• Launch moved from March to Q3 2026 following presidential clarification
• System to be built on India’s MOSIP with local software components
• 5 shortlisted Indian tech firms visit Colombo to assess project scope
• Contract award expected by end-January 2026

The Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity (SLUDI) project will be launched only by the third quarter of 2026 and not by March 2026 as widely reported, according to the Deputy Minister of Digital Economy. 

Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, Deputy Minister of Digital Economy Eranga Weeraratne revealed that the SLUDI project would be launched only in the third quarter of 2026. 

Although it was widely reported that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake had announced during the 2026 Budget speech that the launch would take place by March 2026, the President subsequently clarified that the system would, in fact, become operational only by the third quarter of next year.

“What the President meant was the third quarter. Despite the fact that he said March at first, he later clarified that it would be the third quarter,” Weeraratne stated.

The Deputy Minister further noted that the SLUDI system would be developed on the Indian Modular Open-Source Identity Platform (MOSIP) solution while integrating the previous Electronic National Identity Card (e-NIC) system introduced by the previous regimes, including the hardware already brought down for that system.

He further said that while the SLUDI system would be developed on the MOSIP, some of the software components would be developed locally.

Weeraratne revealed that the five bidders that had been shortlisted to build and develop the SLUDI system had visited Sri Lanka in early November to examine and understand the scope of the project.

It has been reported that the five shortlisted bidders, selected after a pre-qualification round managed by India’s National Institute for Smart Government (NISG), are Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Protean eGov Technologies, RailTel Corporation of India, and Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL). 

The Deputy Minister said that a final decision on the awarding of the contract would be made by end-January 2026. 

He further revealed that they had also called for Expressions of Interest (EOIs) from parties interested in serving as the managed service provider for the SLUDI project.

“We have called for EOIs to select a local party to manage the SLUDI system. We will proceed with that process,” he stated. 

The SLUDI project is funded by a grant of approximately Rs. 10.4 billion from the Government of India.