Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Sri Lankan President on Monday expressed gratitude to India for economic support during the island nation’s financial meltdown and crucial assistance in restructuring bilateral debt. President Dissanayake is on his first bilateral visit to New Delhi after assuming power in Colombo.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that they faced an unprecedented economic crisis some 2 years ago and India supported them immensely to come out of that quagmire. He added that the economic assistance also helped them immensely after that, especially in the debt-free structuring process. He further noted that Sri Lanka secures a very significant place in India’s foreign policy.

In a joint press statement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India’s bilateral projects in Sri Lanka are always based on Colombo’s development priorities. The Prime Minister said that India has so far provided 5 billion dollars in line of credit and grant assistance to Sri Lanka, and have cooperation in all 25 districts of Sri Lanka.

Narendra Modi also announced new projects including assistance for the rehabilitation of the signalling system at the Maho-Anuradhapura railway section and Kankesanthurai Port. He further declared monthly scholarships to 200 students in the universities of Jaffna and Eastern Province. He also affirmed that in the next 5 years, India will also train 1500 civil servants from Sri Lanka.

PM Modi stated that along with housing, renewable energy and infrastructure, India will also cooperate for the development of agriculture, dairy and fisheries in Sri Lanka. India will also participate in the unique digital identity project in Sri Lanka, he continued.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan president also assured that his country will not allow its territory to be used in any manner that is detrimental to India’s interest. He conveyed that PM Modi assured full support and he also assured that he will always protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka. He added that the cooperation with India will certainly flourish and wants to reassure continued support for India.

PM Modi also said that India will soon finalise a defence cooperation agreement with Sri Lanka. He said that cooperation on hydrography has also been agreed upon, and they believe that the Colombo Security Conclave is an important platform for regional peace, security and development. Under this, cooperation will be enhanced on topics like maritime security, counter terrorism, cyber-security, fight against smuggling and organised crime, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

The Commission for Air Quality Management said that GRAP-III recommendations have been reimposed across Delhi and the national capital region following highly unfavourable meteorological conditions, including calm winds and very low mixing height.

Under GRAP-III restrictions, all schools in Delhi-NCR must switch to a hybrid class mode for students till Class V, and there will be restrictions on the entry of diesel-powered commercial vehicles.

Furthermore, goods vehicles with engines below the BS-IV certification cannot run, except for those used for emergency purposes or to provide essential services, and goods carriers registered outside the national capital cannot, till further notice, enter the city if their engine is below the BS-IV mark.

Individuals with disabilities are exempt from the restrictions on BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel vehicles in Delhi and the surrounding districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, and Gautam Budh Nagar under Stage III.

In addition, the Delhi and NCR state governments have been instructed to stagger working hours for public offices and municipal bodies during Stage III. Reportedly, the Centre may also implement similar staggered timings for central government offices in the Delhi-NCR region.

At around 2.30 pm the city’s AQI was 366, which is in the higher end of the very poor category. Notably, this is a sharp spike from seven days ago; on December 7 it was 233, which classified it as moderate. Also, three days before that, Delhi’s AQI was at 211.

This improvement in air quality meant the Supreme Court, on December 5, allowed the CAQM to relax anti-pollution measures from GRAP-IV, the strictest of a four-stage Graded Response Action Plan meant to tackle deteriorating air pollution in the national capital region.

Previous month the air quality in Delhi and the surrounding areas was consistently in the severe and very poor category, prompting annual health warnings from medical professionals and triggering a rush of cases before the Supreme Court asking for directions to the government.

The swearing-in ceremony of the Mahayuti cabinet is underway in Nagpur in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar. Reportedly, 39 MLAs are being sworn in as ministers 

Many Shiv Sena and NCP MLAs are set to be inducted into the council of ministers, reflecting the alliance’s push to finalise its governance team. Reports stated that while 20 MLAs from the BJP are set to become ministers, the party is likely to keep some ministerial positions vacant. Furthermore, 13 MLAs from the Shiv Sena quota and 10 from the NCP quota are being sworn in. The list of portfolios is likely to be announced by tonight after the searing-in ceremony. 

Notably, BJP’s state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule was the first to be sworn in as cabinet minister. Another BJP candidate who took oath as a minister was Radhakrishna Vikhepatil, who was earlier with the Shinde party as a revenue minister.

Beside the aforesaid BJP leaders, Girish Mahajan, Ganesh Naik, Chandrakant Patil, Mangalprabhat Lodha, Jaykumar Rawal, Pankaja Munde, Atul Save, Ashok Uike, Ashish Shelar, Sanjay Savkare, Jaykumar Gore, Shivendra Raje Bhosale, Ashish Shelar will take oath as ministers.

From SHIV SENA, Gulabrao Patil, Dada Bhuse, Sanjay Rathod, Uday Samant, Shambhuraj Desai, Sanjay Shirsat, Pratap Sarnaik, Bharatshet Gogawale will be sworn-in as ministers. NCP leaders Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Munde, Dattatray Bharne, Narhari Jhirwal, Manikrao Kokate, Aditi Sunil Tatkare will also take oath as ministers.

Reportedly, the BJP, which holds a significant share of cabinet berths, is expected to bring in new faces during the expansion. Furthermore, the BJP is likely to hand over the housing ministry to the Shiv Sena in the Maharashtra cabinet expansion while retaining the home ministry.

Reports said that both Shiv Sena and NCP are expected to keep the portfolios they held in the previous Mahayuti government, with the Shiv Sena gaining one additional ministry.

Additionally, the BJP is likely to retain major departments like revenue, education, power and irrigation. NCP is likely to keep the finance, cooperative, agriculture and sports portfolios.