In Sri Lanka, the standard voltage used by electronic gadgets and appliances is 220-240 volts with a frequency of 50Hz while the primary electrical outlet type is Type D Indian BS-546.

In Sri Lanka, a tourist might also need adapters and voltage converters. Adapters are designed to alter the shape of the plug so that it could be used together with the electrical outlet in Sri Lanka while the voltage converters will make enable the use of electronic gadgets and appliances even if it uses 110-120 volts.

Type D Indian BS-546 Adapter Plug and Electrical Outlet

Type D plug

The Type D Old British Plug Adapter is most compatible with the Type D Indian BS-546 electrical outlet that is sometimes used in Sri Lanka. In this Type D Old British Plug Adapter, the live and neutral pins are 5mm in diameter, spaced 22mm apart, and the grounding pin is 7mm in diameter with the plug being polarized and grounded.  The receptacle end of this Type D Indian BS-546 plug is also compatible with common household plugs except the Type M South African SABS1661 (Old British BS-546 Large) plug.

Type D outlet

Although the Type D Indian BS-546 electrical outlet and plug is not the standard in Sri Lanka and other countries, it is still used in various households of Sri Lanka. In terms of design and appearance, the Type D Indian BS-546 electrical outlet and plug is often confused with the Type M South African electrical outlet and plug. However, as similar as these two may seem, they are not compatible and must not be used together in Iraq or even in other countries. Also, the Type D Indian BS-546, especially its smaller version, the 2 Ampere plug, is used in United Kingdom for centrally switched domestic lighting circuits so that they can be differentiated from the normal power circuits.

Type D adapter

 The Type D Indian BS-546 also have an unearthed variant but this kind of plug is not compatible with the 3-prong version present in Iraq because of the distance between the pins. On the other hand, a larger version of the Type D Indian BS-546 is the 15 Ampere has larger live and neutral pins. This type of the Type D Indian BS-546 is also commonly used for non-dimmed but centrally controlled sockets within installations like indoor dimmable theatre and architectural lighting installations in Sri Lanka. It is an old British standard electrical outlet which is still the primary household electrical outlet in countries like Sri Lanka, Iraq, Nepal, Namibia, and Hong Kong.