The Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity (SLUDI) Project is a flagship scheme of the Government of Sri Lanka, led by the Ministry of Digital Economy, to establish a robust, inclusive, and secure digital identity system. It is a foundational layer of the country's Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), aligning with Sri Lanka's vision of becoming a technology-driven smart nation. The project originated from bilateral discussions between the Prime Minister of India and the President of Sri Lanka, with the Cabinet approving the project in February 2022 to utilize a grant from the Government of India. The problem it solves is the need for a single, authoritative source of citizen identity to eliminate duplication, provide accurate population data, and enable secure, trusted, and interoperable digital interactions across public and private sectors.
The mechanism involves creating a unified, citizen-centric identity platform that utilizes India's Modular Open-Source Identity Platform (MOSIP). The system is designed to capture unique biometric data, including iris scans, fingerprints, and facial recognition, to create an irrefutable foundation for a digital credential. The implementation is guided by principles like privacy-by-design and security-by-design, ensuring full compliance with the Personal Data Protection Act No. 9 of 2022. The SLUDI will enable consent-based data sharing and provide citizen digital access points via web and mobile interfaces. The resulting unique identification number is intended to replace the current physical National Identity Card (NIC) number as the unique identifier in systems like RAMIS and ASYCUDA. The project is closely connected to the broader e-NIC initiative, which involves the delivery of polycarbonate cards incorporating biometric data. The production system is scheduled to go live within one year, following pilot phases that commenced in 2021. The project is being implemented with a grant from the Government of India, initially valued at LKR 10.4 billion.