SL to get Indian grant to implement digital identity project

The Cabinet this week cleared the path for Sri Lanka to secure a grant from India to procure a personal identity verification device based on biometric data and a digital identification tool to implement the Unitary Digital Identity framework project.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in his capacity as Minister of Technology early this week sought the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers to sign a Memorandum of Understanding to obtain the grant.
“Under the proposed Unitary Digital Identity Framework, 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,” the Government Information Department stated.

During bilateral talks between President  Rajapaksa and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December 2019, the Government of India had  agreed to provide a grant to implement the Unitary Digital Identity framework.
According to the Government Information Department, the implementation of a Unitary Digital Identity Framework remains national priority of the government.