Faltering Sri Lanka holds strategic importance for India, shows data

Sri Lanka is a geo-politically important country for India and New Delhi needs to counter the growing Chinese influence on its economy as it struggles to avoid sovereign defaults. 

However, in terms of trade, it holds minor importance for India. For instance, India's exports to Lanka are now nowhere near $6.7 billion in 2014-15. 

The share in India's total exports declined from 2.16 per cent in FY15 to just 1.3 per cent in the first 10 months of the current financial year. 

India’s imports from Lanka remained less than $1billion in all these years and the share remained in the range