16 m Sri Lankans qualify for new Digital NICs

26 October 2014 09:38 am

The Director of the Digital National Identity Card project Janaka Amarasinghe declared that 16 million Sri Lankans over the age of fifteen had qualified to receive the new Digital NICs in the near future.

Based on the 2011 census, these individuals had qualified to receive these cards in the year 2016 and all arrangements are being made to issue these cards.
These cards with international quality standards would not require obtaining blood samples, but would include all information necessary for identification.
Accordingly, the new NIC would depict a photograph of the holder, details in all three languages, expiry date and would include the finger impression.

Mr. Amarasinghe clarified that the present NIC was vulnerable to forgery, failure in identifying the holder, not long lasting, the possibility of two identity cards carrying the same number being issued, and the possibility of misuse for fraudulent activities were some of the defects that were prominent in the present cards.

The proposed new cards designed and crafted according to the standards of the International Civil Airlines Organisation (ICAO), are to be made available throughout the island within an year.(Indika Sri Aravinda)