Sri Lanka plans to replace existing National Identity Cards with digital identity cards over the next few years, Deputy Minister of Digital Economy Eranga Weerarathna stated.

The government expects to issue the first digital IDs in the coming months and move towards a fully digital identity system by around August next year.

The Deputy Minister stated that approximately 17 million existing NIC holders could be transitioned to the new system over the following two years.

The digital ID programme is part of the government’s wider digital transformation initiative.