📈 Sri Lankan Innovation Sweeps Asia Awards 2026

Sri Lanka achieved a significant milestone in industrial engineering at the Asia Awards 2026 in India, highlighting the country's growing strength in intellectual property and high-value technical solutions. • Overall Recognition: Veteran inventor Rohan De Lanerolle Snr received 5 prestigious awards, including Asia’s Innovative Maker Award and Lifetime Achiever Award. • Sector Spotlight: Engineering brand C2S.LK (under Abacus Tea (Pvt) Ltd) won for Outstanding Technology and Equipment Innovation in the tea industry. • Technical Achievement: A patented Sri Lankan conversion technology successfully eliminated metal staples in tea bags, solving a 20-year global safety challenge. • Economic Impact: • Cost Savings: Prevented the need for new machinery costing US$ 500,000 to US$ 1 Mn per unit. • Market Reach: Over 50 machines converted for giants like Hindustan Unilever, Tata, and Akbar Brothers. • Forex Contribution: Generated substantial foreign exchange inflows while preventing capital outflows for the tea industries of India and Sri Lanka. This success underscores the potential of Sri Lanka’s ICT/BPM and engineering sectors to drive economic diversification by exporting patented, globally competitive solutions.