Page 3 - India-sri Lanka

Sri Lanka sets expenditure limits for prez election campaign for first time

For the first time, Sri Lanka's upcoming presidential election on September 21 will be subject to campaign finance regulations, following the introduction of the Regulation of Election Expenditure Act in January 2023. According to a gazette notification dated August 16 and published Monday, each candidate is allowed to spend a maximum of Rs 109 per elector for election campaigning activities, totalling Rs 1,868,298,586 (approx USD 5 million) per candidate. The expenditure limit per candidate has been set at 60 per cent of the total amount, while political party secretaries are allowed 40 per cent for their candidate's election campaign activities. The parties must submit expenditure reports to the Elections Commission within 21 days of the election results being declared, the notification stated. A record number of 39 candidates are in the fray for the upcoming presidential election. Incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe, the main opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, and the lea

EAM Jaishankar assures to facilitate Indian, Sri Lankan fishermen meet

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday assured a delegation of Tamil Nadu fishermen that a meeting between the fishing communities of India and Sri Lanka will be facilitated to discuss the issues affecting them. He also informed that the recent apprehension of Indian fishermen by the Lankan authorities would be taken up at a meeting of the Indo-Sri Lanka Joint Working Group to work out a solution to the problems, Tamil Nadu BJP state chief K Annamalai said. At the meeting in which the government secretaries too participated, Jaishankar mentioned that the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India was summoned over the death of the Rameswaram fisherman, and a strong protest was registered. "The representatives of the fishing community requested that a joint meeting between the representatives of the fishing community of the two countries be facilitated. Our EAM assured that the same would be considered," Annamalai said in a release here. Jaishankar had reaffirmed that the ...

Indian Navy submarine INS Shalki arrives in Colombo for formal visit

The Indian Naval Submarine (INS) Shalki arrived at the port of Colombo on Friday for a two-day formal visit. The visiting submarine was welcomed by the Sri Lanka Navy according to naval traditions. INS Shalki is a 64.4m long submarine with a crew of 40, and it is commanded by Commander Rahul Patnaik. During the submarine's stay in Colombo, personnel of the Sri Lanka Navy are expected to visit the submarine to take part in an awareness programme on its operational features." Meanwhile, the Commanding Officer of INS Shalki called on Commander Western Naval Area, Rear Admiral Chinthaka Kumarasinghe, at the Western Naval Command Headquarters on Friday. Moreover, the crew members of the submarine are expected to explore some of the tourist attractions in the country. Concluding the official visit, INS Shalki will depart the island nation on August 4. The last Indian submarine to call at Colombo was INS Karanj, which arrived on February 3 on the eve of Sri Lanka's 76th anniversary of

India, Sri Lanka plan roadmap to train 1,500 officers from island nation

A roadmap is being discussed for a collaboration between the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) and Sri Lanka's Institute of Development Administration to train 1,500 administrative officers of the island nation in India, according to an official statement issued on Thursday. A high-level Indian delegation, led by NCGG Director General and Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) Secretary V Srinivas, visited Sri Lanka from July 7-9. According to an statement issued on Thursday by the Personnel Ministry, the visit was marked by productive deliberations and strategic meetings, and paved the way for enhanced bilateral cooperation and capacity building support for senior public officials of Sri Lanka. "The two sides discussed the roadmap for collaboration between the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) and Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration for capacity building programs for 1,500 Sri Lanka Administrative Service Officers in India

Sri Lankan Navy arrests 13 Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu, seizes 3 boats

As per information received by the Rameswaram Fishermen Association, the fishermen belonged to the Pudukkottai district of Tamil Nadu

India donates digital equipment worth Rs 30 cr to 200 schools in Sri Lanka

Describing it as a project for posterity, India on Saturday donated digital equipment, including 2,000 Tabs, worth Rs 300 million for use by 200 schools in the southern province of Sri Lanka. A ceremony in the southern district of Galle, attended by President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha, marked a significant step towards educational modernisation, with the provision of 200 Smart Classrooms and 2,000 Tabs to 200 schools in the Southern Province. Following a request by the Minister of Health and Industry, Dr Ramesh Pathirana, the Government of India allocated Rs 300 million to the Southern Provincial Council for this project. Of the 200 selected schools, 150 are in the Galle district, while the remaining 50 are in the Hambantota and Matara districts, a statement from the President's Media Division (PMD) said. Additionally, 2,000 Tabs were distributed, with each of the 200 classrooms receiving 10 Tabs, the statement said. We deeply appreciate the supp

Lankan politician Sampanthan passes away, PM Modi, EAM sends condolences

R Sampanthan, a veteran Sri Lankan politician and a moderate Tamil leader, passed away last night while receiving treatment in a hospital, the Tamil National Alliance has announced. Sampanthan, 91, led the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) from 2004 and became only the second Tamil to become the main opposition leader in the Sinhala-majority country. He was ailing for a long time and was missing the current parliamentary sessions for a long time. He was a moderate Tamil who had been leading the political movement to achieve a negotiated political settlement to the Tamil demand for political autonomy. The Tamils put forward their demand for autonomy since gaining independence from Britain in 1948, which, from the mid-70s, turned into a bloody armed conflict. He took office as the leader of the opposition in 2015 and was actively involved in the process of drafting a new Constitution until 2019. A brilliant lawyer, Sampanthan entered Parliament for the first time in 1977 from the easte

200 foreigners, mostly Indians, held for cyber financial scams in Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan police have arrested at least 200 foreigners, the majority of them Indians, for allegedly engaging in online financial scams, a media report said on Saturday. The Criminal Investigations Department also found that funds obtained through such frauds have been deposited in bank accounts in the UK, Dubai and India. News portal NewsFirst.lk quoted officials from the Criminal Investigation Department who said that there were Chinese, Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Nepali nationals among those arrested but a majority of them were Indian nationals. About 400 computers used by the suspects are being subject to investigation. Earlier on Friday, police spokesman SSP Nihal Thalduwa said some 60 Indians were arrested on Thursday from the Colombo suburbs of Madiwela and Battaramulla and the western coastal town of Negombo. The CID had conducted simultaneous raids in these areas leading to the seizure of 135 mobile phones and 57 laptops. The crackdown was the result of a complaint from

10 Indian fishermen arrested, 1 Sri Lankan sailor killed in ops: Navy

At least 10 Indian fishermen were arrested while one Sri Lankan naval sailor was killed in an operation launched by the island nation's authorities to seize a trawler allegedly engaged in illegal fishing in the Sri Lankan waters, authorities said on Tuesday. The incident came two days after 18 Indian fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lanka Navy for alleged poaching. The operation was launched on Tuesday off the coast of Delft islet in Northern Jaffna when the Sri Lankan Navy received information that an Indian with some fishermen was involved in illegal fishing in the Sri Lankan waters. "The Navy launched an operation to nab an Indian trawler and fishermen doing illegal fishing in the Sri Lankan waters. However, during the operation, one Sri Lankan sailor suffered chest injuries from an iron rod in the Indian trawler and died," Navy spokesman Captain Gayan Wickremasuriya told PTI. However, in the operation, the Sri Lankan Navy seized the trawler and arrested 10 Indians from it. T

EAM Jaishankar likely to visit Sri Lanka next week, say officials

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is set to visit Sri Lanka on June 20, Foreign Ministry sources said here on Saturday. Sri Lanka was anticipating a visit by Jaishankar and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi too was expected to visit the island nation at a later date, Foreign Minister Ali Sabry told reporters on Friday. Sabry said the visits were a sequel to President Ranil Wickremesinghe's visit to New Delhi last week to attend Modi's swearing-in ceremony after he won the third term. However, there was no official announcement on Jaishankar's visit from India's Ministry of External Affairs. If confirmed, this could be Jaishankar's first official stand-alone visit abroad after he was appointed India's External Affairs Minister in the new government. The last time that Jaishankar was in Colombo was in October 2023 to participate in the 23rd Council of Ministers' meeting and the 25th Committee of Senior Officials of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA). News portal Adadera

IMF extends $336 mn to Lanka amid 'knife-edged' path to debt sustainability

The International Monetary Fund in March this year approved a 48-month, $2.9 billion extended arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) to support Sri Lanka's economic policies and reforms

Sri Lanka has made 'strong progress' on debt restructuring front, says IMF

Sri Lanka's macroeconomic policy reforms have started to "bear fruit" and the country is expected to reach agreements with external commercial creditors soon, the IMF has said ahead of the second review of it's USD 2.9 billion bailout programme to the cash-strapped country. Addressing a press conference on Friday, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Communication Department Director Julie Kozack asserted that Sri Lanka has made "sufficiently strong progress on the debt restructuring front". She said that the island nation's programme performance is "strong", with most quantitative and structural conditionality for the second review met or implemented with delay, adding that reforms are still ongoing in some areas. The second review of the IMF's Extended Fund Facility under the USD 2.9 billion bailout of Sri Lanka has been set for June 12. Kozack confirmed that the IMF's Executive Board will meet to discuss the second review and the Article IV Consultation. Under Article IV of the IM

Modi's swearing-in: Top leaders of neighbouring countries to be invited

India is likely to invite leaders of a number of its neighbouring countries, including Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, to the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the weekend, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. Modi is all set to take charge as the prime minister for a historic third consecutive term with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) winning 293 seats in the Lok Sabha polls. The people cited above said top leaders of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal and Mauritius are likely to be among the foreign leaders to be invited for Modi's oath-taking ceremony. The media division of Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe's office said Modi invited him to the swearing-in ceremony. It said Wickremesinghe accepted the invite. It said Wickremesinghe congratulated Modi on the electoral victory in a phone call. "During the conversation, Prime Minister @narendramodi invited President Wickremesinghe to his swearing-in ceremo

Leaders of Sri Lanka, Maldives, Nepal, congratulate PM Modi on poll victory

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' on Tuesday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the victory of the BJP-led NDA coalition in the general elections and expressed their desire to work closely with him. "I extend my warmest felicitations to the BJP-led NDA on its victory demonstrating the confidence of the Indian people in the progress and prosperity under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi," the Sri Lankan president wrote on X. As the closest neighbour Sri Lanka looks forward to further strengthening the partnership with India, he added. Nepal Prime Minister 'Prachanda' congratulated his Indian counterpart on the electoral success of his party-led alliance. "Congratulations to PM @narendramodi on the electoral success of BJP and NDA in the Lok Sabha elections for the third consecutive term. We are happy to note the successful completion of the world's largest democratic exercise with enthusiastic participati

15 yrs on, Tamil survivors of Lanka civil war live in fear, disempowerment

At the site of a bloody battlefield that marked the end of Sri Lanka's civil war, Singaram Soosaimuthu fishes every day with his son, casting nets and reeling them in. It is a skill he has known for much of his life and one that he had to relearn after a devastating injury. The former Tamil fighter lost both legs in 2009 as the nation's generation-long civil war drew to a close and the Tamils retreated in defeat. Making something of himself despite his injuries brought Soosaimuthu success an achievement in which he finds profound meaning. He sees his fellow ethnic Tamils in the same light: To regain their voice, they must thrive. But defeat bloody, protracted and decisive has brought Sri Lanka's minority Tamil community to a point of despair. Some parents have given up hope of ever learning the fate of the thousands of missing children. Parts of the Tamil lands are decimated, with poor infrastructure and fewer economic opportunities. Survivors have lived under surveillance for

Senior Lankan officer to lead team probing arrest of 4 nationals in India

Sri Lanka police on Wednesday said a senior Deputy Inspector General will head a team appointed to investigate four of its citizens arrested in Gujarat when on an alleged mission to carry out terror activities in India at the behest of the banned Islamic State. Acting on a tip-off, the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) on Sunday apprehended four Sri Lankan nationals at the Sardar Vallabhai Patel airport in Ahmedabad after they travelled from Colombo via Chennai. The men travelled to India to carry out terror activities at the behest of the banned terror outfit Islamic State (IS) and are members of IS radicalised by a leader from Sri Lanka who is living in Pakistan, according to the Indian police. A senior Deputy Inspector General-headed police team has been appointed by the Inspector General Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon, police Spokesman and Senior Superintendent Nihal Thalduwa told PTI. He said the police chief's action followed official intimation of the Lankan citizens' ..

Centre extends ban imposed on LTTE for 5 more years to contain separatism

The Centre on Tuesday extended the ban imposed on the LTTE for five more years as it continues to foster a separatist tendency amongst the masses and enhance the support base for it in India, particularly in Tamil Nadu. The Union Home Ministry imposed the ban invoking the sub-sections (1) and (3) of section 3 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. In a notification, the home ministry said the central government is of the opinion that the LTTE is still indulging in activities which are prejudicial to the integrity and security of the country. It said that even after its military defeat in May, 2009 in Sri Lanka, the LTTE has not abandoned the concept of 'Eelam' (an independent country for Tamils) and has been clandestinely working towards the 'Eelam' cause by undertaking fund raising and propaganda activities and the remnant LTTE leaders or cadres have also initiated efforts to regroup the scattered activists and resurrect the outfit locally and internationally. "The ...

Sri Lanka retains $50 visa fee for foreign visitors, free for Indians

Visitors from India, China, Russia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia will continue to receive tourist visas free of charge, the Sri Lankan government has said

Looking forward to greater economic cooperation with India: Sri Lanka Prez

Sri Lanka is looking to accelerate greater economic cooperation with India with the tourism sector taking the lead, the island nation's President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Thursday. India's status as a rising economic giant and Sri Lanka's location as a strategic logistics hub will complement each other in driving forward the two economies, he said while addressing the opening of Indian firm ITC Hotels' first overseas property, ITC Ratnadipa here. "I have no doubt that this icon (ITC Ratnadipa) will help increase tourism into Sri Lanka, more particularly from India. Now these are part of the vision statement which Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi and I signed last year on how do we integrate our economies and we get closer," Wickremesinghe said. The economic background, the convertibility of Indian rupees, all have now been laid, he said, adding,"so this is the start. I think more than any other sector we identified this (tourism) is one which you can start." He further said, ...

China's Sinopec charts global expansion with refinery in India's backyard

India is also deepening its involvement in Sri Lanka's power sector with solar projects and grid connectivity