What are the various ways in which India is helping Sri Lanka climb out of its crisis? How can India help its southern neighbour in future?
The year 2022 has been a tough year for Sri Lanka. The country faced an unprecedented economic crisis, which even led to political instability in the country. India being the nearest neighbour, offered the first helping hand.
How India is helping Sri Lanka:
- India has offered a relief amount of $1.4 billion to Sri Lanka via means of currency swap, loan deferment and line of credit for fuel imports.
- A short-term concessional loan of $ 1 billion was extended to Sri Lanka in March 2022, after it faced the economic crisis.
- Support was also provided in the form of food grains, medical support and other in-kind support.
- Credit line facility was used to deliver 16,000 metric tonnes of rice and 4 lakh metric tonnes of fuel to Sri Lanka.
- The largest source of FDI in Sri Lanka is from India.
- Supply of chemical fertilisers.
Ways to help Sri Lanka in future:
- Involvement in energy projects of Sri Lanka.
- Assisting Sri Lanka in growing its dairy industry.
- Boosting productivity and output in the poultry sector.
- Infrastructure development.
- Agricultural machinery is another area where Sri Lanka needs a helping hand from India.
- India can establish smart classrooms and modern computer labs in tamilian areas of Sri Lanka.
Way forward:
India has generously helped its neighbours, but the Indian government by itself cannot solve Sri Lanka’s problem. The crisis hit country needs support from all multilateral agencies to come together and give it some breathing space.