Registrar General N. C. Vithanage said that'race' would continue to be included in the birth certificates.

He also confirmed that the new 'National Birth Certificate' would remove the question 'were parents married?' that is 'prejudicial to some children'.

Meanwhile, Minister Wimal Weerawansa said the reference to 'race' would not be removed from the birth certificate under the current government.

Media reports earlier claimed that new birth certificates would not identify "race" and will only have a reference to the nationality as "Sri Lankan".