Sri Lanka procures digital national ID cards from Thales

The Department of Registration of Persons procured 700,000 polycarbonate cards from Thales for its Electronic National Identity Card (e-NIC) project to be implemented by year-end, top officials said.

“In addition to the 700,000 cards in position, we still need 1.6 million more cards.,” M.S.P. Suriyapperuma, director general of, the Department of Registration of Persons told Biometric Update on Thursday.

The new electronic NICs will include biometrics, as part of the new system. The electronic IDs will include biometric features such as fingerprint, iris, and face recognition details, for more security and efficiency in identification confirmation.

Suriyapperuma said already the Sri Lankan banks are already accessing their repository and verifying certain details of clients.

The plan is to integrate the Sri Lanka Unique Digital ID project with the e-NIC, she added.

e-NICs will assign unique ID numbers, centralize various types of IDs, and capture data like birth certificates and tax identification. “Digitisation enables the collection of data, and data-driven policy initiatives are important to drive the right outcomes,” Suriyapperuma said.

An awareness program was held at the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) in Colombo recently, to discuss the e-NIC process and operational aspects. The event, under the patronage of Deputy Minister of Digital Economy, Eranga Weeraratne, aimed to address key challenges and provide a platform for stakeholders to exchange ideas and identify solutions. The initiative aims to streamline e-NIC implementation and ensure a smooth rollout for citizens.

Meanwhile, the Registrar Generals Department plans to complete the digital population registry, an electronic database of basic information on all Sri Lankan citizens, in Colombo this month. The project aims to create an efficient life events registration system, increase information sharing with government institutions, and ensure data accuracy.

The digital birth certificate will be issued for those born after January ’21 in Colombo, alongside handwritten birth certificates. The project is backed by the civil registration and vital statistics project, with the Ministry of Digital Economy, United Nations Development Programme, and Asian Development Bank as partners.

Article Topics

civil registration  |  digital ID  |  e-ID  |  national ID  |  SL-UDI (Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity)  |  Sri Lanka  |  Thales Digital Identity and Security