Under the visionary leadership of President His Excellency Gotabaya Rajapaksa, National Policy Framework (NPF) of the Government of Sri Lanka “Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour” adopted in December 2019, constitutes of 10 key policies aimed at achieving the fourfold outcome of a productive citizenry, a contented family, a disciplined and just society and a prosperous nation. Chapter 6, outlines strategies and activities for establishing a Technology Based Society (Smart Nation) as follows:
Establish Sri Lanka as a Global Innovation Hub:
Maximize the use of innovative measures in –
- Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI),
- Biotechnology, Robotics, Augmented Reality,
- Cloud Computing, Nanotechnology, 3D printing
Set up a Citizen Centric Digital Government for the convenience of citizens:
- Establish nine Citizen Service Centres to adopt new technologies for public service delivery ( ID cards, passports, driving license etc.)
- Introduce a digital & electronic payment system to pay traffic fines
- Establish an e-procurement system to eliminate bribery and corruption
Establish Digitally Inclusive Sri Lanka:
- Establish a country wide high speed optical data transmission system and a high speed 5G Mobile Broadband System to facilitate data transmission
- Establish digital cities with digital administration and monitoring
- Introduce a mobile and digital payment system to handle all financial transactions
- Place a cross border e-commerce and International e-payment system
- Introduce new legislation to ensure data protection, cyber security and Intellectual Property Rights
Promote IT Entrepreneurship:
- Make USD 3 million worth export industry by 2025 by developing Business Process Outsourcing(BPO) and Knowledge Process outsourcing (KPO)
- Set up IT centres and BPO centres in connecting cities.
- Increase no. of software engineers and programmers to 300,000 by 2025
- Encourage local software engineers and IT designers to develop software locally instead of importing
- Support local entrepreneurs to develop software for international market
