Sri Lanka digital ID to be ready by Q1 2026: official

The Sri Lanka Digital ID system is expected to be ready by the first quarter of next year, according to Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, chief adviser to the President on Digital Economy and Information Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) chairperson.

“We expect it to be ready by February or March next year,” Wijayasuriya told media recently. “Following this, the population registration process will commence, covering the entire citizen base of the country. The timeline on registering the entire population will depend on how efficiently the rollout proceeds.” He added that the intention is to establish sandbox environments periodically for the development community and Industry stakeholders, enabling them to interact with the DPI elements and begin building applications using the relevant application programming interfaces. For various infrastructure blocks, there will be a series of proof-of-concept Initiatives come out.

Wijayasuriya also said that the ICTA will be issuing application programming (API) interface policies and usage guidelines for government and private sector interactions with government systems. The API governance will deal with consistency, compliance, interoperability, and security, aligning with established standards. It will also deal with key areas such as API design, security, and versioning.

The digital ID sandbox is also anticipated to be launched within the next three to four months, according to Minister of Digital Economy Eranga Weeraratne. This initiative will enable public and private sector software developers and institutions to interact with the open digital ID platform, fostering innovation and enhancing user experience in digital identification services. The goal is to issue the first digital ID within a year.

ICTA Board Member Sanjay Karunasena noted that the biometric digital ID will facilitate driver’s license issuance going forward, which can be obtained with a verifiable credential.

Wijayasuriya also said that a critical pillar of the government’s digital strategy is to expand broadband connections. Over the medium term, within three to five years, the plan is to grant every citizen broadband access, along with each state agency as well as public institution, he added.

Sri Lanka is implementing institutional and legal reforms to accelerate the digital economy, including the establishment of a Digital Economy Authority and a cybersecurity regulatory framework.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  digital economy  |  digital ID  |  SL-UDI  |  Sri Lanka