Wed, Jun 15, 2011 at 21:35 | Source : CNBC-TV18
Watch the CNBC TV Interview
The ambitious UID project headed by Nandan Nilekani has beaten its own enrollment guidance. While the UIDAI hopes to enrol 600 million people by 2014, it touched the 9.2 million mark on Wednesday. Nilekani talks to CNBC-TV18’s Shereen Bhan that he is confident of touching a million number a day coming October.
Below is the verbatim transcript of the interview. Also watch the accompanying video.
Q: You mentioned that you have beaten your own guidance. What is the current status? How many numbers have you rolled out?
A: As of Wednesday morning, we have enrolled 9.2 million people across 11 states. We have an online portal which tells you the status every morning.
A: As of Wednesday morning, we have enrolled 9.2 million people across 11 states. We have an online portal which tells you the status every morning.
Q: Will you be able to beat your guidance of reaching out to 600 million as well?
A: No. At this point, our goal is to meet our guidance. We have designed the architecture in way that it is scalable at the front-end and backend. By October, we will be at 1 million a day which is our other sort of guidance.
A: No. At this point, our goal is to meet our guidance. We have designed the architecture in way that it is scalable at the front-end and backend. By October, we will be at 1 million a day which is our other sort of guidance.
Q: We have discussed issues and apprehensions with regards to privacy and confidentiality. Since this project started, the mood has changed in two years decidedly with regards to whether this is the government’s way of tracking and targeting individuals. How are you combating or dealing with the scepticism and criticism? Some of the apprehensions that are being expressed are that the UID is meant to be voluntary, but it is not because government is now linking things like NREGS, etc to the UID, which makes it compulsory and not voluntary. What do you have to say about that?
A: UID gives an online ID which allows you to authenticate that ID in a mobile banking application or online web application. It is a very limited thing and it’s designed for giving benefits to people which has been well taken by everybody.
The 9.2 million people have received a letter from us with a number. Many of them have never had an identity in their lives and have now received an ID which enables them to open a bank account, get a mobile connection, etc.
People are seeing the value of this from the point of view of entitlements and benefits. A lot of the scepticism is tapering off.
A: UID gives an online ID which allows you to authenticate that ID in a mobile banking application or online web application. It is a very limited thing and it’s designed for giving benefits to people which has been well taken by everybody.
The 9.2 million people have received a letter from us with a number. Many of them have never had an identity in their lives and have now received an ID which enables them to open a bank account, get a mobile connection, etc.
People are seeing the value of this from the point of view of entitlements and benefits. A lot of the scepticism is tapering off.
Q: The next big hope or reform that everybody is talking about is linking the UID to the public distribution system with regards to LPG and kerosene. It is a three or four phased approach that the government is working on. Where do things currently stand on that front as you have had meetings with the oil minister?
A: The last budget announced the taskforce to look at subsidies in LPG, kerosene and fertilizer, not in food. It is not the PDS, but the non food activities.
We have had number of meetings and our interim report should be coming out in the next four weeks which will lay down the subsidy management architecture to distribute subsidies directly to people. These subsidies could either be cash subsidies or non-cash subsidies. We will architecturally provide for both.
A: The last budget announced the taskforce to look at subsidies in LPG, kerosene and fertilizer, not in food. It is not the PDS, but the non food activities.
We have had number of meetings and our interim report should be coming out in the next four weeks which will lay down the subsidy management architecture to distribute subsidies directly to people. These subsidies could either be cash subsidies or non-cash subsidies. We will architecturally provide for both.