President Anura Kumara Dissanayake announced a comprehensive relief package to ease the impact of the ongoing Middle East crisis, stating that several sectors have been affected. He made this statement during a special address in Parliament today (07).
Focusing on fuel prices, the President said a subsidy of up to Rs. 100 per litre for diesel and Rs. 20 per litre for petrol will be provided at the next price revision, effective for three months. However, super diesel and super petrol will continue to be priced according to market rates.
Under the Aswesuma programme, additional allowances will be granted for April 2026, with Rs. 7,500 for extremely poor families, Rs. 5,000 for poor families, and Rs. 2,500 for transitional families. For electricity consumers using less than 90 units, the government will bear the additional cost for three months.
In the agriculture sector, fertilizer subsidies for the Yala season will be increased to Rs. 30,000 per hectare for major crops and Rs. 18,000 for other crops. A 50kg bag of urea will also be provided at a fixed price of Rs. 10,200.
Relief measures for the fisheries sector include a subsidy of Rs. 50 per litre of fuel for one-day fishing vessels and a one-time allowance of Rs. 150,000 for multi-day vessels. The President stated that the package aims to reduce pressure on key sectors and provide relief to the public.
