Govt waits for clearance to implement India-funded Unique ID card project

ECONOMYNEXT –The government is waiting for clearance from Public Security Ministry to go ahead with a dragged India-funded Unique ID card project, State Technology Minister Kanaka Herath said.

The key stakeholders including President Ranil Wickremesinghe will meet on Friday to discuss (10) the latest on the project, he said.

The project has faced delay while President Wickremesinghe’s government has disqualified the two Indian bidders Madras Security Printers (MSP) and Protein Technologies which won the tenders in the previous bidding process last year.

The project which has raised concerns over data privacy of Sri Lankan citizens and protection of personal data is yet to go for rebidding after last year’s cancellation.

“We have finished the procurement and we are trying to advertise it. For that we need to get the cabinet approval,” Herath told reporters on Thursday (09) at a media briefing in Colombo.

“In January when we presented the paper to the cabinet, the Public Security Ministry wanted to have observation. On top of that we have also given our observations.”

“So, we are waiting for their (Public Security Ministry) feedback,” he said adding that he hopes the Friday meeting would help to address the key concerns.

India has already given an advance aid of 450 million Indian rupees to President Wickremesinghe’s government to fund the digital ID project, which aims to collect biographic and biometric information, including facial, iris, and fingerprint data.

Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Santhosh Jha in February said the project might see “something happening” in the “middle of this year”.

The decision to award the tender to print digital ID cards for an Indian firm has raised concerns over data privacy of Sri Lankan citizens and protection of personal data.Some security analysts have raised concern over data privacy with Indian companies being selected to print the IDs.

Public Security Minister Tiran Alles has said the Indian project has the risk of data privacy breach and he would not want data of Sri Lankan citizens “to go out to any other country”.

The government has separately called for tenders and four foreign manufactures with local partners have bid for a separate electronic National Identity Card (e-NIC) project, Alles has said.

The Department of Personal Registration, which oversees issuing NICs comes under the purview of Alles’ Ministry of Public Security. But the Indian project is handled by Ministry of Technology.

The Indian project is expected to store the personal data of every individual in a centralized system to issue identification cards as per the standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), government officials have said, to effective and efficient delivery of government services, financial inclusion, and poverty reduction.An Indo-Sri Lanka Joint Project Monitoring Committee (JPMC) has already been appointed to oversee the progress of the project.