400 Digital Champions to be recruited for PIC-NET digital drive

Colombo, May 28 (Daily Mirror) - Applications have been called to recruit 400 public officers as Digital Champions for the Public Impact Champions Network (PIC-NET), an institutional pilot initiative aimed at optimising public services through digitalisation.

As a key component of the Government’s Digital Economy Plan to enhance efficiency and quality in the public sector, an awareness programme for coordinating executive officers of public institutions was held yesterday (27) at the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA). The programme marked the first step towards establishing PIC-NET, which is expected to drive large-scale digital transformation across government institutions.

Senior Adviser to the President on the Digital Economy and Chairman of ICTA, Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, said the Government is preparing for a “massive technological transformation” across all public institutions in the coming years.

He noted that Sri Lanka aims to increase its digitally empowered economy from 3% to 12% by 2030, adding that the expansion of the digital economy is essential to improve efficiency, service quality and revenue generation.

Dr. Wijayasuriya further observed that while many developed countries have advanced rapidly in digitalisation, several developing nations still face challenges in this area. He pointed to India’s progress as an example and said Sri Lanka’s goal is to position itself strongly in line with global digital developments.

He added that within the next three years, coordination and management of transactions among public institutions are expected to function in a fully networked system, similar to banking operations, with broad institutional and public support essential for successful implementation.

During the programme, government institutions were instructed to submit applications from suitable officers in line with Circular PS/ADA/Circular/3/2026 to join the “Champions Corps” and lead digital transformation initiatives.

Ranil Peiris of the Department of Information Technology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, briefed participants on the foundation and future direction of PIC-NET, noting that citizens will eventually be able to access services such as passport applications and licence renewals entirely online, without repeatedly submitting the same information.

Representatives of KPMG also presented the proposed action plan for selecting and training officers, while officials from the Presidential Secretariat explained the application process and coordination mechanism.

The programme is being implemented with the support of the Presidential Secretariat, the Ministry of Digital Economy, GovTech Sri Lanka, and the Asian Development Bank.