India for Indians
October 01, 2010 12:29:45 PM
The Pioneer Edit Desk
UID will protect citizens' interests
The project to provide each one of the country’s one billion-plus citizens with a ‘Unique Identity Number’ has finally taken off. The villagers of Maharashtra’s Nandurbar district became the first to receive their UIDs, or Aadhaar. But perhaps the Government should have avoided turning it into a political event to score cheap brownie points. By doing so, Congress runs the risk of tainting an otherwise noteworthy effort. Originally conceived as the Multipurpose National Identity Card by the NDA Government in 2002 to segregate citizens from illegal immigrants and strengthen the instruments of internal security, the project ran aground in 2004 when the BJP-led alliance was voted out of power. However, the Congress-led UPA Government has shown prudence to bring the concept out of hibernation and setting up a National Authority for Unique Identity under the umbrella of the Planning Commission. That the Manmohan Singh Government showed the courage of taking forward an inheritence from its rival predecessor, without displaying the political myopia and illogical arrogance that characterise the Indian political fraternity, is worth applauding. More so, because the implication the project has on national security cannot be ignored. There have been arguments about whether such a massive exercise was warranted when already various identity cards like the PAN Card, passport, BPL card and others exist. It is good the authorities realised that such cards cover only a fragment of the population. And without biometric attributes like fingerprints and iris scans, it is almost impossible for any agency to clean out duplicates and fakes. In essence, assigning an unique identification number based on fingerprints and iris scan and linking it with a person's other identification proofs like passport, driving licence, BPL card, PAN card, bank accounts etc. through a national database would enable agencies to check online all the information about the individual. So, if someone has a different address on his PAN card and driving licence, he is liable to get caught and biometric attributes will sieve out frauds. No more will it be a cakewalk for terrorists using hotels and homes as shelter for planning, instigating and carrying out attacks in the country, or for nationals from neighbouring Bangladesh and Pakistan to illegally migrate to India and acquire documents to prove ‘citizenship’.
Interestingly, the integration of the MNIC project with the NAUID project got a push after Mumbai bled when Kasab and his aides attacked the city on November 26, 2008. But roadblocks have dogged its progress. Mr Nandan Nilekani got a taste of bureaucratic red tapism as he struggled to set up his office as head of the NAUID and getting an adequate number of personnel. The Union Ministry of Finance did its bit by proposing to slash the budget for UIDAI by nearly half. What worked for Mr Nilekani is the Government’s bid to stop huge corruption and pilferage in the PDS system across the country. It is common knowledge that there are more BPL cards in most States than the actual population living below the poverty line. And the array of subsidies and sops — from food, fuel, fertilisers to rural employment guarantee — never reach the intended beneficiaries without leakages. Now, that the project has been rolled out, one expects the Government would ensure its full implementation.
October 01, 2010 12:29:45 PM
The Pioneer Edit Desk
UID will protect citizens' interests
The project to provide each one of the country’s one billion-plus citizens with a ‘Unique Identity Number’ has finally taken off. The villagers of Maharashtra’s Nandurbar district became the first to receive their UIDs, or Aadhaar. But perhaps the Government should have avoided turning it into a political event to score cheap brownie points. By doing so, Congress runs the risk of tainting an otherwise noteworthy effort. Originally conceived as the Multipurpose National Identity Card by the NDA Government in 2002 to segregate citizens from illegal immigrants and strengthen the instruments of internal security, the project ran aground in 2004 when the BJP-led alliance was voted out of power. However, the Congress-led UPA Government has shown prudence to bring the concept out of hibernation and setting up a National Authority for Unique Identity under the umbrella of the Planning Commission. That the Manmohan Singh Government showed the courage of taking forward an inheritence from its rival predecessor, without displaying the political myopia and illogical arrogance that characterise the Indian political fraternity, is worth applauding. More so, because the implication the project has on national security cannot be ignored. There have been arguments about whether such a massive exercise was warranted when already various identity cards like the PAN Card, passport, BPL card and others exist. It is good the authorities realised that such cards cover only a fragment of the population. And without biometric attributes like fingerprints and iris scans, it is almost impossible for any agency to clean out duplicates and fakes. In essence, assigning an unique identification number based on fingerprints and iris scan and linking it with a person's other identification proofs like passport, driving licence, BPL card, PAN card, bank accounts etc. through a national database would enable agencies to check online all the information about the individual. So, if someone has a different address on his PAN card and driving licence, he is liable to get caught and biometric attributes will sieve out frauds. No more will it be a cakewalk for terrorists using hotels and homes as shelter for planning, instigating and carrying out attacks in the country, or for nationals from neighbouring Bangladesh and Pakistan to illegally migrate to India and acquire documents to prove ‘citizenship’.
Interestingly, the integration of the MNIC project with the NAUID project got a push after Mumbai bled when Kasab and his aides attacked the city on November 26, 2008. But roadblocks have dogged its progress. Mr Nandan Nilekani got a taste of bureaucratic red tapism as he struggled to set up his office as head of the NAUID and getting an adequate number of personnel. The Union Ministry of Finance did its bit by proposing to slash the budget for UIDAI by nearly half. What worked for Mr Nilekani is the Government’s bid to stop huge corruption and pilferage in the PDS system across the country. It is common knowledge that there are more BPL cards in most States than the actual population living below the poverty line. And the array of subsidies and sops — from food, fuel, fertilisers to rural employment guarantee — never reach the intended beneficiaries without leakages. Now, that the project has been rolled out, one expects the Government would ensure its full implementation.
