Sri Lanka, Oct. 10 -- Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has urged the Government to introduce a practical debt relief programme for Sri Lankans struggling with microfinance loans, claiming that more than two million people have been caught in debt traps.

Speaking in Parliament, Premadasa cited 2023 data indicating that over two million people had been affected by exploitative microfinance lending practices, with women among the groups most severely affected.

He said microfinance was initially introduced as a poverty alleviation initiative by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus through Bangladesh's Grameen Bank, offering affordable loans with minimal collateral requirements.

However, Premadasa claimed that the concept had gradual...