‘Sri Lanka is now journeying from version 1.0 to version 2.0 of Development Agenda, ‘Smart Sri Lanka’ moving from pure technology and focusing more on innovation, transformation, entrepreneurship and inclusion’. This was stated by ICT Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) CEO Reshan Dewapura Tuesday (19) while participating as Chief Guest at the inauguration of  IBMSoftwareUniverse2013  in Colombo.  Organised by IBM Sri Lanka, this was the first ever ‘IBMSoftware held in Sri Lanka.

Delivering  his keynote speech on the occasion, Dewapura explained  to a full house at the Oak room at Cinnamon Grand, Colombo the  buzz phrase  ‘Smart Sri Lanka’: “In the spirit of this event, the IBM Software Universe, where we have heard much about a smarter planet, let’s refer to this version 2.0 of the e-Development Agenda as ‘Smart Sri Lanka’. Version 1.0 was e-Sri Lanka, and by coining this new phrase we are now moving above and beyond pure technology, and focusing more on innovation, transformation, entrepreneurship and inclusion”. Highlighting the differentiator component of the endeavour  Dewapura said further: “ Benefitting from the latest advances in technology, more intelligence and smartness could be induced to the country, in all activities in all sections.

Director of Software Sales & Marketing, IBM India / South Asia, Jason Mosakowski  , Director-IT, Agro Harapan Lestari Pvt. Ltd., Kevin de Silva, Country General Manager, IBM Sri Lanka, Chrishan M Fernando and, Head of Software Group, IBM Sri Lanka Channa de Silva also spoke at the inauguration session.

The Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness  Team Coordination Centre (Sri Lanka CERT|CC) played an active role in celebrating   Asia Pacific Computer Emergency Response Team’s (APCERT) 10th anniversary recently. Sir Lanka CERT |CC is a subsidiary of the ICT Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA). 

Set up in 2003 to enhance cooperation between region’s CERTs,  APCERT marked its 10th anniversary with the 10th  APCERT Conference and Annual General Meeting from 24th to 28th March ultimo. 

CERT Australia hosted the twin event at the Novotel Hotel in Brisbane, Australia. The two-pronged event  was a great opportunity for cyber security professionals to compare experiences and related issues and to share knowledge and expertise.

Sri Lanka CERT|CC the national body for cyber security in Sri Lanka and a full member of APCERT made a substantial contribution to the celebration, themed  “Then, Now and Beyond”. As self-evident, the theme afforded  all the teams the opportunity to review the past and the present, and look to the future.

Parallel to  Deyata Kirula 2013 (March 23-29), ICT facilities in areas close to where  the event is held are being  improved, says the ICT Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) .

Beginning this endeavour an ICTA initiated  Nenasala Laboratory will be set up on 25th instant at the Hardy Advanced Technology Institute, Amapara, the venue of Deyata Kirula this year.  The Hardy Advanced Technology Institute, Ampara is   proposed to be upgraded as the Ampara Hardy Technology University. The Nenasala Laboratory set up at the at the centre of learning in South East Sri Lanka will be equipped with modern ICT facilities including Wi-Fi. The 20-computer Nenasala laboratory scheduled to be inaugurated by Telecommunications and Information Technology  Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya and Youth Affairs and Skills Development Minister Dullas Alahapperuma will  cater  specially  to professionals. 

ICTA-initiated  Nenasala laboratories of this genre are scheduled to be set up in the Ampara, Trincomalee, Polonnaruwa and Batticaloa districts. 

Singer Sri Lanka, together with Intel  supports this ICTA initiative.

A seminar and exhibition on how ICT makes business grow will be held in Jaffna in early April, the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) said.

The twofold event organised by ICTA will be held  on  7th next month from 9:00 a.m.to 4:00 p.m. at the Pillaiyar Inn, Jaffna.  It will be aimed at promoting  effective use of ICT in  business  and making the business community aware of the benefits it can bring. 

The two-pronged event in Jaffna, like its predecessors , will give the business community in Jaffna  an ideal opportunity  to explore various products and solutions under one roof. It will enable  companies to interact with one another and find solutions that can be tailor-made for their requirements. ‘The series of exhibitions and seminars are being  held under the Domestic IT Small and Medium Business (SMB) Linkages Programme of ICTA’s Investment and Private Sector Development Programme, says ICTA.  

The   Sri Lanka country pavilion at  Mobile World Congress  (MWC) held in Barcelona, Spain recently  (Feb 25-28) has yielded  positive dividends, says  the ICT Agency of Sri Lanka  (ICTA) .

The Sri Lankan companies including Fidenz , Informatics, Mylinex , Orik and Wavenet are confident of their future highly positive business prospects emanating from the Congress. 

Five Sri Lankan companies showcased their mobile solutions under the Sri Lankan pavilion organized by ICTA under its  Private Sector Development Programme . This was the first time Sri Lanka set up a country pavilion at the Mobile World Congress. The participant Sri Lankan companies  were very happy with the arrangements made and were very positive of their prospects of future businesses consequent upon  this event. The event included learning and networking opportunities, product showcases, inspiration and innovation.

Applications are currently called  for the pre-selection of nominees to the World Summit Award 2013, the ICT Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) says.  The award attempts to appreciate at an international level the ICT content and software developed to make the lives of people more comfortable. ICTA is hosting the WSA award event scheduled to be held in Colombo this October. An exhibition, Awards Gala and a Conference under the patronage of President Mahinda Rajapaksa with participation of representatives from about 164 countries are on the cards.

Nominations for the pre-selection are invited from content practitioners/innovators in the following categories for products or applications launched after 1st of January 2011:- (1)e-Government and Institutions (2) e-Health and Environment, (3)e-Learning and Education,  (4)e-Entertainment and Games, (5) e-Culture and Heritage, (6)e-Science and Technology, (7) e-Business and Commerce and (8)e-Inclusion and Participation

By Wasantha Deshapriya, ICTA Programme Director  - Re-engineering Government 

The basic definition of eGovernment is the use of Information and Communication Technology for improving the efficiency of the Government and providing better services. The  Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) has supported many Government organisations in implementing eGovernment projects aimed at achieving the above objectives.  The  eRevenue Licence project is one of the best examples such eGovernment projects.  

It is mandatory by the law in any country that vehicles driven on roads  pay a “Road-Tax” for using the roads.  The objective of this law is to collect tax from  vehicle owners for using the road and use this tax money to maintain the road network. 

In Sri Lanka this requirement is referred to as the “Motor Vehicle Revenue Licence” and it has been stipulated by the Department of Motor Traffic Act and the responsibility of collecting this tax has been delegated to provincial councils.  

As per statistics published by the Department of Motor Traffic (DMT) 4.8 mn vehicles are in use in Sri Lanka and the majority of them are registered in the Western Province.  Accordingly there are 1,200,000 odd vehicles registered in the Western Province and these amount to 25% of the entire vehicle population.  Therefore the Department of Motor Traffic of the Western Province (WP-DMT) has to issue motor vehicle revenue licences to 1,200,000 vehicles annually and collect taxes amounting approximately to Rs. 2.2 bn.  Accordingly WP-DMT has to issue nearly 1,200,000 licences annually and 5,000 daily.  By 2007 WP-DMT had taken many steps to make this process manageable for WP-DMT and convenient for vehicle owners. 

1. The authority of issuance of licence has been delegated to 40 Divisional Secretariats (DSs) in WP.
2. WP-DMT has developed one Information Technology solution for WP-DMT and another for DSs for speeding up the licence issuance process. 
3. WP-DMT has set up a “Drive-In” system called “On the Wheels” which provides the convenience for vehicle owners to obtain the licence without getting down from the vehicle. 

However even with the implementation of the above, WP-DMT and vehicle owners have been facing the following problems in issuing and obtaining the revenue licences:

1. The licence could be obtained only from the registered DSs.
2. The licence could be obtained only during the office hours.
3. No help-line or help desk is available for information on obtaining licences.

In view of the fast-paced life style of  the residents of the metropolitan area, the above problems can be considered  critical.

Problems faced by WP-DMT

1. Due to the disconnected nature of IT solutions used at WP-DMT and DSs up to 2009, the accounting functions have become a nightmare:  the systems are unable to track the vehicles which are transferred from one DS to another DS or to another provincial council and provide a consolidated view.  This has led to a build-up of a long list of debtors, because the vehicles transferred to outside the territory of any authority are still kept as  registered vehicles in the same DS  tagging the owner of those vehicles as debtors.  
2. WP-DMT is unable to verify whether the documents submitted by vehicle owners are authentic.  Since there have been a considerable level of forgery and counterfeit certificates, this had become a serious problem. The insurance policy, vehicle emission test certificate, vehicle registration record and revenue licences have been found to be forged.    
3. No mechanism for assessing or forecasting the expected revenue, or obtaining snapshots with regard to the number of registered vehicles in the Western Province.

WP-DMT consulted ICTA in 2007 and planned to implement a new eGovernment solution for  the issuance of Revenue Licence and  named it the “eRevenue Licence project (eRL)”.  ICTA, then   signed a Memorandum of Understanding and agreed to provide financial and technical assistance to WP-DMT.

In 2009 the work on the eRL system was completed and it was officially a launched  by Mr. Lalith Weeratunga, Secretary to the President.

The new system has the following new features:

1. It is a centralised system running on the Lanka Government Cloud, Lanka Government Network and Lanka Gate which have been developed by ICTA.
2. Vehicle owners in WP can go to any DS in the WP to obtain the licences. 
3. The authenticity of all supporting documents is verified online by connecting to nine insurance companies, two emission testing companies and DMT; hence no bogus documents can be submitted.
4. The revenue licence can be obtained online which means the service is available  on the basis of 24 hours x 7 days. In order to enable the acceptance of credit card payments for eRL the Public Finance Department issued the “Finance Regulation Circular 447”.  ICTA connected an Internet Payment Gateway to Lanka Gate to enable online payment.
5. Since all vehicle ownership transfers are captured online from the database of DMT, the vehicles transferred out of WP can be removed from the vehicle list. Thus an accurate list of debtors can be maintained. 
6. WP-DMT can accurately forecast their revenue.  
7. The citizens can visit www.motortraffic.wp.gov.lk, www.gic.gov.lk  or call Government Information Centre – 1919 for obtaining information or submit their complaints/grievances. 
8. Online forum of Country Portal has been published to discuss the issues of eRL.  
9. A Facebook page was created to create more citizen interactions. 
10. Vehicle owners can call the Government Information Centre (GIC- 1919) for obtaining instructions and assistance for obtaining the licences. 
11. Once paid online, it provides a temporary licence and sends the original licence by registered post. 
12. ICTA has introduced mobile payments for making necessary payments for this service.
13. An  SMS based service has been launched for verifying the validity of any revenue licence.

This type of solutions are called whole-of-Government solutions as the citizen can transact with multiple Government organisations without visiting a single organisation.  This kind of solutions provides the ultimate citizen-friendly services as all their requirements of the citizens can be met without stepping out of their homes.  This system comprises the online connecting WP-DMT, DMT, nine insurance companies, two emission testing companies, two banks and nine mobile phone service provider companies to provide this connected Government service. 

By December 2012, the  eRL solution completed three years of successful operation and it has now been rolled-out to 25 divisional secretariats in the Western Province.  Moreover officials of the Southern and the Sabaragamuwa Provinces are now in negotiation with ICTA to roll-out the eRL solution to their provinces.  

This solution which is  the first ever Government transactional eService, has shown a new direction where citizen services can be provided in a friendly manner with improved  efficiency.    

The eRL solution was piloted at the WP-DMT and three DSs namely Katana, Kaduwela and Panadura a in 2009.  Details of revenue licence issuance from the eRL system in 2012 are  given in the following table:

ICT has been the enabler in  the country’s  tremendous improvement and development, says Information and Communication Technology of Sri Lanka (ICTA) CEO Reshan Dewapura. 

“Today post-war Sri Lanka  has seen ICT creating an enabling environment for the Government,  private sector and   civil society to develop as individual sectors, and together as a Nation. Information and Communication Technology has been that transformational tool that has broken down barriers, started creating a true cyber class, and brought in that inclusivity for all our citizens: In other words, it has been a great leveler”. 

ICTA CEO said so while participating at the media briefing on and launch of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Information Economy Report 2012 held in Colombo Wednesday.