GS Paper 2 10 marks · 150w 9 min Medium

‘India is an age-old friend of Sri Lanka.’ Discuss India’s role in the recent crisis in Sri Lanka in the light of the preceding statement.

Subtopic: International Relations · India–Sri Lanka relations

Model answer outline

How to structure your answer

Introduction → Civilisational and treaty-based friendship frames Neighbourhood First → India's crisis response 2022: ~USD 4 billion lifelines, humanitarian aid → Debt diplomacy: first financing assurances enabling IMF EFF → Long-term recovery stakes: energy, connectivity, investment → Strategic subtext: China contrast, Tamil question → Conclusion

Full model answer

Detailed model answer

194 words · target 150 words · 9 min

Civilisational, Buddhist and Tamil linkages, the 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord and dense economic ties make Sri Lanka central to India's Neighbourhood First policy and SAGAR vision. The island's 2022 economic collapse — its first sovereign default — tested this old friendship.

India's role in the crisis

First responder: assistance of nearly USD 4 billion in 2022 — credit lines for fuel, food, fertiliser and medicines, a USD 400 million currency swap and deferral of Asian Clearing Union payments — outstripped any other bilateral support that year.
Humanitarian aid: consignments of rice, milk powder, kerosene and life-saving drugs cushioned ordinary Sri Lankans during shortages and blackouts.
Debt diplomacy: India became the first major creditor to give financing assurances, unlocking the IMF's USD 2.9 billion Extended Fund Facility (2023).
Recovery partnership: Trincomalee oil tank farm development, the Sampur solar project, UPI acceptance, resumed ferry services and grid-connectivity talks embed long-horizon cooperation.

The strategic subtext

Prompt, condition-light help contrasted with China's slow debt restructuring after the Hambantota experience, rebuilding trust in Colombo; India simultaneously continued to press devolution under the 13th Amendment and a fair settlement of fishermen's issues.

India behaved as an age-old friend should — swift, people-centric and non-intrusive — converting crisis support into durable strategic goodwill in the Indian Ocean.

Key points

What an examiner expects to see

Ground the 'age-old friend' phrase: Buddhist-civilisational ties, Tamil kinship, 1987 Accord, free trade agreement (ISFTA), development partnership (Indian Housing Project).
Quantify the 2022 response: ~USD 4 billion via credit lines (fuel, food, medicine, fertiliser), USD 400 million RBI currency swap, ACU payment deferrals.
India as first creditor to furnish financing assurances, enabling the IMF's USD 2.9 billion EFF in March 2023 — a decisive diplomatic act.
Humanitarian character of the aid: essential commodities and medicines, not just balance-sheet support.
Long-term stakes: Trincomalee oil tanks, Sampur solar, connectivity (ferry, UPI, grid link) tying recovery to Indian partnership.
Strategic contrast with China's Hambantota-tainted lending and reluctance on debt restructuring; SAGAR and net-security-provider framing.
Note continuing concerns: 13th Amendment devolution for Tamils, Katchatheevu/fishermen disputes — friendship includes candid conversations.

Examples to use

Concrete cases, schemes and judgments

Sri Lanka's sovereign default (April 2022) and the ~USD 4 billion Indian assistance package
IMF Extended Fund Facility of USD 2.9 billion approved March 2023 after India's financing assurances
Trincomalee oil tank farm joint development and NTPC's Sampur solar project
Hambantota port's 99-year lease to China Merchants (2017) as the debt-distress cautionary tale
Resumption of Nagapattinam–Kankesanthurai ferry and UPI acceptance in Sri Lanka

Keywords / terms

Terminology to weave into the answer

Neighbourhood FirstSAGARfinancing assurancescurrency swapdebt restructuringfirst responder