IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The project, which went live on October 27th 2010, will enable pensioners to draw their pension as early as the first month after they reach retirement, using an ATM-like card at banks islandwide.

According to ICTA CEO Reshan Dewapura, the LGC is one of the agency’s key projects that seeks to deliver eServices to the public with the kind of efficiency never before seen or experienced in the country.

The LGC facility is securely located in the hub of Lanka Government Network which has been set up in a rented space of a Sri Lankan data centre.

Sri Lanka scored very high in the affordability measure, ranked at number 5 for mobile tariffs based on purchasing power parity dollars and number 2 for fixed broadband though ranked low in internet and telephony completion (129).

Sri Lanka did less well on the political and regulatory sub-index bogged down by legal delays in contract enforcement, piracy and judicial independence.

The Center, the first of its kind in the country, is born out of a true public private partnership between the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka and the Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration and Millennium InformationTechnologies.

"Sri Lankan government has made a substantial effort to develop its online portal which now ranks 74th in the world", the UN said. Sri Lanka ranked 115 in 2012.

The World Bank currently supports the e-Sri Lanka project – an initiative to improve access and use of ICT (information communications technology) by citizens, businesses and government – with a 53 million dollar credit.

Sri Lanka strengthens border management system Under this project full page passport readers have been installed at the BIA. These readers can capture the full data-page image of the passport during passenger inspection at the time of entry and departure. The readers will provide an electronic confirmation as to authenticity of the passport, identify possible tampering and forgeries to the passport.

The first phase of this project I Sri Lanka was launched in Jaffna yesterday with an investment of Rs. 70 million which is considered to be the largest ICT project in Jaffna.

The regional telecommunication office and maintenance centre in Jaffna were also opened yesterday to provide and ensure speedy and quality service delivery.

Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) launched its ultra high speed broadband network yesterday under its nation-wide network modernisation project i-Sri Lanka . This is the largest ICT project in Jaffna alongside the opening of the SLT Regional Telecommunication Office and Maintenance Centre in Jaffna.

The i-Sri Lanka network modernisation project is set to revolutionise broadband access across the country, by upgrading the existing copper based access network with fibre optics. This will enable customers to enjoy the consistent, uninterrupted high speed internet services delivered on the network, up to high speeds up to 20 mega bytes per second and more.

Sri Lanka's Ministry of Telecommunication, Digital Infrastructure and Foreign Employment on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Microsoft in Sri Lanka to provide effective citizen services.

Speaking at the signing of the MoU with Microsoft Sri Lanka Minister of Telecommunication, Digital Infrastructure and Foreign Employment, Harin Fernando said although it was long-overdue, this was a significant milestone for Sri Lanka to drive the country's digital transformation.

The project is expected to enhance Sri Lanka’s border security by strengthening its capacity to collect, analyse and share immigration intelligence.

“The Interpol database services will be integrated with Sri Lanka’s immigration information system through the National Central Bureau,” said Migration Management Head Shantha Kulasekara.

The eRevenue Licence is a web-based Motor Vehicle Revenue License issuance system under the ICT Agency’s Lanka Gate Project. It enables the Department of Motor Traffic to have an efficient and centralised way of managing and storing license renewal records.

“We want to respond swiftly to what citizens want. The Census, for the first time, now covers the entire country, and this will help us better understand the gaps and opportunities of e-government applications,” Weeratunga told 140 distinguished secretaries and senior government decision makers at the second annual forum co-hosted by Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) of Sri Lanka. He anticipated that one of the newer demands would be citizen services delivered via the mobile phone.

The networks using the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) technology will especially benefit rural areas enabling services like telemedicine and e-learning, officials said.

This project proposed by the President as the Minister of Defence and Urban Development aims to enhance the security features of passports by streamlining the Automated Fingerprint Identification System.

“As the majority of people throughout the country use mobile phones, it would be an advantage and convenient to acquire the mobile service,” ICTA Chief Executive Officer, Reshan Dewapura said in an official statement.

The issuance of biometric passport was proposed at the first Colombo team meeting by the Regional Immigration Liaison Officer Network early this year.

Immigration and Emigration Controller Chulananda Perera said in inaugural speech that experts from Australia and Hong Kong are preparing feasibility reports on implementing biometric passports.

The Minister said that through the Re-engineering Government Programme implemented by the Information and Communication Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) under the e-Sri Lanka initiative, instant issuance of certified copies of vital records has been facilitated.

The Minister expressed these views while inaugurating the programme to issue certified copies of marriage, birth, and death certificates in a few minutes at the Kegalle District Secretariat last Friday.

The document management system will be made available online. In addition, a dedicated call centre will also be established to answer queries and feedbacks from the Department’s stakeholders.

According to an official statement, the Department will be using a new Oracle-powered online system to upgrade the department’s automation system with an estimated cost of Rs 140 million (USD 1 million) and is now in its final stages of development.

Telecentres, or also known as Community e-Centres, are public sites often situated in remote rural areas that enable people to gather information, create, learn, and communicate with others by using the ICT tools provided.