101.   The Conservatives have pledged to provide public funds to ensure private operators maintain the level of public services on the railways.

102.   The Department of Telecommunications has asked private operators to pay four million dollars in licence fees and also wants to charge for access to its massive network.

103.   The government also hoped to announce Wednesday the award of licences to two private operators to establish parallel telephone networks to compete with Sri Lanka Telecom.

104.   The first phase was covered by a contract signed a year ago with Indonesian private operator Satelindo.

105.   The Indian government Thursday opened up railway tourism to the private sector, offering four popular sectors to private operators picked after a global tender.