04-12-2025 
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India has reached an agreement with Sri Lanka to extend its successful digital initiatives that have been implemented on a large scale to drive digital transformation. This partnership aims to share effective digital solutions that have proven successful in India and support Sri Lanka’s efforts to enhance its digital infrastructure and services.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi traveled to Sri Lanka to strengthen the countries’ defense and energy relations. During his visit, Modi finalized ten agreements with Sri Lanka, one of which focused on advancing Sri Lanka’s digitalization. Among other key agreements were those related to defense collaboration, integrating electric grid systems, and developing an energy hub at Trincomalee. In his discussions with Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Modi reiterated India’s commitment to aid Sri Lanka’s ongoing economic recovery and stability efforts.
During his visit, India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of the Republic of India (MeitY) and the Ministry of Digital Economy of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka on “cooperation in the field of sharing successful digital solutions implemented at population scale for digital transformation.”
“India will provide support for the Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity project,” Modi announced during his visit. Implementing the Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity (SLUDI) project is expected to aid the country in improving the delivery of government services to the public.
“President Disanayaka chose India for his first foreign visit after becoming President, and I have had the privilege of becoming his first foreign guest. This is a symbol of the depth of our special relations,” Modi said during his fourth visit to Sri Lanka as Prime Minister.
“We value the priorities of our partner countries,” Modi said. “In the last 6 months alone, we have converted loans worth more than $100 million into grants. Our bilateral ‘Debt Restructuring Agreement’ will provide immediate assistance and relief to the people of Sri Lanka. Today, we have also decided to reduce interest rates. It symbolises that even today, India stands with the people of Sri Lanka.”The India-Sri Lanka MoU signing for technological modernization follows the Sri Lankan government’s recent announcement of a $10 million allocation for digital transformation efforts this year to generate $15 billion in digital economy revenue over the next five years. This initiative will be backed by the rollout of a unique digital ID and the implementation of new legislation for digital services after the creation of a governing digital body. A key element of this transformation is the SLUDI, which aims to streamline identity records across government departments, reducing duplication and enhancing data accuracy, ultimately improving the efficiency of government operations.
Work in progress
The two countries have been working on the India-Sri Lanka bilateral partnership since December 2024. Modi and Disanayaka had agreed to expedite the implementation of the SLUDI project to aid the country in improving the delivery of government services to the public. They had also agreed to collaborate on avenues to fully roll out Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in Sri Lanka with assistance from India. India’s DPI includes a Unified Payments Interface (UPI) public platform and Aadhaar, touted as the world’s largest biometric identification system.
The two countries had expressed interest in bilateral exchanges to learn from India’s Aadhaar platform, digitized customs, and other taxation procedures and explore the benefits of establishing equivalent systems in Sri Lanka.
The two nations also agreed to promote digital financial transactions by extending the use of UPI digital payments, which would benefit both countries and be in accordance with their payment systems-related regulatory guidelines.
The two leaders also agreed to expand collaboration in research and development in agriculture, aquaculture, the digital economy, health, and other areas of mutual interest. They had also agreed to foster cooperation between Start-up India and Information Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA), including mentorship for Sri Lankan startups.
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