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  • Jaishankar reaches Maldives for talks, next stop Lanka

    Jaishankar reaches Maldives for talks, next stop Lanka

    External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a cordial and fruitful meeting with Maldives Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid in Manadhoo on Wednesday afternoon…reports Asian Lite News

    External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived in the Maldives on Wednesday on the first leg of a two-nation visit that also includes Sri Lanka.

    Announcing the visit on Tuesday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had said both Maldives and Sri Lanka are India’s key maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean Region. They occupy a special place in Prime Minister’s vision of ‘SAGAR’ (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and ‘Neighbourhood First’.

    “EAM’s visit is testimony to the importance that India attaches to its close and friendly relations with the Maldives and Sri Lanka,” the MEA had pointed out.

    “Delighted to arrive in Maldives for my fourth visit as External Affairs Minister. Thank FM @abdulla_shahid for the warm welcome. The synergies of India’s Neighborhood First and Maldives’ India First policies strengthen further,” EAM Jaishankar tweeted.

    He is scheduled to call on President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and hold discussions with Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid.

    According to the MEA, the visit will see signing of agreements related to the bilateral development cooperation, ground-breaking/ inauguration/ handing-over and launch of a number of key India-supported projects that will contribute to the socio-economic development of the Maldives.

    External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a cordial and fruitful meeting with Maldives Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid in Manadhoo on Wednesday afternoon.

    During the meeting, they discussed the whole range of the unique bilateral relationship between India and the Maldives, covering development cooperation, capacity building, and people-to-people linkages.

    Taking to Twitter, EAM Jaishankar wrote, “Warm and productive meeting with Foreign Minister @abdulla_shahid in Manadhoo today afternoon. Discussed the full spectrum of our special bilateral partnership with focus on development cooperation, capacity building and people to people ties.”

    He added, “The partnership with India has made a real difference to the lives of people. My visit was an opportunity to see tangible results.”

    In addition, EAM Jaishankar witnessed the exchange of agreements and handovers for:

    Community development projects across Maldives.

    The construction of a sports complex in Gahdhoo.

    Academic collaboration between the Maldives National University and Cochin University.

    Sea ambulance to the Maldives Defense Force.

    According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maldives, both ministers noted the successful economic cooperation and the progress of projects that is being implemented under Indian grant assistance and line of credit schemes.

    They exchanged views and shared their visions relating to development cooperation, tourism cooperation, human resource development, multilateral engagements, and consular affairs between both countries, the ministry added.

    Additionally, Minister Shahid expressed gratitude to the Government of India for the constant support to facilitate and further develop economic, trade and investment ties between both countries, and for India’s commitment in the socioeconomic development of the Maldives.

    India hands over two Sea ambulances to Maldives

    India handed over two Sea Ambulances to Maldives on Wednesday that were procured under the Indian Grant Assistance scheme.

    External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid attended the handover ceremony held at Noonu Manadhoo today. A number of significant Memorandums of Understanding were exchanged between Maldives and India in various fields, as part of Jaishankar’s visit to Male. “During the ceremony, both Foreign Minister Shahid and External Affairs Minister Dr. Jaishankar also witnessed the handover of two sea ambulances from the Government of India to the Ministry of Defence of Maldives which was a project carried out under the High Impact Community Development Project Scheme,” the Maldives government said in a statement.

    As part of the close cooperation between India and Maldives under the Indian Grant Assistance scheme, Maldives’s Defence Ministry has procured two Sea Ambulances. A total of 6.2 million Rufiyaa was allocated to the Maldives for the procurement of Sea Ambulances.

    The scope of the project is to procure two new Sea Ambulances to strengthen the healthcare delivery system in the Maldives. It will also help with the inter-island travels of patients in emergency. The Maldives government thanked the Indian government for the Sea Ambulances.

    Jaishankar is on a visit to Male to see the signing of agreements related to the bilateral development cooperation, ground-breaking/inauguration/handing-over.

    At today’s ceremony, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Khaleel and Indian High Commissioner Munu Mahawar exchanged the Memorandum of Understanding between Maldives and India for additional grant assistance of 100 million Rufiyaa for the High Impact Community Development Project scheme.

    External Affairs Minister said that all Indian projects in the country adhere to the tenet of the Indian development cooperation approach which lays emphasis on transparency, and competitive pricing.

    “Needless to say, all these projects adhere to the basic tenet of the Indian development cooperation approach which is the emphasis on transparency, full participation, ownership of the host country and competitive pricing,” he said. (ANI)

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  • Lankan envoy meets NSA Doval, discusses relations

    Lankan envoy meets NSA Doval, discusses relations

    Ranil Wickremesinghe said that Sri Lanka will receive USD 2.5 billion from the International Monetary Fund and USD 5 billion from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank…reports Asian Lite News

    Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda yesterday met National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and discussed matters pertaining to India-Sri Lanka relations.

    Sri Lankan High Commission in India tweeted, “High Commissioner @MilindaMoragoda met with the National Security Advisor of India Shri Ajit Kumar Doval today (16), and discussed matters pertaining to India-Sri Lanka relations.” Meanwhile, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on January 11 said that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit Sri Lanka this week, according to Sri Lankan President Media Division statement. However, the Ministry of External Affairs has not yet issued any official statement regarding his visit.

    “India’s Foreign Minister will be arriving in Sri Lanka next week. India is in debt restructuring discussions,” Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe said while addressing the “Pratibha Abhisheka 2022, on Wednesday.

    Ranil Wickremesinghe said that Sri Lanka will receive USD 2.5 billion from the International Monetary Fund and USD 5 billion from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, according to Sri Lanka’s President Media Division.

    Wickremesinghe further said, “After that, we can get nearly 5 billion dollars from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. The total will be USD 7.5 billion. Adding the USD 3 billion from the restructuring of unprofitable government agencies can add up to USD 10 billion, which will enable the economy to recover and bring the country out of this suffering,” according to Sri Lankan President’s media division.

    According to Sri Lankan President’s Media division, Ranil Wickremesinghe said, “We are currently working to secure IMF assistance as soon as possible. The countries that have given us loans have already stated their willingness to assist us. Japan and the Paris Club, two of our three major creditors, have expressed their willingness to assist.” (ANI)

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  • Stamps including Nehru to mark Lanka’s 75th National Independence Day

    Stamps including Nehru to mark Lanka’s 75th National Independence Day

    The government has decided to celebrate the 75th National Independence Day with pride together with the new reformist program for the next 25 years…reports Asian Lite News

    As part of its 75th National Independence Day celebrations, Sri Lanka has decided to release a commemorative stamp that includes portrait of India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, according to a press release issued by the President’s Media Division of Sri Lanka.

    The government has decided to celebrate the 75th National Independence Day with pride together with the new reformist program for the next 25 years, the release read.
    According to the release, during this celebration held with pride under the theme “Namo Namo Matha – A Step towards a Century”, the government will announce its new reformist course for the next 25 years for the implementation of a stable government policy right until the 100th Independence Day celebrations in 2048.

    The main ceremony of the National Independence Day Celebrations will be held on February 4 at 8:30 am at Galle Face Green under the patronage of President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena.

    Many cultural and religious programs have been organized throughout the country in conjunction with the 75th National Independence Festival.

    The Buddhist religious rites will be performed on the evening of February 2 at Sri Dalada Maligawa, and on the same night, the Dhamma sermon will begin at Victoria Dam at 9:00 pm. On February 3, an almsgiving has been planned.

    Buddhist and Hindu religious programs have been organized in Colombo, and accordingly, on February 4 at 6:30 a.m., a Buddhist religious program has been organized at Dharmakirtyarama Temple, Polwatta, Colombo, and Hindu religious programs have also been organized at New Kadireshan Temple, Colombo.

    The Jaffna Cultural Center will be opened on the morning of February 11 under the patronage of the President, and the cultural procession will commence opposite the Jaffna Cultural Center and will travel through the streets of Jaffna culminating near the Jaffna Fort (the old bus station site).

    Arrangements have been made to hold Independence Day commemorations at the provincial and district level and public parks, National Parks owned by the National Zoology Department National Parks owned by the Department of Wildlife and Forest Conservation and National Parks owned by the National Botanical Gardens Department will be opened to the public free of charge on National Independence Day. (ANI)

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  • India slaughter Lanka, sweep series

    India slaughter Lanka, sweep series

    On a slow yet placid pitch, Kohli was off the blocks quickly and anchored the innings for a large part to remain unbeaten on 166 off 110 balls, his tenth hundred against Sri Lanka…reports Asian Lite News

    Virat Kohli dished out another batting masterclass with his 46th ODI century while Shubman Gill notched up his second hundred and Mohammed Siraj picked a four-fer to give India a 3-0 series victory with a 317-run thrashing of Sri Lanka at Greenfield International Stadium on Sunday.

    On a slow yet placid pitch, Kohli was off the blocks quickly and anchored the innings for a large part to remain unbeaten on 166 off 110 balls, his tenth hundred against Sri Lanka. In his third century in the last four ODI innings, Kohli hit 13 fours and eight sixes, feasting on a hapless bowling attack.

    In the last ten overs, he fetched 84 out of the 116 runs India scored to literally bat Sri Lanka out of the match. He also shared a 131-run partnership with Gill, who was stylish in his 116 off 97 balls, hitting 14 fours and two sixes, and propel India to a mammoth 390/5.

    In reply, Sri Lanka crumbled like a pack of cards to be all out for just 73 in 22 overs, their fourth-lowest total in the format and gave India their biggest margin of victory in ODI history.

    Mohammed Siraj got the ball to move around to run through the top order and pick his career-best figures of 4-32 in ten overs, while Mohammed Shami and Kuldeep Yadav had figures of 2-20 and 2-16 respectively in India’s dominating victory.

    Electing to bat first, India had a sedate start, making only 19 runs in the first five overs. Rohit set the tone for the aggression, stylishly flicking over deep mid-wicket for six off Lahiru Kumara. Gill joined the fun in the same over by getting four consecutive boundaries.

    Rohit was timing his shots beautifully like a straight-drive slammed down the ground off Rajitha and oozed elegance while pulling and lofting for sixes before flicking past mid-on for four, as India amassed 75 runs in the first ten overs.

    The 95-run opening stand was broken by Chamika Karunaratne when Rohit pulled straight to deep square leg in the 16th over. Kohli arrived and looked in the mood of playing another exquisite knock by hitting three sublime boundaries, both off the front foot and back foot.

    After Gill reached his fifty in 52 balls, he began to grow in confidence — slog-sweeping Jeffrey Vandersay over deep mid-wicket for six and then leant into a front foot drive past mid-off for four more. He cashed on Nuwanidu Fernando’s part-time off-spin, getting a four past the outside edge and then bringing out an elegant loft over long-off for six.

    On the very next ball, after Kohli got his fifty, Gill notched up his second ODI century off 89 balls. The duo pressed the accelerator pedal by taking four boundaries off Vandersay in the 32nd over before Gill was bowled by an off-cutter which kept low off Rajitha for 116 in the 33rd over.

    From there, Kohli unleashed carnage on Sri Lanka bowlers, as fielders dropped catches apart from a nasty collision between Ashen Bandara and Vandersay. Loose balls were being dispatched for boundaries by Kohli, while he also came down the pitch to get his runs in the quick clip. There was quick running between the wickets which added more fluency to his century and brought off only 85 balls.

    Kohli then produced the shot of the innings – dancing down the pitch to slam a slower ball from Rajitha over long-on for six, whose follow-through had shades of M.S. Dhoni’s helicopter shot. More fireworks came from him, slicing and lofting off Karunaratne for sixes before punching him through cover for four more.

    Though Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav and K.L. Rahul fell, there was no stopping Kohli, who was lofting, driving, flicking, and then got his 150 with a six whacked over deep mid-wicket off Kumara in the final over. He applied the finishing touches with a pull and dab going for four and six respectively, amassing 84 runs off the last 34 balls he faced.

    Under scoreboard pressure, Sri Lanka just wilted and couldn’t put up a fight. Siraj, central to India’s success in the first ten overs in ODIs, delivered the first blow by having Fernando edge to first slip for a low catch.

    In his next over, Siraj used his wobble-seam delivery to have Kusal Mendis edge behind to the keeper. Shami was next to strike as Charith Asalanka punched straight to the backward point.

    Siraj had his third wicket when Nuwanidu went for an expansive drive to an outswinger and chopped on. In the final over of the first Power-play, Siraj got his wobble-seam delivery to nip back in from outside off and rattle Hasaranga’s off-stump.

    With half the side back in the pavilion, panic ensued, resulting in a bizarre run-out of Karunaratne, who was out of the crease after defending against Siraj, and saw the bowler fire a direct hit at the striker’s end.

    Kuldeep castled Dasun Shanaka through the gate while Dunith Wellalage, coming in as a concussion substitute for Vandersay, chipped a drive straight to point off Shami. With Bandara absent hurt, Kuldeep finished off the match by castling Kumara and ending a 22-run partnership for the ninth wicket, completing a monstrous victory for India.

    Brief scores: India 390/5 in 50 overs (Virat Kohli 166 not out, Shubman Gill 116, Kasun Rajitha 2-81, Lahiru Kumara 2-87) beat Sri Lanka 73 all out in 22 overs (Nuwanidu Fernando 19; Mohammed Siraj 4-32, Kuldeep Yadav 2-16) by 317 runs

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  • Lankan President assures to fully implement 13A

    Lankan President assures to fully implement 13A

    Wickremesinghe also assured that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s work will be accelerated in order to provide relief to the families of those disappeared….reports SUSITHA FERNANDO

    Ahead of visit by India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to Sri Lanka this week, President Ranil Wickremesinghe has assured to fully implement the India-brokered 13th Amendment to the Constitution.

    Wickremesinghe said that the 13th Amendment, which was proposed to devolve power and solve the ethnic problem between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamils, would be implemented not only in the war-ravaged North but in the Sinhala majority South as well.

    The Sri Lankan President made the remarks while participating at the National Thai Pongal Festival held at northern city of Jaffna on Sunday.

    He announced that a statement on the government’s steps toward the reconciliation will be made public in February after discussing with the political leaders next week.

    Wickremesinghe also assured that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s work will be accelerated in order to provide relief to the families of those disappeared.

    Following the intervention of India in 1987, under the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord, 13th Amendment was introduced to the Sri Lankan Constitution.

    Signed between the then Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and the Sri Lanka’s former President J.R. Jayawardene, the accord aimed at solving the ethnic conflict which had developed to a bloody war between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which was fighting for a separate land, and the Sri Lanka’s military.

    The accord was signed to find solution to the ethnic crisis by devolving political powers to the Tamil dominated northern and eastern provinces in the country. However, under the 13th Amendment, the Provincial Council (PC) system – a power sharing arrangement dividing the country to nine provinces including the Sinhala majority areas – was introduced. The PC system, once fully implemented, would have the right to self-govern over areas such as land, health, agriculture, education, housing and police.

    The majority Sinhala extremist parties have been strongly opposing the 13A specially sharing powers like police from the Centre.

    India has been urging Sri Lanka to implement the 13A especially since the end of civil war in 2009 and this was reiterated by the External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar when he visited Sri Lanka in 2021.

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  • India extends aid worth $3.9 bn to help Lanka

    India extends aid worth $3.9 bn to help Lanka

    India’s EXIM bank and State bank of India, for the import of essential commodities, extended export credit facilities worth $1,500 million to Sri Lanka….reports Asian Lite News

    India extended aid worth USD 3.9 billion to help Sri Lanka sustain itself in face of the acute economic and financial crisis and meet its immediate needs such as medicines, cooking gas, oil and food items.

    In February 2022, India in order to help Sri Lanka overcome its fuel shortage, signed an agreement for the supply of petroleum products worth USD 500 million from the Indian Oil Company through a credit line. This was expanded by an additional USD 200 million worth of petroleum products in April 2022.

    India’s EXIM bank and State bank of India, for the import of essential commodities, extended export credit facilities worth $1,500 million to Sri Lanka. India also concluded a $400 million agreement with Sri Lanka to help preserve the country’s forex reserves.

    A USD 1 billion credit line for essential goods, a $500 million credit line for fuel, and a $55 million credit line for fertiliser have been extended to Sri Lanka.

    India has been helping Sri Lanka with donations out of goodwill and humanitarian assistance. India will supply Sri Lankan Transport Department with a fleet of 500 buses. A total of 75 buses were handed over to Sri Lanka by India’s High commissioner to Sri Lanka Gopal Bagalay.

    According to News 19, India’s support to Sri Lanka is in line with its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy under which India prioritises the security and development of its neighbours.

    Recently, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that as Sri Lanka walks into the New Year with the baggage from 2022, 2023 will be a critical year for the country to turn around its crisis-struck economy.

    “Wickremesinghe in his New Year message acknowledged that the citizens of the country are looking at the year 2023 after having undergone the bleakest of times, immense hardships, as well as the uncertainties and hopelessness of last year.”.

    Wickremesinghe said: “I understand the great burdens placed on all of us and the setbacks that a majority of us have suffered due to the country’s abject economic collapse.”

    The critical situation of the currency crisis in Sri Lanka has resulted in political, economic and social turmoil. Further, this currency collapse has resulted in a rise in food prices by 100 per cent in two years. Amid all this, President Wickremesinghe has sought support.

    In Sri Lanka around 40 per cent of households depend on agriculture. And two out of ten homes have suffered income reduction from June to December 2022. And to recover from the income reduction one out of two households use negative coping mechanisms like loans to cope with the lack of food or money to buy it. (ANI)

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  • Lanka to downsize army

    Lanka to downsize army

    The number will be further reduced to 100,000 by 2030…reports Asian Lite News

    Sri Lanka will reduce the size of the army to 135,000 by 2024 from the current approved number of 200,783, a state minister said here on Friday.

    The number will be further reduced to 100,000 by 2030, State Minister of Defence Pramitha Bandara Tennakoon said in a press release.

    Tennakoon said that the strength of the military and sustainable economic development are two sides of a coin, reports Xinhua news agency.

    He said that military spending indirectly stimulates and opens avenues for economic growth by way of assuring national and human security.

    The government has come up with a strategic blueprint to establish a technically and tactically sound and well-balanced defence force by the year 2030 to meet future security challenges on a par with the national security needs of the country, he said.

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  • B’desh, Lanka interested in importing ethanol from India: Gadkari

    B’desh, Lanka interested in importing ethanol from India: Gadkari

    The increased use of ethanol will boost India’s renewable energy segment while leading to a huge saving of foreign exchange….reports Asian Lite News

    Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are keen to start importing ethanol from India. Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road and Transport Highways said that the issue has already been discussed with the governments of these countries.

    “I was able to discuss this matter with PM of Bangladesh and even the Sri Lankan minister. Both are keenly interested about import of ethanol from India for adding ethanol into petrol in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka,” Gadkari said at a CII-organised conference on bio-energy. Gadkari will also meet Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri to discuss the issue further.

    The Narendra Modi government has laid the emphasis on increasing production of ethanol from various items such as sugar molasses, sugarcane and other materials which have sugar content. India has already reached the set target of blending 10 per cent ethanol with petrol. The target is to touch 20 per cent blending by 2025. It was only 1.53 per cent in 2013-14.

    The increased use of ethanol will boost India’s renewable energy segment while leading to a huge saving of foreign exchange.

    Last year Toyota launched its flex fuel version of Corolla Altis. Many other companies are also gearing up launch hybrid vehicles. Flex-fuel vehicles (FFV) are essentially automobiles with engines that can run on flexible fuel which can be a combination of petrol mixed with ethanol or even ethanol alone.

    Gadkari on Thursday said that a policy for setting up ethanol pumps across the country is in the works.

    Addressing the Bio-Energy summit organised by industry body CII, he said that he would be meeting Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri within the next 15 days to work on a policy to set up ethanol-based pumps in the country.

    The minister added that there is a requirement of 1,000 crore litre of ethanol if it is blended with petrol by up to 20 per cent. Many major manufacturers are ready with motorcycles which can run on 100 per cent bioethanol, he said.

    Even autorickshaws which can run on bioethanol can be manufactured, Gadkari added, noting that there is a lot of potential for ethanol as well as huge demand from several countries for the biofuel.

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  • Lanka urges India, China to reduce debts

    Lanka urges India, China to reduce debts

    Sri Lanka, which is currently amidst the worst-ever economic crisis since its independence in 1948, defaulted on its debt repayments and negotiated a $2.9 billion bailout….reports Asian Lite News

    The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has urged creditors India and China to agree a write-down of their loans as soon as possible in an effort to “help us to start repaying their obligations”.

    Speaking to the BBC on Wednesday night, the bank’s Governor P. Nandalal Weerasinghe said: “The sooner they give us finance assurances that would be better for both (sides), as a creditor, as a debtor. That will help us to start repaying their obligations.

    “We don’t want to be in this kind of situation, not meeting the obligations, for too long. That is not good for the country and for us. That’s not good for investor confidence in Sri Lanka.”

    Sri Lanka, which is currently amidst the worst-ever economic crisis since its independence in 1948, defaulted on its debt repayments and negotiated a $2.9 billion bailout.

    But the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will not release the funds until India and China first agree to reduce Sri Lanka’s billions of dollars of debt.

    China’s lending to Sri Lanka stands at around $7 billion while India is owed around $1 billion.

    The Sri Lankan government had initially hoped to agree a new payment plan with China and India by the end of 2022.

    Weerasinghe told the BBC that it was possible an agreement could come later this month but added “this all depends on the other parties — our creditors really have to make that decision”.

    “Sri Lanka had now provided them with all the information on the country’s borrowings they needed,” he added.

    But if India and China agree to write down their loans to Sri Lanka another potential problem looms in the form of private creditors, who account for 40 per cent of the country’s external debt stock.

    Asked about Sri Lanka’s private bondholders, the Governor told the BBC: “We engage with private creditors in good faith negotiations. And what we are seeing is that they are very positive and they are willing to engage with us.”

    Weerasinghe said he expected that once agreement from bilateral creditors has been agreed the IMF funds could be distributed to Sri Lanka within “four to six weeks”.

    Also speaking to the BBC on Wednesday night, US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Julie Chung, said the greater onus to move was on China, as the biggest bilateral lender.

    “We hope that they do not delay because Sri Lanka does not have time to delay. They need these assurances immediately. For the sake of the Sri Lankan people, we certainly hope China is not a spoiler as they proceed to attain this IMF agreement,” she added.

    The Governor’s remarks came just days after a large group of international economists on January 8 called for Sri Lanka’s bonds, to be “cancelled”.

    “All of Sri Lanka’s creditors must ensure debt cancellation sufficient to provide a way out of the current crisis,” they said.

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  • Indian buses came as a relief to Lanka’s jam-packed public transport

    Indian buses came as a relief to Lanka’s jam-packed public transport

    Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay ceremoniously handed over the fleet of buses that would join the public transport system of the country….reports Susitha Fernando

    India has handed over 75 out of 500 buses to Sri Lanka to ease jam-packed public transport mainly due to the on-going fuel and economic crisis in the island nation.

    Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay ceremoniously handed over the fleet of buses that would join the public transport system of the country.

    “Supporting mobility and accessibility in #SriLanka !!! High Commissioner handed over 75 buses to Minister for use by Transport Board. 500 buses are being supplied to #lka through #Indian assistance towards strengthening public transport infrastructure,” Indian High Commission in Colombo tweeted on Sunday.

    Seventy-five new buses built by Ashok Leyland were given to Sri Lanka to mark the island nation’s 75th Independence Day on February 4, 2023. Another 425 buses are to join state-run Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) in 2023.

    Sri Lanka Transport and Highway Minister Bandula Gunawardena said that 75 buses which were obtained under the Indian credit line have been manufactured to suit the condition of roads at village level.

    Indian buses to ease SL’s jam-packed public transport.



    “These buses have been allocated to depots representing every region of the country including the North and the East. In 2023, we have planned to put 500 new buses into operation by end of this year,” Minister said.

    Facing the worst-ever economic crisis, many Sri Lankans, who used private transport modes, have shifted to public transport mainly buses as fuel prices have doubled or tripled and given on quota.

    In June last year, the entire country had to be closed down with all government offices and schools shutting down for two weeks as public transport came to a grinding halt due to lack of fuel.

    Unable to afford high cost for fuel given on weekly ration basis, majority of people turned to public transport-specially the jam-packed trains and buses.

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