Rs 5.5 billion already spent

The government has procured 350 units of biometric hardware, including high-resolution cameras and fingerprint scanners, for its upcoming Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity (SL-UDI) project which seeks to convert the country’s standard identification card (ID) to a digital ID, according to a report published by the Biometric Update yesterday.

The tender for the balance 400 units of the same hardware had been awarded, Deputy Minister of Digital Economy Eranga Weeraratne told Biometric Update on Sunday in Colombo.

Weeraratne said the Department of Registrar of Persons (DRP) had already spent Rs 5.5 billion on the SL-UDI project which aims to boost the economy, enhance services, and address corruption.

Weeraratne said that the previous government had secured a RS 10.4 billion financial grant from India for the project which is estimated at a cost of RS 20 billion (US$67.3 million). This includes two sophisticated data centres to host the platform at two DRP sites, running the platform for three years along with the hardware cost. “The government will need to put in an additional Rs 4.5 billion,” Weeraratne said.

Concerns were raised over potential Indian access to Sri Lankan’s personal data, prompting further negotiation by the NPP government.

The NPP government amended an agreement with India for project development, ensuring local control with non-profit Indian platform provider MOSIP (Modular Open-Source Identification Platform).

MOSIP has been engaged with Sri Lanka’s government on the digital ID programme since 2020.

Weeraratne noted that the services of the Indian partner are used to develop the project and customization of software. He said the new government after analyzing the agreement with India, looked at it positively but insisted on several amendments to safeguard the sovereignty of data and to have control of the digital ID platform.

“The system will be 100 percent controlled and managed by Sri Lankan professionals. The government will undertake login, database, and software updates.”

The DRP is in the final stage of implementation of this platform and training the provisional council personnel. Weeraratne said that collecting fingerprints and face recognition will start next month. The last revision of the Digital ID Act in the country provides for fingerprint and facial recognition.

The Deputy Minister of Digital Economy said that iris biometric scans will come later when the DRP and the system itself are equipped to collect the data.

The project will start by issuing digital IDs for 16-year-olds who are eligible for their first ID. After six months, the project will avail itself for the old national identity cards and convert them into electronic national identity cards (e-NICs), Weeraratna added.

He noted that institutions such as banks will implement digital ID and also have fingerprint scanning facilities to identify the account holders in the future.