Sri Lanka's new president, Maithripala Sirisena, arrived in New Delhi on Sunday as part of an official visit. He was greeted on arrival by India's Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping, P Radhakrishnan.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been urged to back a resolution at the UN Human Rights Council, which will support the adoption of a report on mass atrocities in Sri Lanka, said Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) M Karunanidhi.

“Now that the Sri Lankan Provincial Government has passed a resolution calling for an international probe into genocide, I request you to kindly consider moving a suitable resolution in the UNHRC,” said Mr Karunanidhi earlier this week.

"The community of the Tamils anxiously expect the Indian government to support the adoption of the report in the UNHRC," he added.

Mr Karunanidhi’s comments come as Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena arrived in India on his first official visit of the country. Since Mr Sirisena took office in January though, efforts taken towards appeasing Tamil demands have failed to materialise said Mr Karunanidhi.

"What is now happening in Sri Lanka has upset the Tamils. The promises and announcements are too many and what has been achieved is either nil or very little," Mr Karunanidhi said. “What can be done in a couple of days has not been done and there are no positive signals towards what should be done within a timeframe.”

A domestic investigation cannot be accepted regardless  of when the release of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights report into Sri Lanka’s atrocities (OISL) occurs, the Tamil National Alliance said on Sunday.

Commenting on Sri Lanka’s requests to delay the OISL report to allow for a domestic initiative, TNA MP M Sumanthiran, said,

“The government has announced that it is seeking support from the international community for an internal investigation. We do not have hope in an internal investigation.”

Photograph: Sri Lankan Ministry of External Affairs

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon discussed human rights, accountability and reconciliation with the Sri Lanka’s Minister of External Affairs Mangala Samaraweera, outlining them as “critical priorities” for Sri Lanka on Friday.

The meeting at UN headquarters in New York comes after Mr Samaraweera visited the UK and US, where he announced publicly that Sri Lanka was seeking to delay the findings of a United Nations investigation into mass atrocities on the island.

Speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, UN diplomatic sources said Mr Samaraweera had made the same call to the UN Secretary General. Inner City Press reported that Sri Lanka's outgoing Ambassador to the United Nations Palitha Kohona was also present at the meeting.

The United States said it is focused on supporting “accountability and reconciliation” in Sri Lanka, following a visit from the Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka Mangala Samaraweera, who was in Washington on Thursday.

“The United States, our focus and the focus of our partners in the international community is supporting accountability and reconciliation in Sri Lanka,” said US State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki, speaking at the daily press briefing on Friday.

“We’re determining the best way forward to address these issues,” said Ms Psaki, confirming that the United Nations investigation into mass atrocities against Tamils was discussed at Mr Samaraweera’s meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry.

However, she added that conversations around delaying the report would be kept “private”, stating that “this is a matter for the UN High Commissioner (Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein) to determine”.

“We have absolute confidence in [the High Commissioner] and in this process,” she added.

Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena has taken key responsibilities from the defence ministry.

The move means the number of institutions under the control of State Minister for Defence Ruwan Wijewardene have been drastically reduced.

Sri Lanka's revised budget could stoke inflation and further economic imbalances, warned rating agency Moody's Investors Service.

The 47 percent hike in public sector wages can boost consumption and growth but it would also boost inflation, a historic problem in Sri Lanka according to Moody's.

"Given that public sector employees make up 15 percent of the work force, the 47 percent increase in nominal wages will boost consumption, thus supporting growth," Moody's said.