Friday, November 25, 2011

2008 - MNIC Vs UID - M.Moni - Inclusion

It is better to complete either MNIC or UID without biometric inputs for 1.2 Billion people and as and when the technology matures and gains confidence of the citizens, get the biometric inputs collected and add to the MNIC database or UID database.

The 24-questions put to Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, UIDAI, and his answers in the last issue of INCLUSION is what makes me write these observations in my personal capacity.

Nilekani says “In India, the purpose of the UID project is very simple; it is to give every Indian resident a unique number, preventing the kind of duplication that currently exists. The complexity of the issue is in making sure that everybody in a population of 1.2 billion gets a unique number, and therein lies the challenge of scale and technology.” The categorical statement as per the UIDAI website notes: “Aadhaar is a 12-digit unique number which the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) will issue for all residents. The number will be stored in a centralised database and linked to the basic demographics and biometric information—photograph, ten fingerprints and iris—of each individual.” He also mentions that “the UID project is a complex technological project. It is unprecedented in scale, and a huge amount of energy and time has been spent in creating an open technology platform, which is adaptable to changes as technology develops.”

I agree with Sir James Crosby’s Case on UID (in Britain) that “the Government should avoid picking a technology and building a strategy to match.” This impression is gaining strength day by day.

Understanding requirement of establishing unique identity for Indians, the Government of India introduced, in 1993, photo identity cards for citizens who were eligible to vote,   in 2009, a 12-digit Unique Identification Number (UID) for all residents. The National Population Register, which will give MNIC, is covered under the Citizenship Act 1955. Both MNIC and UID have got biometric inputs. There are strong ‘Say-no-to-Aadhaar’ as well as ‘Say-no-to-MNIC’ voices.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has questioned the reliability of data being collected by UIDAI and this data is likely to be rejected by the NPR.

Verification of identity by the UIDAI will be charged at http://www.inclusion.in/images/a-j11/r.jpg 10 per query. I strongly feel that as the UIDAI has been established with the tax payers’ money, this verification charge should be waived so as to strengthen both national security and social security. The Internal security, after all, is the most important service required in the country.
Union Minister for Planning, Ashwini Kumar says that “the review (of Aadhaar) by Planning Commission is extremely important and necessary as the initiative is based on usage of ICT platform.” Ironically in India, legal systems are ICT-enabled whereas the lCT Systems are not legally enabled.

After reading various related articles, I gain the impression that it has become a clash of interests between MNIC and UID. To facilitate “inclusion” and march towards “more inclusive growth” during the 12th Plan period, it is better to complete either MNIC or UID without biometric inputs for 1.2 Billion people and as and when the technology matures and gains confidence of the citizens, get the biometric inputs collected and add to the MNIC database or UID database. Let us not spend too much of tax payers’ money on this sub-component, i.e. bio-metric.

Given our 15,000 km of international border and 5,500 km of coastal intelligence agencies find it difficult to keep a check on infiltrators, because illegal immigrants acquire proof of identity and address from intermediaries and mingle with common Indians.

There is a need for a national policy on “identity access and management (IAM)” for the National e-Governance Programme (NeGP) in India. Report of a National Task Force, set up under the chairmanship of Professor Syed Ismail Ahson, Department of Computer Science, Jamia Milia Islamia, can take care of “privacy and security” issues. This report is available at http://egovstandards.gov.in.

I wish UIDAI spells out at the earliest that it is not concerned with how its data will be used. This will help it to provide Aadhaar to all Indian Citizens in time before the 2014 general election. I also wish that the Election Commission of India as well as the State Election Commissions make MNIC mandatory for voting as the MNIC has UID as its AADHAAR.

M Moni is Deputy Director General with National Informatics Centre (NIC)




Feedback | N K Singh, Rajya Sabha MP

“Fostering a meaningful discussion outside Government on implementation of the UID would be beneficial. It is a project which has wider policy implications beyond the mere completion of the UID project itself. A number of NGOs have already raised important concerns. The UID bill is pending Parliamentary enactment. This is a good time for Think Tank organisations like Skoch Foundation to trigger a meaningful debate with a mix of NGOs, experts with domain knowledge, and others who are likely beneficiaries/implementers” –  N K Singh, Rajya Sabha MP