Sri Lanka to implement digital ID cards

Colombo : The Sri Lankan government will soon implement digital identification cards for its citizens aimed at strengthening the island's digital economy, officials said on Monday.

Vice Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and Dialog Axiata PLC Director Dr Hans Wijayasuriya said that these would be irrefutable digital identification cards which could not be forged as it would be bio-metric, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Thereby, every citizen could potentially be incorporated as economic entities into the larger economy," Wijayasuriya said.

The idea proposed in 2012 had gone through many processes and would be introduced in the near future. This digital ID would help the government to effectively disburse welfare funds, said Wijayasuriya.

"The government's investments in welfare can be targeted and directed at the right segments down to a single citizen."

Wijayasuriya added that implementation of the digital identification card would create an economic surplus which could be reinvested for growth.