Sri Lanka, April 24 -- A top economist yesterday raised concerns over the "loosening of fiscal squeeze" by authorities to stimulate

economic growth. Since doing so could lead to potential risks of jeopardising Sri Lanka's agreements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) Executive Director Dr. Dushni Weerakoon asserted that there is only room for tweaks at the margin on both the expenditure and revenue fronts.

"Vote-winning quick fixes have turned out to be very costly in the past and the stakes are even higher this time around.

"A premature fiscal loosening will unsettle Sri Lanka's creditors, as will any attempts to push down the timeline to achieve benchmark targets on fiscal ratios," said Dr....