India aids Sri Lanka to fund its digital identity project

India has handed over an advance aid of INR 450 million to Sri Lanka to fund its digital identity project, a significant step in its digitalisation programme being implemented through the Indian grant assistance.

Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office said that the fund from the Indian government was given on Friday (August 4).

During a meeting at the Presidential Secretariat, key stakeholders, including Presidential Senior Adviser on National Security and Chief of Presidential Staff, Sagala Ratnayaka, State Minister of Technology, Kanaka Herath, Indian High Commissioner, Gopal Bagley, and First Secretary of the Indian High Commission, Eldos Mathew and others engaged in extensive discussions on the project’s execution.

“Signifying the Indian government’s commitment to the initiative, the Indian High Commissioner handed over a significant contribution of Indian Rs 450 million to Minister Kanaka Herath (State Minister of Technology), constituting 15 per cent of the total funds required for the successful implementation of the project as an advance payment,” a statement from the President’s Office said.

Ratnayaka stressed that there should be a well-defined timeline to ensure the project’s seamless execution.

Ratnayaka acknowledged the significance of the project in the economic recovery of the island nation and expressed gratitude to the Indian government for its unwavering support.

“High Commissioner handed over a cheque of INR 450 million to State Minister Hon @kanakadh, in the gracious presence of Hon @SagalaRatnayaka today for SLUDI (Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity Project) project, which is being implemented through grant assistance by Govt of #India,” the Indian High Commission in Colombo posted on platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

The aim of the project is to collect biographic and biometric information, including facial, iris, and fingerprint data, which will be stored in a centralised system to issue identification cards as per the standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

According to officials, the implementation of the project would lead to more effective and efficient delivery of government services, financial inclusion, poverty reduction.

The project commenced with the signing of a MoU between Sri Lanka and India in March 2022 and an Indo-Sri Lanka Joint Project Monitoring Committee (JPMC) for the Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity Project (SL-UDI) was introduced. (Indiatv/PTI)