The first case study focused on efficient, privacy-protecting data sharing to allow for improve coverage of social assistance. Meanwhile, the second examined enablers and risks of leveraging digital platforms for work, using LIRNEasia’s multiple research studies on platform workers. Some key takeaways presented […]

• Data for poverty measurement

  Poverty alleviation is the first of the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. However, the three decades of progress in poverty alleviation hit the COVID-19 pandemic wall (World Bank, 2022). This was further exacerbated by longstanding macroeconomic mismanagement in countries such as Sri Lanka. Counting the poor is the first step in poverty alleviation (The Economist, 2023). Deaton (2016), for example, notes that recording details of how people live, their consumption patterns, and their expenditure has long served as a tool, sometimes a political one, that aimed to bring the living conditions of the impoverished to the attention of those in authority, to evoke shock, and to advocate for reform. However, defining and measuring poverty is a complex and multifaceted task that requires careful examination of various indicators and methodologies. A clear definition of poverty is crucial as that it guides the determination of indicators for it, which leads to identifying individuals suffering from it, and eventually helps formulate effective policies to alleviate the same (Laderchi et al.,2003). This paper first draws on the literature to discuss various conceptualizations of poverty and their relative merits. This step is intended to guide policy practitioners on which types of poverty they are […]

• DRAFT: Using mobile call detail records (CDRs) and remote sensing data for spatial mapping of poverty

  By employing unsupervised and supervised machine learning techniques, we explore the feasibility of utilizing mobile call detail records (CDRs) as well as geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) data to map poverty spatially

• Challenges to Achieve Responsive and Accountable Governance in Social Protection in Sri Lanka

  Draft: Open for Comments Social protection is a critical tool for promoting economic and social inclusion, reducing inequality and poverty, addressing vulnerabilities, and investing in human development. Social protection is viewed as nationally owned policies and instruments that provide income or in-kind support, protect from deprivations and exclusion, and empower individuals and households by increasing productivity and capabilities. Responsive and accountable governance plays a vital role in removing barriers and ensuring effective checks and balances, enabling citizens to fully benefit from social protection (UNDP, 2022). The objective of this research is to understand the challenges to achieving responsive and accountable governance in social protection, which hinder citizens from fully benefiting from social protection in Sri Lanka. This paper will draw on one of the key thematic areas identified in UNDP’s Social Protection Offer 2.0, which is responsive and accountable governance. It plays vital role in removing barriers and ensuring effective checks and balances, enabling citizens to fully benefit from social protection (ibid). In this context the challenges in governance are explained through two dimensions: 1) Mechanisms and Administrative systems dimention and 2) Supply and demand dimention. These dimensions are used to explore challenges such as lack of transparency, discrimination, mismanagement […]

• Relationship between monetary poverty and multidimensional social assistance eligibility criteria in Sri Lanka

  Draft paper, open for comments Many countries use multidimensional approaches to determine eligibility for social assistance programmes. However, monetary-based metrics remain a key tool used for measure poverty. It is crucial to understand the linkages between the two, to understand how best to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the social assistance programmes. This paper looks to explore the relationship between the 22-indicator deprivation score used in Sri Lanka to determine eligibility for its key social assistance programme, Aswesuma, and the national poverty line, measured using per capita consumption expenditure, drawing on a nationally representative survey. It concludes that the deprivation score has a positive, but weak to moderate, relationship with expenditure-based poverty, and discusses implications for policymakers. Suggested citation: Hurulle, G., Amarasinghe, T., Habaragamuwa, N. & Galpaya, H. (2023) Relationship between monetary poverty and multidimensional social assistance eligibility criteria in Sri Lanka. LIRNEasia.

• Sri Lanka Social Safety Net Survey: Survey Methodology Note

  Sri Lanka Social Safety Net Survey: Survey Methodology Note

• RFP: Sri Lanka Social Safety Net – Qualitative Study

  Sri Lanka Social Safety Net – Qualitative Study

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Events

• LIRNEasia’s Chair Professor Rohan Samarajiva at ADB’s SKOP on Cybersecurity and Data Protection for Digital Economy Development
  On 15 October 2025, the Asian Development Bank’s Serendipity Knowledge Program (SKOP) hosted a high-level event on Digital Transformation, Cybersecurity, and Data Protection for Digital Economy Development in Sri Lanka.
• LIRNEasia Senior Research Manager Gayani Hurulle Participates in UN ESCAP Expert Group Meeting on Eradicating Poverty and Empowering People
  LIRNEasia’s Senior Research Manager, Gayani Hurulle, participated in the Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on ‘Eradicating Poverty, Empowering People,’ organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP), which took place from 23–25 September 2025.
• LIRNEasia Shares Insights on Digital Inclusion at ADB–ESCAP–BIMSTEC Workshop on Best Practices for Accelerated Pro-Poor and Inclusive Growth Initiatives
  LIRNEasia’s Senior Research Manager, Gayani Hurulle, was invited to conduct a session on Leveraging Digitalization for Inclusive Growth at a regional workshop on Best Practices for Accelerated Pro-Poor and Inclusive Growth Initiatives, held from 24 to 26 June 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand.
• LIRNEasia & World Bank organize session on Digital Transformation at National Policy Dialogue on Social Protection
  LIRNEasia co-convened one of the six parallel sessions, “Digital Transformation for Social Protection,” along with the World Bank at the National Social Protection Dialogue.
• Research Launched: Social Safety Nets and the State of Poverty in Sri Lanka
  LIRNEasia held an event titled Social Safety Nets and the State of Poverty in Sri Lanka on Wednesday 7 June 2023  in Colombo.

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People

Sukitha Bandaranayake

Shenali Bamaramannage

Helani Galpaya

Gayani Hurulle

Tharaka Amarasinghe

Blogs and Updates

• Cents and sensibility: rethinking social protection spending in the budgets ahead
  Over time, Sri Lanka will need to confront legacy challenges such as the structure of non-contributory pensions, strengthen coordination across agencies, and improve the use of data and digital systems.
• LIRNEasia’s Chair Professor Rohan Samarajiva at ADB’s SKOP on Cybersecurity and Data Protection for Digital Economy Development
  On 15 October 2025, the Asian Development Bank’s Serendipity Knowledge Program (SKOP) hosted a high-level event on Digital Transformation, Cybersecurity, and Data Protection for Digital Economy Development in Sri Lanka.
• LIRNEasia Senior Research Manager Gayani Hurulle Participates in UN ESCAP Expert Group Meeting on Eradicating Poverty and Empowering People
  LIRNEasia’s Senior Research Manager, Gayani Hurulle, participated in the Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on ‘Eradicating Poverty, Empowering People,’ organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP), which took place from 23–25 September 2025.
• LIRNEasia Journal Club: Leveraging Digital Public Infrastructure for Inclusive Social Protection
  The journal club held on the 17th of April 2025 focused on the report ‘Leveraging Digital Public Infrastructure for Building Inclusive Social Protection Systems’ by Priya Vedavalli, Nikita Kwatra, Sharmadha Srinivasan, and Vikram Sinha of Artha Global published in April 2024.
• LIRNEasia Shares Insights on Digital Inclusion at ADB–ESCAP–BIMSTEC Workshop on Best Practices for Accelerated Pro-Poor and Inclusive Growth Initiatives
  LIRNEasia’s Senior Research Manager, Gayani Hurulle, was invited to conduct a session on Leveraging Digitalization for Inclusive Growth at a regional workshop on Best Practices for Accelerated Pro-Poor and Inclusive Growth Initiatives, held from 24 to 26 June 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand.
• LIRNEasia & World Bank organize session on Digital Transformation at National Policy Dialogue on Social Protection
  LIRNEasia co-convened one of the six parallel sessions, “Digital Transformation for Social Protection,” along with the World Bank at the National Social Protection Dialogue.
• Aswesuma to Prajashakthi: considerations for future social protection programmes
  This article was carried in the Daily Mirror on 17 October 2024 on International Eradication of Poverty Day Poverty in Sri Lanka has increased significantly with the onset of COVID-19 and the macroeconomic crisis.
• Senior Research Manager Gayani Hurulle participates at CA Sri Lanka’s Annual Economic and Tax Symposium
  Taxation is a critical tool for sustainable development, playing a vital role in reducing poverty, ensuring food security, and enhancing social protection.
• Call for Proposals: FutureWORKS Asia: Towards a sustainable and inclusive future of work in Asia (cycle 1)
  LIRNEasia is inviting proposals for gender-responsive, policy-relevant applied research projects that contribute to a sustainable and inclusive future of work.
• Data for poverty measurement
  Poverty alleviation is the first of the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
• DRAFT: Using mobile call detail records (CDRs) and remote sensing data for spatial mapping of poverty
  By employing unsupervised and supervised machine learning techniques, we explore the feasibility of utilizing mobile call detail records (CDRs) as well as geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) data to map poverty spatially
• Challenges to Achieve Responsive and Accountable Governance in Social Protection in Sri Lanka
  Draft: Open for Comments Social protection is a critical tool for promoting economic and social inclusion, reducing inequality and poverty, addressing vulnerabilities, and investing in human development.
• Relationship between monetary poverty and multidimensional social assistance eligibility criteria in Sri Lanka
  Draft paper, open for comments Many countries use multidimensional approaches to determine eligibility for social assistance programmes.
• Research Launched: Social Safety Nets and the State of Poverty in Sri Lanka
  LIRNEasia held an event titled Social Safety Nets and the State of Poverty in Sri Lanka on Wednesday 7 June 2023  in Colombo.
• Sri Lanka Social Safety Net Survey: Survey Methodology Note
  Sri Lanka Social Safety Net Survey: Survey Methodology Note
• Reimagining Sri Lanka’s social safety nets
  In our blogpost with Citra Labs, we explore the role digital and data can play in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of social safety nets (social assistance) in Sri Lanka.
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