New ID in the offing

Shirley Wijesinghe

COLOMBO:A new national identity card is in the offing replacing the present ID with more information about the person possessing it.

The present ID was introduced for the first time towards the latter part of 1971 and the NIC today is a must for all official purposes.

The Government decided to issue a new identity card to every citizen which contains information necessary of each person, a release from the Prime Minister's office said. The inclusion of data has become necessary to avoid impersonation and abuse.

The issuing of this new ID would be a project jointly undertaken by the Registration of Persons Department and Sri Lanka Information Media and Technology Agency Institute.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the Public Security, Law and Order Ministry Secretary Dr. Upananda Vidanapathirana and Commissioner of Department for Registration of Persons A.G. Dharmadasa at the Ministry recently, the sources added.