Addressing mediapersons on board the special aircraft while returning from Kuwait, Krishna said: "We sincerely hope that President Rajapaksa will utilise this mandate which has been given in his favour to bring about a settlement with all the ethnic minorities in that country. So that a new beginning with a sense of new hope can be initiated in Sri Lanka."

Last October, India offered Sri Lanka 100 million dollars to help war refugees return home and rebuild the country's ravaged north, as New Delhi sought to engage in the island nation's post-war reconstruction and retain influence.

A similar aid package was given by New Delhi to Sri Lanka in July 2009 after the Sri Lankan government announced victory in a 25-year war against Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Some 260,000 Tamil refugees, who fled in the waning months of the war, are now residing as displaced persons in military-run camps. Western countries, India and the United Nations are pressing the government to send them home.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said 70-80 percent of the Tamil refugees would be resettled by January. So far, about 15,000 have been sent home.