The Sri Lankan government has continued with its policy of granting interest free loans to Sri Lankan troops, despite struggling to repay record levels of debt.
A group of 30 soldiers received interest free loans of Rs.50,000 each at the Sri Lankan naval headquarters earlier this week.
Last month, a group of 25 sailors were also granted similar loans, continuing with its longstanding policy of awarding a range of benefits to troops. A reported 1207 senior sailors have received such loans at present, with at least another 3995 senior sailors due to be granted similar lines of credit.
The latest range of benefits for the tens of thousands of Sri Lankan soldiers in the heavily militarised North-East comes as Sri Lanka’s 2018 budget sees defence spending maintain the highest allocation, with a 2.3% increase from last year. Previous perks for Sri Lankan troops included interest-free loans and a scheme that grants soldiers in the armed forces a grant of Rs. 100,000 at the birth of the third child.
The program comes as Colombo looks to raise US$500 million through development bonds, as it struggles to repay a record high debt.
Meanwhile, Tamils protested in Jaffna earlier this week, against the Sri Lankan government's failure to take action against microfinance companies with high interest rates leaving families under spiralling debts.
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