Minister of State for Homeland Security and Technology Dr Mohamed Kinaanath has announced that a new and significantly upgraded version of eFaas will be launched in the middle of this year.

The State Minister made the remarks while speaking to State media on ongoing improvements to the national digital identity system. He noted that although eFaas has been in use for many years, a second major version has not yet been released, making the launch of version two a top priority for the Government.

Dr Kinaanath said work on the upgraded system is currently underway and that the new version is being designed to address long-standing public complaints regarding usability. He explained that version two will introduce advanced features aimed at simplifying service applications and reducing the need for repeated logins when accessing services.

More than 2.07 million people are currently using eFaas, the State Minister said. He noted that this figure does not include children under the age of 10. Under the new version, parents will be able to access and manage eFaas services on behalf of children under 10 years old, which is expected to significantly increase user numbers.

Dr Kinaanath further stated that following the release of version two later this year, additional versions with new features will be introduced in the future as part of continuous system enhancements.

eFaas was developed and is maintained by the National Centre for Information Technology and was launched in 2012. It serves as the Maldives’ national digital identity platform and is used by Government institutions and State agencies to deliver services online.

The system has been in operation for 13 years, during which ongoing upgrades and improvements have been made to expand available services and simplify access for the public.