India Provided 50 Buses to Sri Lanka Under Economic Assistance Scheme
India delivered fifty buses to Sri Lanka at the Presidential Secretariat premises as Sri Lanka celebrated its 75th Independence Day.
Under Economic Assistance Scheme:
- Government of India Supported Lines of Credit (LOCs) to countries of Asia (Excluding Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan) Africa, CIS region and Latin American region which are being extended under the Indian Development and Economic Assistance Scheme (IDEAS).
- Erstwhile Government of India Lines of Credit (Government to Government) to countries of Asia, Africa, CIS and Latin American region.
- Examine/issues related to waiver of Government of India’s dues pertaining to previous GOI (Government to Government) Lines of Credit owed by Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs).
India Development & Economic Assistance Section of Bilateral Cooperation Division deals with the following items of work:-
- Policy matters relating to India Development and Economic Assistance Scheme (IDEAS).
- Extension of Lines of Credit under India Development and Economic Assistance Scheme (IDEAS) to countries in Asia (excluding Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh), Africa and other countries as decided by Govt. of India
- Policy matters relating to Concessional Financing Scheme and extension of Lines of Credit thereunder
- Institutions:Nil
- External Territorial Charge: African countries (except South Africa)
- Ministries/Departments: Ministry of External Affairs
- States:None
- Legislations:Nil
Circulars/Guidelines issued by IDEAS Section
A token of another fifty buses (50) were handed over to President Ranil Wickremesinghe, at the Presidential Secretariat premises today in the morning (05)out of the 500 buses to be provided by the Indian Government to uplift the public transport service in rural areas across the country.The documents of the buses were handed over to the President by Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay.The President inspected two of the buses after declaring them open by cutting the ribbons.These buses are provided by the Indian Government as a part of a project which is implemented in parallel to the 75th Independence Day Celebration and its first fleet of 75 busses were handed over to the Sri Lankan Government recently.
India delivered fifty buses to Sri Lanka at the Presidential Secretariat premises as Sri Lanka celebrated its 75th Independence Day. High Commissioner of India Gopal Baglay handed over the buses to Sri Lanka’s President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Minister of Transport and Highways and Minister of Mass Media Bandula Gunawardena, State Minister of Transport Lasantha Alagiyawanna, State Minister of Investment Promotion Dilum Amunugama, MP Rajika Wickramasinghe, MP Muditha Prishanthi, First Secretary of Indian High Commission Irina Thakur, SLTB Chairman, Commissioner General of Motor Traffic, CEO of Lanka Ashok Leyland Umesh Gautam were also present at the occasion.
Ashok Leyland, the commercial vehicle maker Ashok Leyland had bagged the contract for supplying 500 buses to the Sri Lanka Transport Board. The order is a part of a Line of Credit extended by the Export-Import Bank of India, under the Economic Assistance Scheme of the Indian government.
This was a part of the Sri Lanka Under Economic Assistance Scheme of India as per which
In January, India gave 75 buses as part of its support to strengthen the transport of its southern neighbour which is going through its worst economic crisis since the 1948 independence from the British colony.
Marking Sri Lanka’s 75th Independence anniversary, India has handed over another 50 buses to strengthen the rural transport services in Sri Lanka.
India has handed over 165 buses so far, as the registration of 40 is already being done.
President Wickremesinghe has instructed to use all the buses received from India to strengthen the transport services in rural Sri Lanka.
Handing over 75 buses in January, the Indian High Commission stated that the assistance given as part of its `Neighbourhood First` policy was to support mobility and accessibility in Sri Lanka.
Five hundred buses are being supplied to Sri Lanka through Indian assistance towards strengthening public transport infrastructure stated by the High Commission.
India has also handed over 125 SUVs to the Sri Lanka Police under the line of credit to help with the mobility restriction issues faced by the security personnel.
