UID snippets

A single random number will establish your identity. It will carry no “intelligence” but do away with use of ration cards, passports and driving licences as ID proof. It could save Rs 20,000 crore by eliminating fake and duplicate identities under various government schemes. In a presentation to the PM’s council on the unique identity project, its chairman Nandan Nilekani said the authority would aim to provide 600 million people, or about half the population, ID numbers in four years. The first UIDs will be issued in 12-18 months. Though covered by a legal framework, it would not be mandatory to have an unique ID number. The Council “in principle” approved the draft strategy and though UIDs will not be mandatory, the IDs would ultimately be made compulsory by implementing agencies of various schemes. People would require ID numbers as benefits may be mandatorily linked to numbers. With the authority offering a strong online authentication where agencies can compare demographic and biometric information, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the council that the government attaches high priority to the project. Lack of ID proof results in harassment and denial of services. It would specifically improve delivery of flagship schemes. It also argued that once numbers are rolled out, the internal security scenario in the country will improve as tracking of crime and criminals will become easier. Similarly, it will help banks to increase their revenues. The Council decided that ministries, departments and other associated agencies having a public interface will provide databases to the UID authority to facilitate rolling out of the numbers. Authentication of this data will be done through biometrics. Counting on the sheer utility of such a number, the authority feels that the demand-driven scheme will find ready takers. It will network with major registrars like the NREGA, PDS and Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, to provide accurate information of beneficiaries and nip fraudulent claims. Nilekani informed the Council that new PAN cards can be linked to UID numbers. Every year approximately one million PAN cards are issued. The ID will not be a card, but just a number issued to a “resident of India”, a defination that means that it is not proof of citizenship. This allows the authority to skirt around the politically sensitive issue of identifying noncitizens like Bangladeshis, but on the other hand its processes might make it difficult for a non-Indian to get hold of a unique ID number. The data base maintained by the authority will contain, for the first time, biometric information by way of a fingerprint. The central data base will have your name, the names of your parents, their UID numbers, an expiry date and a photograph. The authority will answer queries about identity in a yes or no format while agencies utilising the facility can store data only if authorised to do so. Since the UID data will be carefully validated by a technology-driven system, it is not expected to suffer from deficiencies caused by people providing differing personal information while applying for say a ration card and a driving licence.
ONE-STOP IDENTITY SHOP:
Unique ID number will not be proof of citizenship, but will verify identity
It will help verify IDs for accessing loans, verifying documents.
It will do away with duplication and fake info
It will not be a card but a random number which will link to database and store biometric information
UID authority may not use EC data as it is not fully verifiable
Data will be stored in a central server and authentication of residents will be online

Unique Identity Numbers

Citizens will get a unique identity number from 2010 which would remain permanent from birth till death obviating the need for multiple documentary proofs. An Empowered Group of Ministers (EGOM) headed by external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee has cleared the establishment of a Unique Identity (UID) authority to be set up under the planning commission for the purpose.The UID is expected to become available to an initial set of users by early 2010, an official release said.The proposed system envisages collaboration among several government agencies backed by intensive use of information technology.The UID authority will formulate a detailed proposal covering the full cost of implementation and full contingent of staff needed and then place it before the Cabinet for its approval by December.The Unique Identity project seeks to assign a Unique Identity (UID) number to each individual in the country that would remain a permanent identifier right from birth to death of an individual.Such a unique number would obviate the need for a person to produce multiple documentary proofs of his identity for availing of any government or private services like opening of a bank account.This would end needless harassment that people face for availing of basic government services like issuance of passports, driving licences and electoral identity cards. Backed by intensive use of technology, the UID would facilitate easy verification of a person’s identity and enable a single communication to trigger address changes in all relevant agency records.The new system is also expected to serve as the basis for many e-governance services incorporating online verification of a person’s identity.It would also enable government to ensure that benefits under various welfare programmes reach the intended beneficiaries and prevent cornering of benefits by a few people and minimise frauds.Besides it would enable financial institutions to exchange information regarding defaulters and encourage responsible borrower behaviour. At the inception the UID number will be assigned to all voters by building on current electoral roll data and progressively adding other persons including persons below 18 years of age who are not part of the voters’ list in the country.Photographs and biometric data will also be added at a later stage to make the identification foolproof.The EGOM also approved the modalities of collation of the UID scheme with the national population register proposed to be created by the home ministry.The UID authority will be responsible for creating and maintaining the core database and to lay down all necessary procedures for issuance and usage of the number including arrangements for collection, validation and authentication of information.