Agencies affiliated with the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka reported 1919 has received one and half a million telephone calls to obtain government information last year. Subramanium Gawaskar, head of this agency reports that 95% of these requirements have been successfully met
Government Information Center which was formed by the Presidential Secretariat and Agencies affiliated to Information and Communication Technology Agency jointly maintains and provides information of nearly 1500 services of 300 institutions free of charge in all three languages. People can contact this service by calling 1919 in Sri Lanka or 094-112191919 if they are calling from a foreign country.
In December last year, 85% of the telephone calls received by the Government Information Center were regarding public information.
This service has been an immense help for the public to receive the necessary information that affects them directly. Mr. Gavashkar states that most of the inquiries are about obtaining identity cards, vehicle licenses, and obtaining birth and marriage certificates. A myriad of information such as booking train seats can be gained by visiting this website (www.gic.gov.lk).
This saves the time and money of the public by making them aware of the basic documents required to obtain an identity card or a passport before arriving in Colombo from remote areas. He further expressed that about 1500 government agencies are ready to provide such information. These agencies update the information and the whole program is operated by the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka. (news.lk)
