Bhubaneswar: 78th Birth Anniversary of Late Pradyumna Bal, Noted Parliamentarian, Journalist and Founder President of KIIT was celebrated in KIIT premises on 7th November 2010.
Shri Naveen Patnaik, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Odisha graced the occasion as the Chief Guest, while Shri Nandan Nilekani, Co-Founder, Infosys and Hon’ble Chairman, Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI) delivered the Pradyumna Bal Memorial Lecture. Dr. Omkarnath Mohanty, eminent educationist and former Vice Chancellor, Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT) presided over the function. Smt. Saswati Bal, President, KIIT & KISS was also present on the occasion.
Paying rich tribute to Late Pradyumna Bal, Shri Naveen Patnaik said that contribution of Shri Bal in Odisha politics is unfathomable. His socialistic ideals, struggle and sacrifice for the people remain examples for other to emulate, he said. He congratulated Pradyumna Bal Memorial Trust for organizing this function to commemorate his birth anniversary every year.
Delivering the memorial lecture, Shri Nilekani said that at least 60 crore people will have their Unique Identification cards in the next four years. “Around 42,000 cards have already been issued till date,” said the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI) chairperson.
“We are trying to use technology to solve basic development problems,” he said, adding that a large number of population in the country, essentially the poor, do not have any documentary proof. There exists an “Identity divide” which is not felt by the urban mass. Not having an identity means not being able to access public private services, he elaborated.
The UIDAI chairperson said the citizens of the country were becoming increasingly mobile. Of the population of 1.18 billion, 120 million are migrants, and if dependent family members are taken into consideration, the number of such people would touch 450 million. Lack of acknowledged identity compounded their problem resulting in harassment by the system and ending up being non person in the society, Shri Nilekani said, while conceding that giving them the identity is a challenge.
Moreover, the increasing number of social welfare programmes both by the Centre and the state should see that the money spent should reach the real beneficiaries. Referring to the benefits of UID number or the Adhaar number, he said it would help identify the real beneficiary so that the benefits are delivered effectively. The UID number, therefore, will help people in getting essential services such as PDS, bank account, gas connection and access to essential services at a new place.
Elaborating on the challenges in this project, Shri Nilekani said the biggest one being the database that includes fraud, ghost and false information. For this, the bio-metric system is being used to prevent duplication. Further, there is de-duplication exercise in which the information given by any new applicant will be screened against the existing data in the UIN list, he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. A. Samanta, Founder, KIIT & KISS said that vision of Late Pradyumna Bal remains a guiding light for KIIT Group of Institutions. He expressed gratitude to the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Odisha and the UIDAI Chairman for their gracious presence on this auspicious occasion.
Social activist Shri Ghanashyam Sahu was conferred this year’s Pradyumna Bal Memorial Trust award in recognition to his service to the society. Dr. Omkarnath Mohanty, former Vice Chancellor, BPUT and Member of Pradyumna Bal Memorial Trust, Ms. Bratati Bal also spoke on the occasion.
Shri Naveen Patnaik, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Odisha graced the occasion as the Chief Guest, while Shri Nandan Nilekani, Co-Founder, Infosys and Hon’ble Chairman, Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI) delivered the Pradyumna Bal Memorial Lecture. Dr. Omkarnath Mohanty, eminent educationist and former Vice Chancellor, Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT) presided over the function. Smt. Saswati Bal, President, KIIT & KISS was also present on the occasion.
Paying rich tribute to Late Pradyumna Bal, Shri Naveen Patnaik said that contribution of Shri Bal in Odisha politics is unfathomable. His socialistic ideals, struggle and sacrifice for the people remain examples for other to emulate, he said. He congratulated Pradyumna Bal Memorial Trust for organizing this function to commemorate his birth anniversary every year.
Delivering the memorial lecture, Shri Nilekani said that at least 60 crore people will have their Unique Identification cards in the next four years. “Around 42,000 cards have already been issued till date,” said the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI) chairperson.
“We are trying to use technology to solve basic development problems,” he said, adding that a large number of population in the country, essentially the poor, do not have any documentary proof. There exists an “Identity divide” which is not felt by the urban mass. Not having an identity means not being able to access public private services, he elaborated.
The UIDAI chairperson said the citizens of the country were becoming increasingly mobile. Of the population of 1.18 billion, 120 million are migrants, and if dependent family members are taken into consideration, the number of such people would touch 450 million. Lack of acknowledged identity compounded their problem resulting in harassment by the system and ending up being non person in the society, Shri Nilekani said, while conceding that giving them the identity is a challenge.
Moreover, the increasing number of social welfare programmes both by the Centre and the state should see that the money spent should reach the real beneficiaries. Referring to the benefits of UID number or the Adhaar number, he said it would help identify the real beneficiary so that the benefits are delivered effectively. The UID number, therefore, will help people in getting essential services such as PDS, bank account, gas connection and access to essential services at a new place.
Elaborating on the challenges in this project, Shri Nilekani said the biggest one being the database that includes fraud, ghost and false information. For this, the bio-metric system is being used to prevent duplication. Further, there is de-duplication exercise in which the information given by any new applicant will be screened against the existing data in the UIN list, he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. A. Samanta, Founder, KIIT & KISS said that vision of Late Pradyumna Bal remains a guiding light for KIIT Group of Institutions. He expressed gratitude to the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Odisha and the UIDAI Chairman for their gracious presence on this auspicious occasion.
Social activist Shri Ghanashyam Sahu was conferred this year’s Pradyumna Bal Memorial Trust award in recognition to his service to the society. Dr. Omkarnath Mohanty, former Vice Chancellor, BPUT and Member of Pradyumna Bal Memorial Trust, Ms. Bratati Bal also spoke on the occasion.
