Sri Lanka uses aid from India to buy textbooks for students

Last year, India provided Sri Lanka with a $ 1 billion line of credit to aid the country in managing its economic crisis, as part of India's financial assistance program.

Following the signing of an agreement to extend the line of credit, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Arindam Bagchi had said that India has consistently supported the people of Sri Lanka and will continue to provide them with all available assistance.

In March 2022, the Indian government extended a concessional credit facility of USD 1 billion to the Sri Lankan government to supply essential commodities such as food, fuel, medicines, and industrial raw materials.

The Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka has said that a portion of this facility, amounting to over USD 10 million, has been utilized by the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC) and private importers to purchase printing paper and materials from India.

The funds from the Indian concessional credit facility are being used to print around 45% of the textbooks that will be required by Sri Lanka's four million young students for the 2023 academic year, as stated by the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka.

According to the statement, India has extended lines of credit amounting to over USD 4 billion to Sri Lanka thus far, covering various sectors such as the supply of essential commodities, petroleum, fertilizers, railway development, infrastructure, defence, and renewable energy.

In 2022, Sri Lanka experienced a severe financial crisis that resulted in political upheaval and the removal of the powerful Rajapaksa family from power. The government declared a debt default on over $ 51 billion in foreign loans in May, marking the first time in the country's history that such an event had occurred.