Karen Leigh, karen.l@livemint.com
Posted: Thu, Jul 22 2010
At one point, before the spread of the Internet and mobile connectivity, the database filing process in India included farm silos stacked almost to the roof with piles of paper.
Now, fledgling departments of e-governance, where information is collated electronically and databases stored and shared via the Internet, have been designated as liaisons between the Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI) and local officials who will be physically handling registrations.
In states that still lack a functioning e-governance department, the local governments will hand UID duties to their information technology wings. The bureaus will oversee the implementation of at least 600 million 12-digit unique identity numbers in the next four years.
“They will be the departments which hold everything together,” said R.S. Sharma, director general of UIDAI. “It’s an idea whose time has come, the idea of (digital) state data centres.”
Unique identity is one of the 27 mission mode projects—designations given by the national e-governance programme to projects that would help establish it as the efficient new way to govern in the technological age.
“UID (also known as Aadhaar) is a big part of the national e-governance plan,” Sharma said, “and a project which has the potential to transform e-governance in this country.”
The efficient gathering and storing of biometrics and personal data will play a crucial role in UID’s success.
Praveen Bhadada, a manager at Delhi-based Zinnov Management Consulting Pvt. Ltd, said the system would “enable analytics, monitoring, fraud management and de-duplication” at the state level, essential to a successful UID enrolment process.
“This will enable better efficiencies in terms of delivery of citizen services and help put in place common standards, verification process and faster rollout,” he said.
The departments will link every bit of a registrant’s information—including biometrics, permanent account numbers and personal statistics—at one location, which will then be easily accessible from any computer.
“I carry around so many different numbers,” said Sunil Chandiramani, partner and business leader of government services at Ernst and Young, who has been the audit and consulting firm’s point person on UID investment. “From an e-governance perspective, if everything was in one place, a credit card company could access it, my own company could do a background check, anyone could go online and pull up my information—it would make a big difference.”
The system’s accessibility—it will be open to anyone with an Internet or mobile connection—will make it the fastest way to reach the largest number of people. “These departments have been providing citizens with similar services. They’re strongly equipped to deal with UID issues,” Chandiramani said. “And they have the reach that’s really required.”
Essentially, a technological system will be serving as an all-purpose service centre, eliminating costly, time-consuming verification processes. “The goal that any government project would have is to have single citizen service centres,” Chandiramani said. “What makes sense is a single centre for a citizen to go and take care of all needs” related to their unique identity.
In May, Karnataka completed test runs, in which more than 25,000 residents in rural areas were enrolled in UID between April and May. It was the first crucial test for the state’s highly developed department of e-governance, a reflection of Karnataka’s technical advancement and a model for other states in the months leading to August’s national UID test run. “Karnataka is different from everyone else,” said Sharma. “It’s one of the most progressive states. In terms of e-governance, they are forerunners in the country.”
M.N. Vidyashankar, principal e-governance secretary in Karnataka, said his department, with only 23 staffers in its Bangalore headquarters, is the smallest government department in the state. Despite its size, the efficient nature of the e-system has allowed it to complete 40 government projects, he said, including a human resource management system, which have prepared it for a heightened role with UID.
K.K. Sharma, assistant director general at Aadhaar’s regional office in Bangalore, said without the efficiency of the department his office would not have met its pre-test goal of 25,000 enrollees.
The major hurdle facing UID implementation teams on the ground will be connectivity— many areas of the country are not wired for Internet or mobile phone usage. R.S. Sharma said they would rely on traditional paper methods of filing until technology reached those parts, but added accessibility would quickly spread. “In most parts of the country, mobile connection is spreading fast—the issue should be resolved quickly,” he said.
“We’ll also be using solar panels for power in some areas. We’ve learned how to overcome the deficiencies.” Vidyashankar said his team experienced no problems during the proof-of-concept runs.
Recently, at enrolment centres in Karnataka’s Tumkur district, officials were seen taking biometric information on laptop computers and other information on pieces of paper, the data to be transported to Bangalore some 75km away and filed electronically.
Now, fledgling departments of e-governance, where information is collated electronically and databases stored and shared via the Internet, have been designated as liaisons between the Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI) and local officials who will be physically handling registrations.
In states that still lack a functioning e-governance department, the local governments will hand UID duties to their information technology wings. The bureaus will oversee the implementation of at least 600 million 12-digit unique identity numbers in the next four years.
“They will be the departments which hold everything together,” said R.S. Sharma, director general of UIDAI. “It’s an idea whose time has come, the idea of (digital) state data centres.”
Unique identity is one of the 27 mission mode projects—designations given by the national e-governance programme to projects that would help establish it as the efficient new way to govern in the technological age.
“UID (also known as Aadhaar) is a big part of the national e-governance plan,” Sharma said, “and a project which has the potential to transform e-governance in this country.”
The efficient gathering and storing of biometrics and personal data will play a crucial role in UID’s success.
Praveen Bhadada, a manager at Delhi-based Zinnov Management Consulting Pvt. Ltd, said the system would “enable analytics, monitoring, fraud management and de-duplication” at the state level, essential to a successful UID enrolment process.
“This will enable better efficiencies in terms of delivery of citizen services and help put in place common standards, verification process and faster rollout,” he said.
The departments will link every bit of a registrant’s information—including biometrics, permanent account numbers and personal statistics—at one location, which will then be easily accessible from any computer.
“I carry around so many different numbers,” said Sunil Chandiramani, partner and business leader of government services at Ernst and Young, who has been the audit and consulting firm’s point person on UID investment. “From an e-governance perspective, if everything was in one place, a credit card company could access it, my own company could do a background check, anyone could go online and pull up my information—it would make a big difference.”
The system’s accessibility—it will be open to anyone with an Internet or mobile connection—will make it the fastest way to reach the largest number of people. “These departments have been providing citizens with similar services. They’re strongly equipped to deal with UID issues,” Chandiramani said. “And they have the reach that’s really required.”
Essentially, a technological system will be serving as an all-purpose service centre, eliminating costly, time-consuming verification processes. “The goal that any government project would have is to have single citizen service centres,” Chandiramani said. “What makes sense is a single centre for a citizen to go and take care of all needs” related to their unique identity.
In May, Karnataka completed test runs, in which more than 25,000 residents in rural areas were enrolled in UID between April and May. It was the first crucial test for the state’s highly developed department of e-governance, a reflection of Karnataka’s technical advancement and a model for other states in the months leading to August’s national UID test run. “Karnataka is different from everyone else,” said Sharma. “It’s one of the most progressive states. In terms of e-governance, they are forerunners in the country.”
M.N. Vidyashankar, principal e-governance secretary in Karnataka, said his department, with only 23 staffers in its Bangalore headquarters, is the smallest government department in the state. Despite its size, the efficient nature of the e-system has allowed it to complete 40 government projects, he said, including a human resource management system, which have prepared it for a heightened role with UID.
K.K. Sharma, assistant director general at Aadhaar’s regional office in Bangalore, said without the efficiency of the department his office would not have met its pre-test goal of 25,000 enrollees.
The major hurdle facing UID implementation teams on the ground will be connectivity— many areas of the country are not wired for Internet or mobile phone usage. R.S. Sharma said they would rely on traditional paper methods of filing until technology reached those parts, but added accessibility would quickly spread. “In most parts of the country, mobile connection is spreading fast—the issue should be resolved quickly,” he said.
“We’ll also be using solar panels for power in some areas. We’ve learned how to overcome the deficiencies.” Vidyashankar said his team experienced no problems during the proof-of-concept runs.
Recently, at enrolment centres in Karnataka’s Tumkur district, officials were seen taking biometric information on laptop computers and other information on pieces of paper, the data to be transported to Bangalore some 75km away and filed electronically.
