Delays in India-Funded Unique ID Card Project in Sri Lanka Raise Concerns Over Data Security

Sri Lanka’s Unique ID Card Project Faces Delay Amid Data Security Concerns

The India-funded unique ID card project in Sri Lanka, aimed at collecting biographic and biometric information, has hit a roadblock with the second call for bids delayed for two months. President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s government disqualified the two Indian bidders, Madras Security Printers (MSP) and Protein Technologies, due to concerns over personal data security.

India has provided an advance aid of 450 million Indian rupees for the project, which has raised concerns over possible breaches of personal data protection. State Minister of Information Technology, Kanaka Herath, stated that the project is awaiting cabinet approval before moving forward.

Despite initial plans to invite bids by the end of last year, the delay in the process has not been explained by officials. Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Santhosh Jha, mentioned that the project is in the process of appointing a consultant and is expected to progress by the middle of the year.

The decision to award the tender to an Indian firm has sparked concerns over data privacy among security analysts. Minister Herath reassured the public that data inputs are handled by a local company, alleviating some security concerns.

In a separate development, the Ministry of Public Security has called for tenders for an electronic National Identity Card (e-NIC) project, with four foreign manufacturers bidding with local partners. Minister Tiran Alles expressed concerns over the risk of data privacy breach in the Indian project and emphasized the importance of protecting Sri Lankan citizens’ data.

The project aims to store personal data in a centralized system to issue identification cards, following international standards. An Indo-Sri Lanka Joint Project Monitoring Committee has been appointed to oversee the progress of the project. Stay tuned for further updates on this developing story.