From food to allowing flights to land, how India has gone out of its way for Sri Lanka

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 diesel In 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.

#Indian credit line for fuel at work!!! One consignment each of 36,000 MT petrol and 40,000 MT diesel was delivered to #SriLanka in the last 24 hours. Total supply of various types of fuel under Indian assistance now stands at more than 270,000 MT. pic.twitter.com/QMO8fftnXA

— India in Sri Lanka (@IndiainSL) April 6, 2022

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. Indian Oil Corporation unit in Sri Lanka steps up fuel supplies, will maintain separate stockpile for ambulances 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. Also read: Playing big brother: How India is providing timely aid as Sri Lanka battles its worst economic crisis 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.

Humanitarian supplies worth more than SLR 3 billion to the people of #SriLanka is another manifestation of the abiding nature of people-to-people ties between 🇮🇳 and 🇱🇰. pic.twitter.com/8VaUTCqmyS

— India in Sri Lanka (@IndiainSL) June 25, 2022

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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 aid In 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.

Kudos Trivandrum & Kochi airports for demonstrating the Indian spirit of वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम्!

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.

— Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) July 13, 2022