UID Could Benefit the Middle Class, Too
Karen Leigh, Friday, July 30, 2010
Live Mint Article
Upon returning to Delhi after living in comparably efficient Japan in 2003, Anit Mukherjee faced a problem. He needed to purchase a car, but the dealership was asking for a PAN card – which he didn’t have after years abroad.
“There were three or four forms I had to submit, and all the paraphernalia,” said Mukherjee, now an associate professor at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.
“Even though I have a good job, I’m basically a migrant here in Delhi, so I have to prove my address. I live in a rented place so it gets complicated. I went and got the PAN and life’s been easier. It’s the kind of thing I’d like to have from a UID, as well. A normal, honest taxpayer will see a lot of good things in getting rid of bureaucratic hassle.”
For months, the Unique Identity Authority of India has touted its unique identity programme, or Aadhaar, as one which stands to benefit the poorest and most disenfranchised Indian citizens. But it could have a number of benefits for the middle and upper classes.
The 12-digit number will be given after the encryption of an individual’s biometric data and personal information. The UIDAI then hopes to see it linked to public service programmes and banking across India.
The biggest benefit could be increased efficiency in day to day activities like changing an address on a bank account.
“A middle class person could do away with different forms of identification you need to carry around,” Mukherjee said, including passports and PAN cards. “If I want to change my gas card or my address, it’s easy if these linked to my UID number.”
Bank accounts would also be easily accessible by phone and internet, eliminate time-costly branch trips.
“If I can designate one of my accounts as UID enabled and just present my number, I can do transactions over my phone,” Mukherjee said. “Your day to day financial actions are made easier.”
A UID could also lead to an easier system for making personal financial investments and getting bank loans. A number of identifications are currently required as PAN numbers aren’t considered unique identities – Mukherjee said he knew people who had two or three.
The legions of upwardly mobile young Indians whose jobs keep them on the move could find their lives simplified.
For Radha Roy, head of the Delhi offices of Rediffusion Y&R Public Relations, “having a UID would be huge, a breakthrough. I’ve moved to three cities and every time I’ve struggled with providing the address proof and documentation for everything from starting from a bank loan to getting a new phone.”
Roy, who frequently travels to the United Kingdom on business and pleasure, said she is forced to undergo biometric testing every time she applies for a U.K. visa. She would be spared part of the hassle of booking international travel, she said, if her UID biometrics could be easily scanned.
“Right now on a daily basis I carry a PAN and if I had a drivers’s license I would carry it as well,” she added. “With a UID, the ID element will get resolved forever. The biggest struggle is what is your address proof. You always have to produce it for telephone connection – try and get a new one! If all of that hassle got resolved it would make mobility within the country so much easier for people. For the ‘yuppie’ crowd which is traveling around from city to city because of work, this is a big struggle.”
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