New Delhi: India Wednesday signed a $350 million line of credit with Sri Lanka, as a part of its overall reconstruction package for Sri Lanka following Cyclone Ditwah, which hit the island country last year. The new line of credit is rupee-denominated.
“Foreign Secretary Shri. Vikram Misri called on President of Sri Lanka H.E Anura Kumara Dissanayake in Colombo. Discussions focused on issues of mutual interest and review of key bilateral projects, including Indian assisted development projects in Sri Lanka,” the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka said in a statement.
The statement added: “Following the meeting, both sides exchanged agreements on INR-denominated Lines of Credit for USD 350 mn [million], which form part of the USD 450 mn [million] reconstruction package extended by India in the wake of Cyclone Ditwah. The LoCs will support reconstruction, infrastructure development, and procurement requirements that arose in the aftermath of the cyclone.”
India originally announced the $450 million package on 23 December, 2025, when External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar visited Colombo as a Special Envoy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi under the scope of New Delhi’s humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) operations in Sri Lanka.
The package is split into two parts—the $350 million rupee denominated line of credit, and $100 million in grants—aimed at the reconstruction of the areas affected by Cyclone Ditwah. India’s HADR operation, Sagar Bandhu, was launched the very day Ditwah made landfall.
India’s aircraft carrier INS Vikrant and another ship INS Udaygiri were present in Sri Lanka, and immediately began relief operations. An 80-member National Disaster Relief and Response Force arrived simultaneously and began rescue operations in the country.
More than 8,000 people were given emergency healthcare through the field hospital erected by the Indian Army. The Indian Army Engineers also erected a Bailey bridge in Kilinochchi. Over 1,100 tonnes of aid and 14.5 tonnes of medicines and medical equipment were sent to Sri Lanka during Operation Sagar Bandhu.
Cyclone Ditwah left at least 600 Sri Lankans dead and damages worth over $1 billion after it made landfall on 3 December, 2025.
The $450 million package is focused on: rehabilitation and restoration of road, railway and bridge connectivity; support for construction of houses fully destroyed and partially damaged; support for health and education systems, in particular, those that have been damaged by the cyclone; agriculture, including to address possible shortages in the short and medium term and working towards better disaster response and preparedness.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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