3128 - Biometric Identity Card

Biometric Identity Card

The mandate of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is to issue Unique Identity Numbers (Aadhaar) to all residents of the country and not a card. The UIDAI is generating Aadhaar numbers and communicating it to the residents through a letter. The Resident Identity (smart) Cards (RIC) bearing the Aadhaar number would be issued by the Registrar General of Citizen Registration. The RIC would enable both online and offline authentication of identity in a secure manner and will complement the efforts of Aadhaar. The proposal for issuance of Resident Identity (smart) Cards to all the usual residents in the country who are of age 18 years and above under the scheme of creation of NPR has been appraised by the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) and recommended at an estimated cost of Rs. 5552.55 crore. The Union Cabinet, in its meeting on 31.01.2013, has considered the proposal and  referred the same to a Group of Ministers (GoM). The GoM has since been  constituted. To minimize the duplication of efforts between NPR  and UIDAI, the Government has decided that the NPR enrolments will continue as  envisaged but if in the course of enrolment, a person indicates she/he is already  enrolled for Aadhaar, the biometric data will not be captured for NPR. Instead the  Aadhaar number will be recorded in NPR and the biometric data will be sourced  from the UIDAI. This was stated by Shri R.P.N.Singh, Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs in written reply to a question by Shri P.Karunakaran in the Lok Sabha today.