The Hon. Arun Hemachandra - Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, this is a timely opportunity to speak on the Budget Proposals for the Ministry of Digital Economy at the Committee Stage. Let me begin: “Digitalization is not just a tool, but a shield against corruption. It is a gateway to transparency and the foundation of good governance.” The more we embrace technology, the less room there is for exploitation.

¶ 02 It is regrettable that at a time when we should be having a constructive, technically informed debate, some arguments ignore the technological realities. The core criticism seems fixated on whether the Indian Prime Minister held our President’s hand. There has been a barrage of mudslinging. Yet this shows we are maintaining strong international relations. Some may be uncomfortable with that.

¶ 03 Those who raised points today have not engaged with the technology itself. The world’s leader in digitalization is certainly not us; we have lived in the past for too long. Our presence in international markets has been small. While we speak endlessly of our ancient history, other countries, once behind us, rapidly captured global markets and economic share. When we meet foreign delegations, they recount what they achieved in just 50, 40, 30, 20, 10 or even 5 years. I think this is now changing. As a National People’s Power government, we are engaging meaningfully, and digitalization offers us rapid pathways forward.

¶ 04 The previous speaker discussed digital IDs without considering their full context. He also claimed there is no country where biometric information has not leaked. That is not correct. While there have been incidents, there are many success stories. Numerous countries are implementing these systems successfully, and now harness AI to move even faster. Regarding our ID system, we believe we must act swiftly. This will also help resolve many other problems. We hope to curb corruption, fraud and wastage—the first building block is the digital ID system.

¶ 05 On biometrics, some arguments reflect a lack of awareness. Even today, we place our fingerprints at many points—on attendance systems and elsewhere. We already present biometric data in many contexts. However, what we will implement is more secure—through encryption and encoding. These have been tested and used successfully by many countries and institutions worldwide. We must move out of the past mindset. Using digitalization, we can bring benefits to agriculture. The core of many recent issues in paddy and coconut, for instance, was the lack of proper data.

¶ 06 Hon. Minister, you have about 2 minutes remaining.

¶ 07 I will conclude. We must change this approach and carry out proper analysis. In fisheries, for instance, we still lack complete data on when and how catches occur. AI has not yet been effectively applied. As we discuss these matters in government, we will not be swayed by baseless criticism. Agriculture, transport, livestock and public administration—all can gain from digitalization. Our GovPay system is functioning well, with more institutions joining daily.

¶ 08 In my Ministry, we are determined to move forward by leveraging technology. We use digital technology for selection processes in foreign employment. In consular services, digitalization has eased operations considerably. In a short time, we have achieved much. We will not be deterred by opposition that refuses to acknowledge progress. We must complete digitalization rapidly. As a government, we are committed. Through a single-window platform, we will attract investors swiftly and place the country on a fast development trajectory.

¶ 09 Thank you.