Colombo (TIP)- Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has issued notices to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and the Cabinet over the India-funded Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity (SL-UDI) programme following a petition alleging violation of fundamental rights.
The petition was filed by former minister Wimal Weerawansa, who contended that the government’s decision to proceed with the project violates fundamental rights and lacked transparency as neither Parliament nor the public had been adequately informed. During PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Colombo in April, the two sides signed an MoU on sharing India’s large-scale digital solutions to support Sri Lanka’s digital transformation drive.
The Unique Digital Identity project, backed by an Indian grant, aims to provide Sri Lankan citizens with a secure digital ID similar to India’s Aadhaar system. The petitioner claimed the project posed a threat to Sri Lanka’s national security as citizens’ biometric data could be exposed to foreign entities without adequate safeguards.
Sri Lanka seeks Chinese loans in Yuan instead of USD for infra project
In a significant shift in its external borrowing strategy, Sri Lanka’s cabinet has approved a proposal to secure the equivalent of USD 500 million in Chinese yuan from the Export-Import Bank of China to fund the long-delayed Central Expressway infrastructure project. The decision, announced on Aug 28 after a cabinet meeting chaired by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, aims to ease pressure on the country’s limited U.S. dollar reserves while advancing a critical development corridor that has been stalled due to funding constraints.
According to government officials, opting for yuan-denominated financing will help Sri Lanka manage its foreign exchange requirements more effectively. Repayments can be made in local or yuan reserves rather than scarce U.S. dollars, providing some insulation against currency volatility.
This marks another step indeepening financial ties between Colombo and Beijing, aligning with China’s broader efforts to internationalize the renminbi. Analysts say the move reflects Sri Lanka’s growing reliance on Chinese financing to rebuild infrastructure and stabilize its economy following its 2022 sovereign debt default.
Earlier, Sri Lanka extended a 10 billion yuan (USD 1.4 billion) currency swap arrangement with China’s central bank to maintain liquidity and support trade settlement in yuan. China also played a key role in Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring efforts last year, absorbing significant financial adjustments as part of an IMF-supported bailout package.
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