Sri Lanka to ink MoU with India to implement unitary digital ID program

The Cabinet of Ministers on Monday gave the approval to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with India to secure a grant to execute the Unitary Digital Identity Framework in Sri Lanka.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had tabled the relevant proposal in the Cabinet meeting in his capacity as the Minister of Technology.

The government, in a statement, stated that it has decided to prioritize the implementation of Unitary Digital Identity Framework as a national-level program.

Under the proposed initiative, it is expected to introduce a personal identity verification device based on biometric data – a digital tool that can represent the identities of individuals in cyberspace – and the identification of individual identities that can be accurately verified in digital and physical environments by combining the two devices.

During the bilateral talks between the Sri Lankan President and the Indian Prime Minister in December 2019, the government of India had agreed to provide a grant to the island nation to implement the Unitary Digital Identity framework.