The Hon. Eranga Weeraratne - Deputy Minister of Digital Economy

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, Hon. Oshani Umanga has brought a timely, important subject: how the Government will implement digitalization correctly, with participation from all citizens. An Opposition Member spoke sensibly on this, but another strayed far from the topic.

¶ 02 Our Government has already advanced many projects. A digital ID was attempted since 2012 but never delivered; we are now proceeding swiftly and expect to issue the first digital IDs around April next year. GovPay and broader digital payments are being expanded: as of this morning, around 97–100 institutions are connected, enabling digital payments for about 1,232 services, with roughly 9.5 million transactions to date. We are progressing on digital TV, digital driving licences, e-passports, and digital mechanisms for harvest insurance and fertilizer subsidy delivery. We are also making the justice sector more efficient through digitalization.

¶ 03 This cannot be done by Government alone. Policymakers, public service, private sector, academics, universities, schools, and the public must all participate. Systems are useless if not used; we will therefore run public awareness to build confidence and uptake.

¶ 04 At the President’s initiative as Minister in charge of Digital Economy, we will designate September as “Digital Month” and launch a 100-day programme. We will run digital workshops, unveil new systems, and take the programme beyond Colombo to districts, towns, and villages—creating a national digital revival, dispelling misconceptions, and informing the public.

¶ 05 Five flagship events:

¶ 06 1) Disrupt Asia: a major exhibition and conference to attract top global investors to Sri Lanka, highlight opportunities, and retain our entrepreneurs by fostering an enabling ecosystem.

¶ 07 2) Sri Lanka Fintech Summit: covering digital payments, microlending, insurance, eKYC, and broader tech-enabled finance, to transfer international knowledge to our local fintech community.

¶ 08 3) National AI Expo: to position Sri Lanka within global AI progress. We will outline an AI Fund, an AI Centre of Excellence, and AI infrastructure to boost innovation and public-sector productivity.

¶ 09 4) Cyber Observation Institute: launching in September to provide real-time threat hunting and other capabilities to help government and private institutions counter cyber-attacks.

¶ 10 5) Digital Experience Centres: one in Colombo and mobile centres across provinces to let citizens see and try Digital ID, e-passports, digital driving licences, GovPay, QR payments, AI-enabled services, and digital social assistance systems.

¶ 11 Further, we are advancing 5G rollout and digital upgrades in schools. Through digitalization in transport, health, and education, we will deliver faster, more efficient public services. Starting in September, over 100 days, we will execute a strong plan so that by 2030 we reach our targeted level of digital development.

¶ 12 Thank you, Hon. Presiding Member.