Sri Lanka to issue traceable IDs to fishermen
06 October, 2008
category: Biometrics, Government, RFID
The government of Sri Lanka has announced plans for a program to issue electronic identification cards to around 250,000 fishermen working the oceans surrounding the island nation. The ID cards will incorporate RFID technology, enabling the Sri Lankan navy to locate fisherman at sea.
In addition to the tracking capabilities created by the new ID system, the cards will use a biometric certification process centered around fingerprints, and will be used to create a national database of fishermen operating in Sri Lankan waters.
The government’s plans center around an unsolicited bid by Enterprise Technology (Pvt) Ltd., a member of the Bartlett Group, to create the system. The system would have no upfront costs for the government; instead, there would be a charge for each card issued. The per-card costs have not been determined yet.