Sri Lanka unveils $410 million subsidy to offset energy costs
Posted on April 7th, 2026
Courtesy The Straits Times
COLOMBO – Sri Lanka announced on April 7 that a record US$320 million (S$411 million) relief package for farmers, fishermen and low‑income households hit hardest by soaring energy costs due to the Middle East war.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said the package, the biggest state handout ever, would help the most vulnerable in the island nation of 22 million.
Cash grants would be paid directly into the accounts of thousands of fishermen and rice and tea farmers, he said.
Those living below the poverty line – about 25 per cent of the population – would get an additional US$25 in April to celebrate the traditional Sinhala and Tamil New Year festivals, and have their electricity bills subsidised.
The total relief package is valued at 100 billion rupees (S$407 million) over three months,” Mr Dissanayake said. We are funding this through the existing budget.”
He said the government was keen to avoid a repeat of the 2022 meltdown, when the country saw record inflation of 70 per cent after the government printed money to fund subsidies.
Sri Lanka is still on an International Monetary Fund bailout programme that began in early 2023 when it secured a US$2.9 billion loan spread over four years.