Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha outlined major post-Ditwah work undertaken by the Modi administration in Sri Lanka. Addressing the evening reception at India House on the occasion of the 77th Republic Day of India, Jha said: “Immediately after Ditwah, External Affairs Minister of India, Dr. S. Jaishankar visited Sri Lanka, as Prime Minister’s Special Envoy, to express our solidarity and to announce an assistance package of over 450 million USD. The package is meant to support Sri Lanka’s Rebuilding Sri Lanka Initiative post-Ditwah. It covers five broad sectors:

i. rehabilitation and restoration of road, railway and bridge connectivity;

ii. rebuilding housing and water supply;

iii. support for health and education;

iv. support for agriculture and livestock; and

v. working towards better disaster response and preparedness.

We are aware that the utility of this package lies in its execution and impact. We are working closely with the government of Sri Lanka to ensure timely implementation. I am happy to report that delivery on the ground has already begun. In particular the more urgent tasks of restoring bridges and railway lines; and relocating houses and hospitals have already begun. Discussions have also been held to enhance Sri Lanka’s preparedness to deal with future natural disasters.”

Commenting on other developments, Jha said: “The importance of our security and defence cooperation cannot be overstated, especially as we are located in such proximate geography. This manifests when we collaborate to crack-down on transnational criminal networks and illegal activities in our neighbourhood. It also manifests in our joint endeavours to ensure maritime security. It is increasingly felt when we have to address man-made or natural disasters, as was evident, most recently, during Cyclone Ditwah. It has also been useful in augmenting Sri Lanka’s defence capabilities through supply of platforms, training programmes and joint exercises, including those aimed at building Sri Lanka’s capabilities on disaster mitigation and relief and rehabilitation.”

“Sri Lanka has a special place in this foreign policy vision. Our unbreakable bond is underpinned by our civilisational linkages and geographical proximity. Today, we enjoy exceptional levels of trust, goodwill and friendship – not just between our leaders but also between our peoples. India-Sri Lanka relations have emerged as a global model for cooperative partnership between neighbours.

The visit of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to Sri Lanka in April 2025 and earlier by President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka to India in December 2024 has charted an ambitious roadmap for this partnership. Physical, Digital and Energy connectivity are agreed as key pillars of our partnership. Shared aspirations for development and shared commitment to security have emerged as key goals.

Over the last year, we have worked strenuously to realise these shared objectives. Construction of the Sampur Solar Power project has already been launched. We have made significant progress on grid interconnection. Talks are ongoing on the development of Trincomalee as an energy hub between India, Sri Lanka and the UAE.

India is also supporting modernisation of physical infrastructure. The upgraded railway track, with modern signalling system the on Maho-Omanthai railway line, is under implementation. In the past decade or so, India has helped rebuild or restore about 500 KMs of railway line; and installed about 400 KMs of signalling systems. The project for modernisation of the Kankesanthurai Port is expected to be launched soon. The passenger ferry service between Nagapattinam and Kankesanthurai is now a regular feature. We are now working to restore ferry links between Rameswaram and Talaimannar. In the aviation sector, there are around 180 weekly flights between India and Sri Lanka. Last year, Trichy was added as the second destination after Chennai, with flight connectivity to Jaffna.

Digitization is a key focus area of our partnership. Sri Lanka’s digitization journey is poised for a take-off with progress in implementation of Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity (SLUDI) project. This will enable unfolding the entire stack of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s aspiration to build a cashless system is supported by the introduction of UPI payment system in Sri Lanka.

Amnesty International South Asia has raised grave concerns after Sandya Eknaligoda, the wife of Prageeth Eknaligoda, received a death threat following her objections to the promotion of a military intelligence officer accused in her husband’s abduction.

In a public statement issued on social media, Amnesty International South Asia said it was “deeply alarmed” that Sandya Eknaligoda had been threatened over the phone after writing to Sri Lanka’s president Anura Kumara Dissanayake, opposing the promotion of Lieutenant Colonel Thelge Erantha Radeesh Peiris to the rank of Brigadier.

Peiris is the ninth accused in the ongoing enforced disappearance case being heard before the Colombo Permanent High Court and served in Sri Lanka’s Military Intelligence at the time of Prageeth Eknaligoda’s disappearance.

Amnesty International South Asia stated: “We are deeply alarmed that Prageeth Eknaligoda’s wife, Sandya Eknaligoda, received a death threat over a phone call after writing to the President objecting the promotion of the 9th accused in the Colombo Permanent High Court case – Military Intelligence officer Thelge Erantha Radeesh Peiris – to the rank of Brigadier. Sandya Eknaligoda must be able to continue her peaceful pursuit of justice, like she is doing today in Colombo, freely without threats, intimidation and harassment. We urge authorities, including the National Authority for the Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses, to act swiftly to ensure Sandya Eknaligoda’s safety and hold those responsible for the death threat to account.”

A new circular has been issued by the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to provide relief to micro, small and self-employed businesses affected by the emergency situation caused by Cyclone Ditwah. The circular has been issued in line with Circular No. 08/2025, which was introduced to restore disrupted livelihoods following the disaster.

The Government programme to empower communities affected by the disaster was introduced through Budget Circular No. 08/2025 dated December 5, 2025. Expanding this relief framework further and ensuring more effective and efficient delivery of assistance, additional circulars No. 08/2025(i) dated December 20, 2025 and No. 08/2025(iii) dated January 22, 2026 have been issued.

The social empowerment programme under the newly issued circular is structured as follows.

Assistance for affected individual, small and micro businesses

A one-time grant to restore businesses damaged by the disaster to a condition suitable for reopening.

LKR 200,000 for individual, small and micro-businesses registered with the Ministry of Industry.

LKR 200,000 for individual, small and micro-businesses registered with the Divisional Secretariat as a business entity.

LKR 50,000 for unregistered home-based businesses operated from a permanent structure.

LKR 50,000 per unit for unregistered production industries, including greenhouses.

LKR 25,000 for temporary business setups, including mobile and street hawking.

A grant will be provided to owners of the commercial buildings affected by the disaster to restore their business premises to operational condition.

A grant of Rs. 500,000/- will be provided to each business building owner who voluntarily opts to receive assistance without a damage assessment.

A grant of up to Rs. 5,000,000/- will be provided to each business building owner who opts to receive assistance after a damage assessment, based on the assessed value of the building.

In addition to the above grants, the following loan facilities have also been provided.

In addition to these grants, the Treasury has introduced a new credit scheme to provide loans for business owners whose enterprises were affected by the disaster, enabling them to restart their operations and meet essential requirements.

Accordingly:

Facilities have been provided for affected businesses to obtain loans ranging from Rs. 250,000 to Rs. 25,000,000 through the banking system at an interest rate of 3%, with a 6-month grace period and repayment over 3 years to restart their operations.

As part of the investment loans for business reconstruction, entrepreneurs whose businesses were damaged can access bank loans of up to Rs. 25 million at an interest rate of 5%, with a 12-month grace period and repayment over 10 years.