The cash-strapped island nation has been struggling to meet basic demands of its people since as early as March. Since the very beginning, India has aided the crisis-hit country with fuel, food, medicines and financial help
A protestor waved the national flag outside Gotabaya’s residence in Sri Lanka. AP
Sri Lanka on Wednesday declared a state of emergency after embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country. The latest development has come after a long line of violent protests across the country over the worst economic crisis in the nation’s history.
The cash-strapped nation was struggling to meet basic demands of its public since as early as March when day-long power cuts were announced to make do with the severe energy shortage.
Over the last few months, the paradise island has witnessed violent protests, leading to a breakdown of the political machinery.
As Sri Lanka continues to suffer from this situation, India is playing the role of ‘big brother’ and is lending a helping hand to the troubled nation.
India has said that the situation in Sri Lanka is extremely sensitive and they are focusing on ways to help the island nation at this time of need.
Here’s how India has helped the neighbouring nation in the worst of its times:
Fuel and dieselIn early April, a whopping 76,000 tonnes of fuel were delivered to Sri Lanka as the neighbouring nation struggles for diesel. With this, India had supplied more than 270,000 MT of various types of fuel under Indian assistance.
In order to procure emergency fuel stocks from India, debt-ridden Sri Lanka again extended a credit line with the country by $200 million in May first week.
Lanka IOC, the unit of India’s biggest oil firm, has asked all its 216 petrol pumps in Sri Lanka to maintain a separate fuel stockpile for supply to ambulances in the crisis-hit island nation.
The company, which is a subsidiary of state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), is operating all its petrol pumps normally and is provisioning to meet the increased rush, Lanka IOC Managing Director Manoj Gupta told PTI.
The fuel supplies to the crisis-ridden nation has helped it with the crippling transport system and the severe power shortages that also forced the Colombo Stock Exchange to limit its trading by half to two hours.
Humanitarian aid – food, medicines and more
The loss of foreign exchange led to the Sri Lankan government to impose import restrictions on 367 items such as fish meat, fish fillets, milk and cream, buttermilk, curdled milk and cream, yogurt, butter and other fat and oil derived from milk; dairy spreads, cheese and curd, grapes, fresh or dried, apples, pears, chocolate and oranges.
The acute shortage of food in the island nation sent the prices skyrocketing. Staple foods like rice and wheat were being sold at about Rs 220 per kg and Rs 190 per kg respectively.
Amid such a situation, Indian traders sent 40,000 tonnes of rice on 2 April to help bring down rice prices. Since then, several aid packages have been sent across.
On June 25, the Indian government sent humanitarian supplies worth more than SLR 3 billion. The consignment consisted of 14,700 MT of rice, 250 MT of milk powder, and 38 MT of medicines.
In May-end, India handed over a large amount of humanitarian assistance consignment worth over SLR 2 billion (Rs 43.8 crore) to the island country.
Financial aidIn May 2022, Indian High Commission said India has committed more than $3 billion to debt-ridden Sri Lanka in loans, credit lines and credit swaps since January this year.
Also, the $1 billion credit facility for the purchase of food, medicines and other essential commodities is operational.
Timeline | Sri Lanka’s economic crisis was in the making from November 2019
According to Moneycontrol, till date, India has provided around $5 billion worth of assistance to Sri Lanka, of which $3.8 billion has been provided in just 2022.
This includes a $400-million currency swap in January, deferral of a $500-million loan repayment, and two lines of credit (LoC) totaling $1.5 billion. An LoC is a flexible loan from a financial institution that consists of a defined amount of money that the borrower can access, as needed, and repay either immediately or over time.
Indian airports to the aid of Sri Lanka
Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Wednesday lauded the Trivandrum and Kochi airports in Kerala for allowing more than 120 Sri Lanka-bound aircrafts for technical landing for refuelling purposes.
“The airports have gone beyond their call of duty by allowing technical landing to 120+ aircraft bound for Sri Lanka. The gesture will go a long way in furthering ties with our neighbour,” Scindia said in a tweet.