In April, Sri Lanka had just started its economic crisis. India’s forex reserves, which had been steadily growing, also fell below the 6 billion USD mark.
Working through May, the Reserve Bank of India has successfully changed that situation.
As of the week ended June 3rd, 2022, the forex reserves of India have crossed 6 billion USD again and now stand at 6.01 billion USD. On April 8th, that figure was 537 million. 70 million USD was added to the country’s reserves within 2 months.
Pakistan
On June 7th, Pakistan announced a series of measures. These measures were to ensure that Pakistan does not spend too much money and energy consumption in the country is reduced as much as possible.
Some of the measures announced by the Prime Minister, Mr. Shehbaz Sharif, are:
A. Slashing the petrol quota of government officials and cabinet members by 40 per cent. – This is free petrol that was available to government officials and ministers.
B. Cutting down on vehicle purchase.
C. Going back to 5 day working instead of 6 day working.
D. All non essential foreign travel of government officials and ministers to be stopped.
E. In some municipalities, street lights would be switched off every alternate night.
Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has reached out to the UN for aid to help the country.
The president has also informed the parliament of Sri Lanka that India is the only country providing help for food and fuel.
Sri Lanka is also trying to talk to the IMF (International Monetary Fund) about repayment of its loan on easier terms, while first getting some money to ensure that citizens can get food, power, and basic necessities.
Today, the greatest challenge is that power distribution companies are threatening to go on strike. This means that many people will be left without power.