Our neighbor Sri Lanka is in deep economic crisis. The country’s foreign exchange reserves have plummeted. The government could not pay for the import of fuel, food and other essentials. The power outage lasted for more than 5 hours daily. This has had a huge impact on the daily lives of the people. They come to the street and fight. The current economic crisis in Sri Lanka is due to the misguided economic policies pursued by successive governments. In particular, the government led by President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa decided to ban the import of chemical fertilizers and promote natural agriculture. The failure of this natural farming system has affected food production. Also, during the by-elections, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa announced a number of tax concessions. That, in turn, led to a drop in the country’s tax revenue. Of these, 270 died. Due to this attack and the subsequent Corona curfew, the number of tourists visiting Sri Lanka has been greatly reduced. This, too, had a major impact on the country, which relied heavily on tourism revenue. At the same time, the Sri Lankan government’s dependence on China has increased over the years for a variety of investments, including improving infrastructure. The Chinese government has invested Rs. 1 trillion in infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka alone in the years to come. As a result, the amount of debt owed to China is increasing and it is being forced to default. However, all loans made by China are at 0.5% interest per annum. 1% of Sri Lanka’s current revenue is spent on debt repayment. This year alone, some figures suggest that the Sri Lankan government will have to repay Rs 5,000 crore in debt. The Government of India has provided a loan of Rs. 2.5 crore to solve the current problem in Sri Lanka. Apart from this it has done many other favors. At present, Sri Lanka has no immediate assistance from the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund. Therefore, India needs to be a little more proactive in resolving Sri Lanka’s problem. By doing so, China’s domination can be broken. It will also benefit India’s security. At the same time, the Sri Lankan government must examine itself to determine the cause of the current economic crisis. The relationship with China needs to be adapted to the current situation. We need to take action so that China does not fall back into the debt trap. Emphasis should be given to the Government of India which has offered to help in times of crisis. The two countries need to further strengthen their relations in various fields. We need to gradually solve the problems faced by the people at home due to the economic crisis and bring peace to the country. Efforts should be made to achieve self-sufficiency in the production of certain essential commodities, including food production. Many things like this need to change. Otherwise, the future of the country will be in question.
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