KOCHI, October 12, 2011
K.P.M. BASHEER
People in Kerala are yet to warm up to the biometric data collection for the National Population Register (NPR), which is a gigantic national initiative to build up a database of all the residents in the country.
The biometric data collection is currently on in six of the 14 districts in the State, but so far only four lakh people have shown up at the scores of biometric camps set up by the Directorate of Census in each district. People in urban centres, such as Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, are more reluctant than the rural people to report at the camps. A lack of awareness of the NPR among the people and confusion between the UID (Unique Identification) and the NPR are holding the data collection down.
“Offering biometric data is compulsory for every resident in the country,” A.N. Rajeev, deputy director of Census, told The Hindu. “Those aged five and up needs to report at the biometric camp set up in their neighbourhood.” Since the data would be used for a range of purposes by government agencies, those failing to provide the data might risk being denied a lot of welfare benefits such as below poverty line (BPL) assistance in the future, he noted.
Prints of 10 fingers
At the camps, the images of prints of all the ten fingers and the iris as well as a photograph of the ‘usual residents' are taken (usual residents are those who have stayed at a place for six months or more). This is apart from the demographic details—such as the name, gender, parents' names, marital status etc.— that have to be recorded. These would be correlated with the Census 2011 data and fed into a database. In fact, the Census information is the platform on which the NPR is being built.
An NPR card will be issued later to all those who have completed 18 years—as things stand now, the card distribution will begin in early 2013. This card, which will be the most important identification of a resident of India, will be useful for the individual for a variety of purposes, including entitlement for government's social welfare measures. The NPR is officially defined as an effort which “aims at creating a comprehensive database of all usual residents in India.” It will come in handy for the government for various planning and monitoring efforts.
But, internal security of the country is the most important objective of the NPR project, particularly in view of terrorism threats. This objective, however, has been objected to by various quarters. The NPR is also expected to squeeze illegal immigration into the country.
Time until end 2012
The NPR data collection in the State started first in Kottayam district in May. Mr. Rajeev said the effort would be over in Kottayam district by the end of this year, while it would be completed in the entire State by the close of 2012.
After the data collection, the data will be published locally in consultation with the local gram panchayat. These data, after rechecking with the Unique Identification database, will be put in the public domain before finalising the National Population Register.
Mr. Rajeev said nearly 180 teams and 200 biometric machines were there in the field now. The number of machines would go up to 1,000 once the operation got going in all the districts. He pointed out that there was some confusion among the people about the NPR and the UID. “They are two entirely different efforts,” he said. “But those who have shown up for the NPR data collection need not go to the UID authorities. They will get their UID numbers from the NPR authorities. But, those who have done the UID round must also complete the NPR round.”
The biometric data collection is currently on in six of the 14 districts in the State, but so far only four lakh people have shown up at the scores of biometric camps set up by the Directorate of Census in each district. People in urban centres, such as Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, are more reluctant than the rural people to report at the camps. A lack of awareness of the NPR among the people and confusion between the UID (Unique Identification) and the NPR are holding the data collection down.
“Offering biometric data is compulsory for every resident in the country,” A.N. Rajeev, deputy director of Census, told The Hindu. “Those aged five and up needs to report at the biometric camp set up in their neighbourhood.” Since the data would be used for a range of purposes by government agencies, those failing to provide the data might risk being denied a lot of welfare benefits such as below poverty line (BPL) assistance in the future, he noted.
Prints of 10 fingers
At the camps, the images of prints of all the ten fingers and the iris as well as a photograph of the ‘usual residents' are taken (usual residents are those who have stayed at a place for six months or more). This is apart from the demographic details—such as the name, gender, parents' names, marital status etc.— that have to be recorded. These would be correlated with the Census 2011 data and fed into a database. In fact, the Census information is the platform on which the NPR is being built.
An NPR card will be issued later to all those who have completed 18 years—as things stand now, the card distribution will begin in early 2013. This card, which will be the most important identification of a resident of India, will be useful for the individual for a variety of purposes, including entitlement for government's social welfare measures. The NPR is officially defined as an effort which “aims at creating a comprehensive database of all usual residents in India.” It will come in handy for the government for various planning and monitoring efforts.
But, internal security of the country is the most important objective of the NPR project, particularly in view of terrorism threats. This objective, however, has been objected to by various quarters. The NPR is also expected to squeeze illegal immigration into the country.
Time until end 2012
The NPR data collection in the State started first in Kottayam district in May. Mr. Rajeev said the effort would be over in Kottayam district by the end of this year, while it would be completed in the entire State by the close of 2012.
After the data collection, the data will be published locally in consultation with the local gram panchayat. These data, after rechecking with the Unique Identification database, will be put in the public domain before finalising the National Population Register.
Mr. Rajeev said nearly 180 teams and 200 biometric machines were there in the field now. The number of machines would go up to 1,000 once the operation got going in all the districts. He pointed out that there was some confusion among the people about the NPR and the UID. “They are two entirely different efforts,” he said. “But those who have shown up for the NPR data collection need not go to the UID authorities. They will get their UID numbers from the NPR authorities. But, those who have done the UID round must also complete the NPR round.”
