Reported by Simon on 30th Sept 2010
New Delhi. After Ranjana Sonawane, the first recipient of the UID number expressed confusion over how could a 12-digt number on a smartcard help her, the government has decided to scrap cards and give UID t-shirts instead, so that the recipient see an immediate benefit of becoming a number.
The step is also believed to save huge costs as the budget of the UID scheme was earlier slashed to half.
The step is also believed to save huge costs as the budget of the UID scheme was earlier slashed to half.
As part of the new scheme, every Indian citizen will now be issued a t-shirt with his/her name and a number on the back for easy identification. The Prime Minister will have the honor of wearing the number “one” shirt whilst the higher numbers will be allocated on a tatkal system, with the “luckiest” numbers expected to go for crores in a public bidding to be organized by axed members of the IPL governing council.
Under the proposed scheme, each region will also be allotted a color. However, the allotment of red for Bengalis is causing controversy, whilst Kashmiris are campaigning to for a green and brown mix and a white option for winter. Punjab is in uproar as the news spread that the entire state will be forced to wear pink. The RSS has issued a statement arguing that all shirts should be saffron and the color variants are an “attempt to divide and conquer”, whilst many tribals want to know what exactly a t-shirt is.
But the scheme has proved popular with law enforcement authorities. “This will halve our work load,” said P.L Dutta, a police sergeant in Rohini, “finding criminals is difficult. We have to leave the police station, talk to people, write things down and remember things. With numbers all we have to do is write down the culprit’s number and drive around until we find him; or someone a few digits higher or lower who may know where he is.”
However, security experts claim that identity theft will become reach epidemic proportions. “People will employ guards for their washing lines,” said Nitish Patel, a security consultant, “I foresee a black market of stolen t-shirts and fake identities; we’ll see armed robberies carried out by people with “Mickey Mouse” or “Suresh Kalmadi” written on their shirts. All this will make police work more difficult,” explained Patel.
Under the proposed scheme, each region will also be allotted a color. However, the allotment of red for Bengalis is causing controversy, whilst Kashmiris are campaigning to for a green and brown mix and a white option for winter. Punjab is in uproar as the news spread that the entire state will be forced to wear pink. The RSS has issued a statement arguing that all shirts should be saffron and the color variants are an “attempt to divide and conquer”, whilst many tribals want to know what exactly a t-shirt is.
But the scheme has proved popular with law enforcement authorities. “This will halve our work load,” said P.L Dutta, a police sergeant in Rohini, “finding criminals is difficult. We have to leave the police station, talk to people, write things down and remember things. With numbers all we have to do is write down the culprit’s number and drive around until we find him; or someone a few digits higher or lower who may know where he is.”
However, security experts claim that identity theft will become reach epidemic proportions. “People will employ guards for their washing lines,” said Nitish Patel, a security consultant, “I foresee a black market of stolen t-shirts and fake identities; we’ll see armed robberies carried out by people with “Mickey Mouse” or “Suresh Kalmadi” written on their shirts. All this will make police work more difficult,” explained Patel.
New Delhi. After Ranjana Sonawane, the first recipient of the UID number expressed confusion over how could a 12-digt number on a smartcard help her, the government has decided to scrap cards and give UID t-shirts instead, so that the recipient see an immediate benefit of becoming a number.
The step is also believed to save huge costs as the budget of the UID scheme was earlier slashed to half.
The step is also believed to save huge costs as the budget of the UID scheme was earlier slashed to half.
As part of the new scheme, every Indian citizen will now be issued a t-shirt with his/her name and a number on the back for easy identification. The Prime Minister will have the honor of wearing the number “one” shirt whilst the higher numbers will be allocated on a tatkal system, with the “luckiest” numbers expected to go for crores in a public bidding to be organized by axed members of the IPL governing council.
Under the proposed scheme, each region will also be allotted a color. However, the allotment of red for Bengalis is causing controversy, whilst Kashmiris are campaigning to for a green and brown mix and a white option for winter. Punjab is in uproar as the news spread that the entire state will be forced to wear pink. The RSS has issued a statement arguing that all shirts should be saffron and the color variants are an “attempt to divide and conquer”, whilst many tribals want to know what exactly a t-shirt is.
But the scheme has proved popular with law enforcement authorities. “This will halve our work load,” said P.L Dutta, a police sergeant in Rohini, “finding criminals is difficult. We have to leave the police station, talk to people, write things down and remember things. With numbers all we have to do is write down the culprit’s number and drive around until we find him; or someone a few digits higher or lower who may know where he is.”
However, security experts claim that identity theft will become reach epidemic proportions. “People will employ guards for their washing lines,” said Nitish Patel, a security consultant, “I foresee a black market of stolen t-shirts and fake identities; we’ll see armed robberies carried out by people with “Mickey Mouse” or “Suresh Kalmadi” written on their shirts. All this will make police work more difficult,” explained Patel.
