By Express News Service - BANGALORE
Published: 11th January 2014 08:20 AM
Last Updated: 11th January 2014 08:21 AM
Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) chairperson Nandan Nilekani said he should have worked harder to convince people about the benefits of Aadhaar.
This candid confession came when Nilekani was taking questions from Christ University students on Friday. "I take responsibility for not being able to get the law backing Aadhaar passed in Parliament," he said.
Nilekani was invited by Christ University's Institute of Management for a talk. "As many as 54 crore people have been enrolled. In another couple of months, we will touch the 60 crore mark. But yes, Aadhaar still needs more communication and we will do that," he said.
The Unique Identification (UID) project was initially conceived by the Planning Commission to provide identification for each citizen of the country.
It will be used primarily as the basis for efficient delivery of welfare services. The Reserve Bank of India has already made a regulation that Aadhaar is a sufficient know-your-customer (customer identification) to open a bank account. Even the recent Nachiket Mor report has stated that all Aadhaar cardholders must get a bank account.
On privacy issues, Nilekani said UIDAI has taken enough care to prevent misuse of biometric and iris data.