Jan 30, 2013 | Age Correspondent | New Delhi
- The Union Cabinet is likely to consider the `5,552-crore project for resident identity cards on Thursday, which paves way for all Indian residents to be given a multi-purpose identity card.
The card will bear the UIDAI’s 12-digit Aadhaar or unique identification number and can be used for verifying identity as well as the delivery of various government programmes including the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
Against the objections raised by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and department of electronics and information technology (DeitY) over verification and other issues, the Expenditure Finance Committee cleared `5552 crores for the project in 2012.
The RIC programme was first launched in nine coastal states after the Mumbai terror attacks. The home ministry wanted to extend the scheme to the rest of the country and had sought `6,790 crores to fund the programme. The home ministry has been projecting RIC as a national identity card but the scheme had run into trouble after UIDAI chairman Nilekani raised objections.