India Commits ₹450million in Advance for Sri Lanka’s Digitalisation Efforts

Colombo (Sri Lanka), 05/08/23: India has given Sri Lanka ₹450 million in advance to support its unique digital identification project, the most important stage in the island nation’s digitalisation initiative, which is being conducted with Indian grant help.

The sum was presented to Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday, according to his office here.

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, engaged in extensive discussions on the project’s execution during a meeting at the Presidential Secretariat.

A statement from the President’s office said, “Signifying the Indian government’s commitment to the initiative, the Indian High Commissioner handed over a significant contribution of Indian ₹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.”

Ratnayaka underlined the critical need of sticking to a well-defined timeframe in order to ensure the project’s smooth execution. Ratnayaka expressed emotional gratitude to the Indian government for its continuous support in this initiative, recognising the project’s fundamental significance in Sri Lanka’s economic recovery process.

Indian High Commission in Colombo posted on X, “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 project’s goal is to collect biographic and biometric information, such as facial, iris, and fingerprint data, which will be maintained in a centralised system in order to issue identification cards in accordance with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) requirements.

The project’s implementation would result in more effective and efficient delivery of government services, poverty reduction and welfare programmes, as well as financial inclusion through improved access to banking and other products/services.

In March 2022, Sri Lanka and India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), and an Indo-Sri Lanka Joint Project Monitoring Committee (JPMC) for the Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity Project (SL-UDI) was established.

The software development for the SL-UDI is being overseen by the Government of India.