Jayadevan PK & Indu Nandakumar, ET Bureau Jun 24, 2011, 04.34am IST
BANGALORE: Nandan Nilekani wants to do an Apple with Aadhaar - the world's biggest citizen database project that will provide a 12-digit unique identity number to each and every resident Indian.
Like Google and Apple, who opened up their platforms such as Android and iPhone, wooing developers to write software applications that enhanced user experience; Aadhaar's Holy Grail is to ensure that the unique numbers given to Indians translate into better citizen services. By opening up the core architecture forming Aadhaar database for third party developers, Nilekani plans to create an 'Apple or Google-like' ecosystem, wherein hundreds of user-friendly applications will help citizens and service providers tap into the real potential of a citizen database.
"People who have received these numbers will look for the benefits of the number. This is where the app ecosystem will come in. Different partners can build apps and provide benefits across different sectors like healthcare and banking," Nilekani said.
Nilekani, who co-founded India's second-biggest tech firm Infosys three decades ago, on Thursday opened the Aadhaar platform for thousands of software developers to build applications linking these unique identity numbers with different services. On its own, an Aadhaar number will be a mere 12-digit identity, but by linking it with services offered by mobile phone companies, ration shops and banks, the government plans to deliver citizen utilities faster and better.
"It's really up to the imagination and innovation of the people," Nilekani told dozens of software developers in Bangalore gathered for the UID conference. "In some sense we believe it will be game changing...we don't see this project just as giving someone an ID card. This will create a national-level online identity management platform," he added.
The government launched an application programming interface (API), which will allow developers write applications that can work with Aadhaar. These developers will earn money for every transaction conducted using their applications.
For Aadhaar to solve the identity crisis for millions of Indians, hundreds of applications will need to connect it with service providers across government departments and private sector firms. For instance, research firms and experts reckon that nearly 500 million Indians are out of the banking system and more than half of India's farmers do not have access to credit from formal banks.
BANGALORE: Nandan Nilekani wants to do an Apple with Aadhaar - the world's biggest citizen database project that will provide a 12-digit unique identity number to each and every resident Indian.
Like Google and Apple, who opened up their platforms such as Android and iPhone, wooing developers to write software applications that enhanced user experience; Aadhaar's Holy Grail is to ensure that the unique numbers given to Indians translate into better citizen services. By opening up the core architecture forming Aadhaar database for third party developers, Nilekani plans to create an 'Apple or Google-like' ecosystem, wherein hundreds of user-friendly applications will help citizens and service providers tap into the real potential of a citizen database.
"People who have received these numbers will look for the benefits of the number. This is where the app ecosystem will come in. Different partners can build apps and provide benefits across different sectors like healthcare and banking," Nilekani said.
Nilekani, who co-founded India's second-biggest tech firm Infosys three decades ago, on Thursday opened the Aadhaar platform for thousands of software developers to build applications linking these unique identity numbers with different services. On its own, an Aadhaar number will be a mere 12-digit identity, but by linking it with services offered by mobile phone companies, ration shops and banks, the government plans to deliver citizen utilities faster and better.
"It's really up to the imagination and innovation of the people," Nilekani told dozens of software developers in Bangalore gathered for the UID conference. "In some sense we believe it will be game changing...we don't see this project just as giving someone an ID card. This will create a national-level online identity management platform," he added.
The government launched an application programming interface (API), which will allow developers write applications that can work with Aadhaar. These developers will earn money for every transaction conducted using their applications.
For Aadhaar to solve the identity crisis for millions of Indians, hundreds of applications will need to connect it with service providers across government departments and private sector firms. For instance, research firms and experts reckon that nearly 500 million Indians are out of the banking system and more than half of India's farmers do not have access to credit from formal banks.
Software applications can link these numbers with a bank's system and help it establish identity before offering a loan or opening a new savings account. Research firm CLSA estimates that the UID exercise can bring nearly 125 million people into the banking system over the next five years. These folks, according to CLSA, are primarily from poor, below the poverty line (BPL) families who otherwise will have no way to prove their identities.
Already, the Reserve Bank of India and the ministry of finance have issued guidelines to banks to use Aadhaar as an identifier. The telecommunications department and the oil ministry too have issued similar guidelines.
"In some way you are opening up all the products and services for people," said Nilekani.
Pilot applications are already being tested by companies such as Pune-based Persistent Systems and Feecounter Online Services.
Feecounter Online Services is a 350 employees start-up based out of Pune. Mitesh Ajmera, a former employee at the Citi Bank, is the company's CEO. The company offers an online portal for the payment of school fees. "With this initiative, school fees can be directly credited from the individual's bank account to the school's account. The idea is to eliminate transaction costs. Also, the whole idea of waiting in a queue for long hours can be skipped," said Ajmera. One of the potential applications being tested will build an entire payment gateway for Aadhaar-based transactions, said an official at a company writing that application.
A payment gateway is one which facilitates secure transaction between a seller and the consumer through his/her bank. A person can use his Aadhaar number to book railway tickets from a mobile phone. When he books a ticket, the payment gateway can authenticate the user using the Aadhaar authentication embedded application and deduct the ticket cost from his account. This can also be used in a variety of other consumer applications like movie ticket booking and bus passes.
Persistent is building an Aadhaar-based digital document signing application that will empower government officials to manage power of attorney and sign contracts completely online.
"This will open floodgates for Aadhaar-based solutions," said Vinod Kulkarni, a solution architect at Persistent Systems.
Already, the Reserve Bank of India and the ministry of finance have issued guidelines to banks to use Aadhaar as an identifier. The telecommunications department and the oil ministry too have issued similar guidelines.
"In some way you are opening up all the products and services for people," said Nilekani.
Pilot applications are already being tested by companies such as Pune-based Persistent Systems and Feecounter Online Services.
Feecounter Online Services is a 350 employees start-up based out of Pune. Mitesh Ajmera, a former employee at the Citi Bank, is the company's CEO. The company offers an online portal for the payment of school fees. "With this initiative, school fees can be directly credited from the individual's bank account to the school's account. The idea is to eliminate transaction costs. Also, the whole idea of waiting in a queue for long hours can be skipped," said Ajmera. One of the potential applications being tested will build an entire payment gateway for Aadhaar-based transactions, said an official at a company writing that application.
A payment gateway is one which facilitates secure transaction between a seller and the consumer through his/her bank. A person can use his Aadhaar number to book railway tickets from a mobile phone. When he books a ticket, the payment gateway can authenticate the user using the Aadhaar authentication embedded application and deduct the ticket cost from his account. This can also be used in a variety of other consumer applications like movie ticket booking and bus passes.
Persistent is building an Aadhaar-based digital document signing application that will empower government officials to manage power of attorney and sign contracts completely online.
"This will open floodgates for Aadhaar-based solutions," said Vinod Kulkarni, a solution architect at Persistent Systems.
Kulkarni and his team are busy fleshing out an online Aadhaar-based document repository where one will not have to carry around any of the important documents. "Once you upload a verified document, you can walk in empty handed to a service provider and the service provider after authenticating the person can access the repository to verify the necessary documents," Kulkarni says. Similar systems can also be used to create Aadhaar-based skill registries which can help in employment generation. Fee Counter is building an application that can help parents pay school fee online without having to use other channels.
According to a report by brokerage firm CLSA, as UID-linked infrastructure grows over the next five years, there will be a $12-15 billion commercial opportunity for consultants, business process re-engineering, IT hardware, IT services and training which could go up to $20 billion. By the third year of implementation, the firm estimated, cellular mobile operators will potentially gain access to another 50-60 million subscribers. "Meanwhile, mobile- payment providers can earn $4.5 billion in commissions by over the first five years of UID as the volume and value of payments rise," the report said.
So far, the authority has issued nearly one crore Aadhaar numbers to citizen. "As we scale up the system, we are confident of achieving the goal of one million enrolments a day by October," said Nilekani. At the time of launch, nearly two years back, the authority had announced that it will enrol 600 million Indians into the system in five years.
According to a report by brokerage firm CLSA, as UID-linked infrastructure grows over the next five years, there will be a $12-15 billion commercial opportunity for consultants, business process re-engineering, IT hardware, IT services and training which could go up to $20 billion. By the third year of implementation, the firm estimated, cellular mobile operators will potentially gain access to another 50-60 million subscribers. "Meanwhile, mobile- payment providers can earn $4.5 billion in commissions by over the first five years of UID as the volume and value of payments rise," the report said.
So far, the authority has issued nearly one crore Aadhaar numbers to citizen. "As we scale up the system, we are confident of achieving the goal of one million enrolments a day by October," said Nilekani. At the time of launch, nearly two years back, the authority had announced that it will enrol 600 million Indians into the system in five years.
