9057 - NPR registration - The Hindu

MADURAI, November 12, 2015

NPR registration

• SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Residents of Madurai district can now register for Aadhaar card in any of the 21 centres spread across the district. According to a press release from Collector L. Subramanian, hitherto people residing in corporation/municipal/taluk limits were asked to approach the respective centres for recording details for registration in National Population Register.

Now the public can approach any of the 21 centres for registration. A special campaign to register school children and the public for Aadhaar cards will be conducted till December 31.

5954 - Government asks UIDAI and NPR to complete Aadhaar enrolments by March - Economic Times

Government asks UIDAI and NPR to complete Aadhaar enrolments by March

PTI Nov 6, 2014, 02.09PM IST

(UIDAI has already geared…)

NEW DELHI: In order to extend the use of Aadhaar number to various social welfare schemes, government has asked the Unique Identification Authority and the National Population Register to complete the enrolment of the entire population by March.

"The Prime Minister's Office has directed UIDAI and the NPR to complete the enrolment of the entire population by March," a source said.

According to him, the direction was given during a review meeting of the Aadhaar project last month. Earlier too, the government had advanced the deadline for completing this task to June from December next year.

UIDAI has already issued 70 crore Aadhaar numbers to residents across the country. Nine states, including Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, have crossed 90 per cent Aadhaar coverage, while 16 states have over 70 per cent coverage, said a press statement by UIDAI.

Aadhaar enrolments in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh are going on at a fast pace.

These four states with a combined population of about 34 crore were added earlier this year to UIDAI's mandate by the government. Aadhaar numbers have been issued to 8.93 crore residents in these states, which is 26 per cent of the target population.

Over 25,000 Aadhaar enrolment kits are operational across the country as on date, including both camp mode and Permanent Enrolment Centres, with a total output of approximately 10 lakh enrolments per day.

UIDAI has already geared up its processing capabilities to achieve the targets and has the capacity to process around 15 lakh enrolment packets every day.

In the recent months, government has provided fresh impetus to the UIDAI by linking Aadhaar to various schemes and initiatives, including the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), MGNREGS, Pensions, Scholarships, DBTL, UAN (EPFO), PDS, Passports, Attendance system in government offices etc.

Aadhaar facilitates "anytime, anywhere" online authentication of a resident through universal verification of identity based on the demographic and biometric information of an individual, eliminating any chances of duplication or fraud.

5014 - Aadhaar drive: Ill-equipped enrolment centres, lack of info irk Chennaiites- TNN

Aadhaar drive: Ill-equipped enrolment centres, lack of info irk Chennaiites

Christin Mathew Philip, TNN Dec 17, 2013, 05.05PM IST

CHENNAI: Poor arrangement and lack of information are playing spoilsport for the census department's enrolment drive under the National Population Register (NPR) scheme for Aadhaar.

Demographic details and biometric parameters — fingerprints and iris images — are collected by a private contractor. Records say 52% of the residents in Chennai have been enrolled under the NPR so far. The recent Supreme Court ruling that Aadhaar should not be linked to domestic gas subsidy has bought a relief to the residents.

The department had earlier said permanent enrolment centers would be opened starting in October, but not single centre has been opened so far.

M R V Krishna Rao, joint director of census operations, has said they can open permanent centres only after crossing 70% enrolment. "We are now planning to open permanent centers in each zone by January."

In Velachery, enrolment drive for Aadhaar has come to a standstill after a private operator engaged to collect biometric data from residents stopped work over non-payment of salary.

P Krishnamoorthy of Nethaji Colony Residents Welfare Association in Velachery said that the census department had failed to inform the residents about the enrolment camps. "We were waiting to enroll under the National Population Register to get an Aadhaar number. The private contractor had also left because of the non-payment of salary from the department. So we don't know how to register under the NPR and to get the Aadhaar number."

Rao said, "Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) had given the subcontract to a private firm, Swisstec, to collect biometric data in Velachery. But Swisstec had failed to pay salaries to their workers. We had also informed BEL to appoint a new firm to continue to the enrolment"

Many residents complained that Aadhaar enrolment of census department in the city was ill-equipped and a failure. "The census department has made Aadhaar enrolment more cumbersome to the public because of the inadequate awareness. There was no information about Tamil Nadu on the websites of NPR and UID. The contact number which was provided by the census department was rarely attended by the officials concerned. Even senior citizens and disabled people were forced to stand on long queues at the enrolment centres from early morning" said V S Jayaraman, a resident of T Nagar.

The census department had recently conducted a door-to-door enrolment drive for residents associations in some areas in the city. Krishnamoorthy said they had collected signatures from nearly 300 members and sent them to the census department to conduct an enrolment camp for them. "But there is no response from the census department so far".

However, the joint director of census operations said, "We have received more than 2,000 applications from various residents associations across the city. So it is difficult to conduct such camps to each residents association."

Sources said shortage of mobile vans caused a setback to the census department's plan to conduct doorstep enrolments. The lone van at its disposal is allegedly being used for VIPs and their relatives. An official in the census department confirmed to TOI that they had conducted a door-to-door enrolment drive in several VIP households.

Several other cities have better facilities to help the elderly and the disabled for Aadhaar enrolment. In Mumbai, mobile vans are provided to cover old age homes and homes for the disabled, while Bangalore has exclusive centres for such people.

4977 - NPR cards, not Aadhaar, for UP residents - Hindustan Times

NPR cards, not Aadhaar, for UP residents

Gulam Jeelani, Hindustan Times

Lucknow, November 28, 2013

Uttar Pradesh residents will get National Population Register (NPR) smart cards and not Aadhaar cards. The benefits, however, would not be different. The move is aimed at guarding against duplication of enrolments with Aadhaar being under the union finance ministry and the NPR under the union home ministry.

The data of those who already have Aadhaar cards or have enrolled themselves for the same would automatically be transferred to the NPR and they would consequently get the NPR smart cards.

“No one in UP will now get an Aadhaar card. Instead, an NPR card will be distributed. The benefits of the two do not differ however,” said OP Pathak, additional commissioner, Lucknow

Owing to duplication of data during collection, the union government had divided the country into two data enrolment segments.

Fourteen states, including Uttar Pradesh, and two union territories have been designated as the NPR states.

They will be covered for NPR data collection. Aadhaar numbers would given to people in the rest of the states, four Union Territories and the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

Divisional commissioner Sanjiv Saran has directed the authorities to ensure that data collection for NPR is expedited.

As the second step in the NPR operations, biometric details of every resident, such as iris scans and 10 fingerprints, besides photograph, would be collected.

This is being done in several districts of UP, including six districts of Lucknow division.

Once the enrolment drive is over, the lists of residents will be displayed in the respective areas for claims and objections.

In the first phase in May-June 2011, the house-listing task was completed. Besides Census 2011 data would also be used.

“Using the bio-metric data, a chip-based smart card will be issued to all residents by the registrar general of India, which is the implementing authority for the NPR project,” he said.

The enumeration work is being carried out through Indian Telephone Industries by the directorate of Census, Uttar Pradesh.

The work is, however, being done faster in states and districts which have to implement the direct benefit transfer scheme.

Rae Bareli in Lucknow division has achieved 98% enrolment.

In Lucknow, 4000 people already have NPR cards.

3281 - Only 10% residents profiled for ID cards in city so far - The Hindu

Only 10% residents profiled for ID cards in city so far

ALOYSIUS XAVIER LOPEZ

The Hindu 

The project to collect biometric data such as fingerprints and iris scans, and photographs of 41.53 lakh residents in Chennai district commenced on December 12, 2012. Photo: M. Vedhan

The collection of biometric data for resident identity cards under the National Population Register (NPR) is way behind schedule in the city.

The revenue department of the Chennai Corporation, which shoulders the responsibility of collecting the data, has so far managed to profile just 3.93 lakh residents in Chennai district.

The project to collect biometric data such as fingerprints and iris scans, and photographs of 41.53 lakh residents in the district commenced on December 12, 2012. The deadline is September 2013. Work in many newly-added areas of the Chennai Corporation is yet to begin.

“Senior citizens are forced to wait for hours for biometric data collection. Only 60 to 70 persons are screened daily,” said Annamalai, a resident of Seven Wells, who took part in the data collection drive recently.

Work is under way in the city in zones of Tondiarpet, Royapuram, Teynampet and Kodambakkam. “Biometric data collection will begin in Anna Nagar next week. Work in Adyar and Thiru.Vi.Ka Nagar will also begin this month,” said M.R.V. Krishna Rao, joint director of census operations.

Residents in a number of localities said they were unable to submit biometric data even after waiting for hours at the Chennai Corporation offices. “Many of us had to return home without registering the data. Waiting at the Corporation offices braving the summer heat is an ordeal,” said a resident of K.K. Nagar.

Revenue department officials, however, said lack of awareness on the part of residents was one of the reasons for the delay in collection of the data. The residents did not stick to the schedule of enumerators in their respective blocks, said a Corporation official.

The enumerators fix a day for data collection in each locality. But most residents do not visit the biometric operators on the stipulated date. So, there are crowds in some centres and barely any visitors in others, the official said.

Also, many residents who have received Aadhar numbers are under the wrong impression they do not have to register for this project. This adds to the confusion, the official said.

Chennai residents above the age of five years are being covered under the NPR project. Officials have begun creating awareness among residents, informing them that even those who have obtained Aadhar numbers have to provide details under the NPR project to get smart cards. The cards will help people avail the benefits of government welfare schemes in a few years.

Those without Aadhar will be provided one after registering for the NPR smart-card project. It is however voluntary.

Keywords: biometric data, resident identity cards, National Population Register

3098 - NPR data for issue of Aadhaar card

NPR data for issue of Aadhaar card

DC | Pathri Rajasekhar | 03rd Mar 2013

Nellore: The data being collected for National Population Register (NPR) in some parts of the district will be uploaded to Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) website for the purpose issuing Aadhaar cards.

The NPR is one of the most ambitious projects in the country and it aims at creating a comprehensive database of all residents in India with unique identification numbers. The activity includes house listing by enumerator, scanning of NPR schedules, data digitisation, biometric enrolment and consolidation, de-duplication by UIDAI and issuance of Aadhaar number.

There is also a proposal to issue identity/smart card. Civil supplies department has hired a private agency to open centres in the areas where NPR is not in progress for the enrolment of Aadhaar cards shortly.

Joint collector B. Lakshmikantham has disclosed this while speaking to this newspaper. According to him, 19 lakh citizens have been enrolled out of 29 lakh population in the district for Aadhaar cards. The ongoing exercise for NPR has covered part of the balance.

As of now NPR is in progress at Kavali town. As many as 100 centres have been opened to record demographic and biometric details at Kavali.

Mr Lakshmikantham said that Aadhaar card will not be demanded by gas agency or other agency till enrolment of all the citizens is complete in the district.

2434 - Rejection of Congress's Hand Symbol, A Vote Against Aadhaar/UID/NPR And Biometric Profiling - JUST

http://www.just-international.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5255:rejection-of-congresss-hand-symbol-a-vote-against-aadhaaruidnpr-and-biometric-profiling&catid=45:recent-articles&Itemid=123


Written by Gopal Krishna , Vinay Baindur & Anivar Aravind    Posted: 10 March 2012 10:48

Delhi, Patna, Chennai & Bangalore: Electorate in Uttar Pradesh have rejected the proposal of the Indian National Congress to allow themselves to be identified with their biometric data like iris scan and thumb impressions. Rahul Gandhi campaigned in UP using the Aadhaar as an election agenda. Now that he has taken responsibility of his party’s defeat, he should call for stopping Aadhaar project because the verdict is against it.

Supporting Home Ministry and Planning Commission’s scheme of unique identity, the party had showcased aadhaar and related National Population Register (NPR) for Multipurpose Identity Card (MNIC), voters in general and poor have given their verdict against it. The party had claimed that the Aadhaar/NPR card will also address the discrepancies in controversial Below Poverty Line (BPL) list by hiding violation of the provisions of Census Act with ulterior motives. It was used like a fish bait to entrap citizens against democratic and legislative mandate. The message for P Chidambaram, Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Nandan Nilekani is that UP electorate who were promised Aadhaar/NPR/MNIC has rejected it. This project is applicable to vehicles and animals too through Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in later phases.

In our country, a surveillance regime has been proposed by Indian National Congress led United Progressive Alliance for the people but not for biometric and other intrusive technologies. Besides India’s Parliamentary Standing on Finance, countries like UK, Australia, Philippines and China have rejected aadhaar/NPR/MNIC like projects respecting people’s mandate.

It has reliably been learnt that officials from Infosys company have been giving leadership training to leaders of Indian National Congress. This may have impacted decision making with regard to aadhaar/NPR/MNIC but it has clearly not worked in UP elections.

Recent reports of efforts to put Union Finance Minister and Defence Minister under surveillance reveal that there is paucity of capacity to monitor or regulate these technologies. If this is the plight of the ministers and technologically challenged political class, the threat for citizens can easily be understood.

Post UP elections, government must review its capacity to regulate an emerging technology regime that is undermining democracy and sovereignty and should not be misled by unelected cabinet ranked officials who say, “Technology has no history and no bias, it treats everyone the same way.”History of technologies reveals that it is their owners who are true beneficiaries especially when it is used for social control. There is a compelling need to urgently assess the claims and risks of biometric and surveillance technology and how some companies made UID/NPR/MNIC politically persuasive for the ruling party and intertwined the systems of technology with crying need for governance.

UP verdict is also a mandate against diluting federal structure of the country, FDI in the retail sector, free trade agreements (FTAs) that were aimed at turning India into a market democracy where executive and legislative decisions are driven by profit mongers not by public interest.

For Details: 

Gopal Krishna, 

Citizens Forum for Civil Liberties (CFCL), 

New Delhi,

E-mail-krishna1715@gmail.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Vinay Baindur, Bangalore, Email: yanivbin@gmail.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Anivar Aravind, Chennai, E-mail-anivar.aravind@gmail.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

By Gopal Krishna , Vinay Baindur & Anivar Aravind

7 March 2012

@ Countercurrents.org

2414 - Biometric Collection NPR or Aadhaar: Does any body care

Posted on February 29, 2012 by IS

“It is shocking that issues like national security and social welfare are being used by the government to divert our attention from fundamental issues of privacy and safety of citizens’ data. The government has disregarded the Parliamentary Standing Committee, so it is now up to the opposition parties to take the issue further. All MPs will have to make their stand clear on this issue (as they did when they resisted the flawed Lokpal legislation).” – Rijul Singh Uppal

Welcome to 1984 – the flight landed a little late and George Orwell has departed. But nevertheless, we made it. And Big Brother Cheney … sorry, Chidambaram, is watching. Former Supreme Court Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer had warned as recently as November 2011, while releasing a book on Aadhaar that “the project Aadhaar should not be implemented for it amounts to an assault on privacy and basic rights of individuals and is suited only for fascist nations”. But few activists either understood the danger or fell prey to the general social inertia, and the apparatus for the Orwellian Police State seems set to thrive.

The National Population Register (NPR) in general is the register of usual residents (one who has stayed in the local area for the past 6 months or one who intends to stay in the local area for the next 6 months) of the country. It is being prepared along with the National Register of Indian Citizens. It is compulsory for every citizen to be registered in the National Register of Indian Citizens, but as it is being prepared as a sub-set of the National Population Register, it makes it mandatory for every individual to register and provide biometrics for the National Population Register.

During Census 2011, like every other census till date, enumerators visited households and collected details that were generalised at best for census purposes. However this time, the powers that be insisted on adding biometric details, i.e. a photograph, all fingerprints, and iris scans of both eyes, to the NPR database by organizing local enrolment camps and also through the Nandan Nilekani led Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Aadhaar project.

Let’s see the double-face approach of the Congress-led government and Home Minister P. Chidambaram to prowl biometric details of every resident in the country. Thus, what started as an exercise for people to voluntarily provide their biometrics has quickly become compulsory for all residents and citizens – failure to do so would result in their name being struck off the National Population Register! We must ask why?

Data collected for the National Population Register after authentication will be sent to Unique Identification Authority of India for de-duplication and issue of Aadhaar Number. Thus the register will contain three elements of data – (I) demographic data, (II) biometric data and (III) the Aadhaar Number.

It is thus obvious that though providing biometric data to the UIDAI was technically voluntary, all biometric data collected by the Home Ministry for the National Population Register will ultimately be shared with the UIDAI.

This covert method of collecting biometrics of the entire population hints at a hidden agenda. The National Identification Authority of India Bill, now rejected by the parliamentary standing committee, does not make it mandatory for an individual to enroll. However, it does not prevent any service provider from prescribing Aadhaar as a mandatory requirement for availing services. That the government could at a later stage make the card compulsory across a wide range of schemes means that Aadhaar would, de facto, become compulsory.

For instance, what would happen if banks and other financial institutions such as insurance companies make it compulsory for you to register your Aadhaar (UID) Number, in order to access your account or get medical insurance? Data that is sacrosanct will fall in the hands of establishments who have no possible legitimate use of it; nor would they have adequate data protection systems in place.

Technological advancements have made it easy to cross-reference a person’s personal data. This information, if compiled, is open to abuse [stalkers are known to do this abroad]. With super-fast servers that can quickly browse through and cross-reference files, various details of a person’s life, from chat room conversations to medical and financial records, can be compiled into a SINGLE DATABASE.

Linking an individual’s data to a UID Number will make such internet stalking of potential victims that much easier. We are sure to see a spurt in data theft and identity frauds, with devastating consequences for even modest citizens, whose bank accounts can be wiped clean and Police left groping for means of coping with this new crime arena. After all, cyber crime control is at a very nascent stage in India. The affluent are in even more danger; access to their UID Number could subject them to threats from potential kidnappers, to cite just one instance. Even worse for all citizens, a simple glitch in the database could render an individual into a non-person.

Unlike in the USA where the Privacy Act of 1974 states that “it shall be unlawful for any federal, state, and local government agency to deny to any individual any right, benefit, or privilege provided by law because of such individual’s refusal to disclose his/her social security account number”, there is no provision in the Indian law to ensure that government or private agencies cannot make it compulsory to disclose private details. After all, the attempt to link Public Distribution and other social welfare schemes to Aadhaar doesn’t leave any scope of voluntary submission of biometric data to the UIDAI.

The Unique Identification Authority of India, under Nandan Nilekani, was set up under the aegis of the Planning Commission by an executive order and NOT by an Act of Parliament. Hence it cannot be held accountable to the legislature and thereby to the people (for any future loss or illegal transmission of said data).

In all of its brochures, press statements, FAQ’s on department websites etc, the government has cited numerous laws and clauses that legitimise its intrusive moves.

Present legislation does provide for a National Population Register. But it does not allow collection of biometrics, and government has failed continuously to provide a single legal provision under which it has undertaken the collection of biometrics, which is therefore unconstitutional.

Indeed, the Parliamentary Standing Committee criticised the government for starting enrolment under the UIDAI project without parliamentary approval. It rejected the government’s position and legal justifications offered, and asserted that when constitutional rights are violated, the powers of the executive remain circumscribed by those of the legislature.

Biometric database to root out corruption from social welfare schemes?

It is now well-known that due to the prevalence of high population dependant on manual labour (whose fingerprints get erased with work and age), there could be an error rate of 15%, which could translate into the exclusion of about 150-180 million people.

So if fingerprint readers, installed at Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme work sites and PDS ration shops, were to determine employment or ration purchases based upon correct authentication, about 150-180 million persons would be permanently barred access from the social welfare schemes.

Thus, as intended beneficiaries may not get the benefits of social welfare even after billions are spent on Aadhaar, the argument of using biometrics for better implementation of social welfare schemes is flawed. Yet this limitation of biometrics has not prevented the government from leaping into the dark with this project.

Prof. Abhijit Sen, member, Planning Commission, said while delivering a lecture on ‘Food Security in India’, that Aadhaar cannot fix all that ails the Public Distribution System, and other government welfare schemes. He clarified that he was speaking in a strictly personal capacity and did not represent the views of the government or the Planning Commission.

• http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/karnataka/article2883375.ece

Chidambaram’s ideal: USA PATRIOT Act and George W Bush

In America, the Bush administration cited national security and the war against terror as its raison d’être for imposing the exceedingly harsh USA PATRIOT Act, which did not provide a system of checks and balances to safeguard individual liberties in the face of such a legislation, and is now being used with impunity in that country to abuse individual liberties, especially of dissidents.

Most astonishing was the lack of debate preceding its introduction. When it was introduced by the Bush administration in the aftermath of 9/11, Attorney General John Ashcroft gave Congress one week in which to pass the bill (without any changes). Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Patrick Leahy, convinced the Justice Department to agree to some changes, and members of the House began to make significant improvements. 

However, the Attorney General warned that further terrorist acts were imminent, and that Congress could be to blame for such attacks if it failed to pass the bill immediately.

So America sacrificed individual liberties for concepts like national security, terrorist attacks … and passed the proposal without debate or amendment. In fact, barring one senator, no one even objected to it.

Back home, Union Home Minister Chidambaram is openly enamoured of Uncle Sam. So when all other excuses for pushing Aadhaar (brainchild of Montek-Chidambaram-Nilekani) and biometrics collection for the National Population Register were de-bunked by critics, the Government cited national security as the reason for mandatory collection of biometrics.

This was the pièce de resistance to shatter resistance to the danger to our personal liberties, the trump card which would catapult us painlessly into the stratosphere of the Police State. Terror, illegal immigration, national security, aren’t working too well for the Home Minister in the context of the National Counter Terrorism Centre (another pet project) and by proffering the same excuses for NPR (where even illegal immigrants can get themselves registered) the regime seems to have overplayed its ONLY hand.

Regarding illegal aliens, the Standing Committee rightly observed, “While the country is on one hand facing a serious problem of illegal immigrants and infiltration from across the borders, the National Identification Authority of India Bill, 2010, proposes to entitle every resident to obtain an Aadhaar number”.

• http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=jun2609/at08

Standing Committee disregarded by Chidambaram and Nilekani

The Standing Committee voiced concerns over the misuse of collected data after taking note of the failure of similar initiatives in other nations. It said the project was ‘hasty’ and directionless in its approach, and was flagged off without any consideration of the financial implications. The Committee also noted that the enrolment process compromises the security and confidentiality of those enrolled in the Aadhaar project. It noted that without a proper data protection law in place, it would be difficult to deal with data tampering and misuse.

Discerning citizens had hoped that after the Standing Committee’s report, the government would book its losses and scrap the project. But some unknown pressure led the Home Ministry and Planning Commission to come up with the idea of marking jurisdiction for both the UIDAI and National Population Register, and retaining both with all ill-advised features intact. Indeed, the only grievance that the Centre-Planning Commission redressed was duplication of data – data that is contentious in the first place!

Nandan Nilekani piously promised to ‘look into’ the concerns regarding data security – whatever that means, given that a firm solution is not even a pre-requisite to the functioning of UID.

Not surprisingly in this era of American-style embedded journalism, our mainstream media was satisfied with the Government’s bogus explanations and failed to question the UPA’s moves and motives. It is now up to the emerging informal grouping of regional political parties to scuttle this grave danger.

It is shocking that issues like national security and social welfare are being used by the government to divert our attention from fundamental issues of privacy and safety of citizens’ data. The government has disregarded the Parliamentary Standing Committee, so it is now up to the opposition parties to take the issue further. All MPs will have to make their stand clear on this issue (as they did when they resisted the flawed Lokpal legislation).

And where are all the NGOs who claim to be representatives of civil society? One would expect the danger to individual liberty posed by the collection and possible misuse of biometric data to figure as their primary concern. May be they will wake up to the stakes involved when they come under the RTI scanner on account of the diversity of causes for which they receive funds. – Vijayvaani, New Delhi, Feb. 27, 2012

See Also:

• http://www.vijayvaani.com/FrmPublicDisplayArticle.aspx?id=2145

» Rijul Singh Uppal is a student

2274 - Cabinet set to decide future of UIDAI project - Economic Times

M RAJSHEKHAR & VIKAS DHOOT, ET Bureau Jan 25, 2012, 04.48AM IST

NEW DELHI: The government's indecision on which of its two arms should capture the biometrics of all 1.2 billion Indians is causing collateral damage. Frustrated by the issue not being resolved quickly and difficulties in the business, Wipro, one of the largest enrolment agencies empanelled with the Unique Identification Authority of India, is considering quitting the business.

"We will take a final decision based on the Cabinet meeting," a senior Wipro official involved in the project told ET on the condition of anonymity. The Cabinet committee on UIDAI is meeting on Wednesday to decide who should capture biometrics from here on - the UIDAI, the National Population Registry (NPR), which comes under the home ministry, or both.

The 174 enrolment agencies empanelled with the UIDAI will watch keenly. They are grappling with a tough business, made tougher by the lower enrolment numbers resulting from the indecision. The project to provide unique identity numbers called Aadhaar was launched in 2009. It was decided the NPR would collect biometrics and the UIDAI would issue Aadhaar card.

The UIDAI organised itself quicker than the NPR, and received a nod from the government in July 2010 to collect 100 million biometrics, which was increased to 200 million in November 2010. In May 2011, UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani asked the government to let it capture all 1.2 billion biometrics. Even as a decision on this is pending, the home ministry and a Parliamentary panel have pointed out flaws in the UIDAI's working.

As the UIDAI nears its mandated 200 million mark, and with no direction from the government on the remainder, it has started asking central enrolment agencies to stop work. Wipro received a letter from the UIDAI in December. Earlier this month, the Karnataka government too asked Wipro to stop enrolments by February 10.

The UIDAI had set a target of 14 million enrolments for the state. "The state has already hit 13 million," says the Wipro official. "If it crosses 14 million, it will have to pay out of its own pocket." Most players assumed UIDAI's mandate would be extended to all 1.2 billion. "It was an assumption made by 70-80 % of companies rushing into this space," says Rajiv Aggarwal, CEO (egovernance ), Spanco, which sets up citizen service centres in rural India. The arithmetic of UIDAI-empanelled agencies has gone awry.

According to the Wipro official, the company has about 3,000 biometric kits - fingerprint and iris scanners and a laptop - costing Rs 1-1 .5 lakh each, adding up to about Rs 30 crore. It planned to recover this investment, and its operational costs, by doing 50-70 enrolments per machine per day. "That investment has gone bad," says the official.

A lot of the other enrolment agencies empanelled with the UIDAI - ranging from small outfits with 10-odd kits to larger players like Karvy with 1,000 kits or more - have been blindsided by the standoff between NPR and UID. Several UIDAI-registered agencies were already struggling. "This is a low cost, but high fatigue model," says Satish Bansal, co-founder of Calance, a company that handles biometric enrolments for banking-correspondent companies. While the UIDAI pays Rs 50 per enrolment , state governments have lowered rates further, pocketing the difference.

Fewer people have walked into enrolment centres than anticipated, delaying break even. Desperate to recover their investments , some agencies have bid for NPR tenders, whose terms are more stringent than those of the UIDAI. For instance , the UIDAI paid enrolment agencies only when a unique number was issued. It also did not demarcate territory for each enrolment agency, thinking that multiple firms operating in an area would speed up coverage. The NPR's approach is different. One, it is assigning zones to enrolment agencies , and expects them to ensure 100% coverage.

If not, it will deduct 50% of the payment due. Two, it wants all work completed in 12 months. Three, it will pay in five installments and subject to certain conditions. Four, for every 100,000 population, companies have to deposit Rs 80,000. Enrolment agencies are unhappy about 100% enrolment clause. Says the head of a small Delhi-based enrolment agency that worked for banking-correspondent companies: "No one can do 100% enrolment. There is migration."

Adds the head of another small Delhibased enrolment agency bidding for the NPR. "NPR is a loss-making proposition . I am writing off 30% at the outset ." All this is why the enrolment agencies are anxiously awaiting a Cabinet committee decision. A definitive decision won't be easy. Allowing UIDAI to collect all biometrics does not address the home ministry's security concerns.

Sticking to the original plan of NPR capturing all biometrics has become difficult, with the UIDAI throwing its weight behind its enrolment agencies. And allowing both NPR and UIDAI to collect biometrics will result in duplicate expenditure. The UIDAI seems confident. On January 19, it invited bids for "training operators and supervisors involved in undertaking enrolments" . The last date for the tender: February 13.

2258 - Include Aadhaar number in population register, says PC - Deccan Chronicle

January 24, 2012 . DC
chennai

 
 

Union home minister P. Chidambaram launching the distribution of resident identity card under coastal NPR (national population register) project at Pattipulam village in Kancheepuram district. —DC

Union home minister P. Chidambaram on Monday said his ministry was looking at ways to incorporate the Aadhaar number in the identity cards distributed to people as part of national population register (NPR). “It will give a special status to the identity card, as the government will be able to confirm the user of the card,” he added.

After handing over the first identity card under coastal NPR project to Ms Meena of Pattipulam village in Kancheepuram district on Monday, Mr Chidambaram said the ministry has so far collected data of 1.2 crore people and biometrics of 75 lakh persons in 3,331 villages.

“The ID cards are just a beginning to address security issues. We have been conducting census for the past 100 years, but specific details like citizen or foreigner status were never recorded. Post Mumbai attacks in 2008, the government has decided to issue cards with photograph to all people with details like name, father’s name, age, address, place of birth, profession along with biometric details,” he added.

Denying reports about differences with unique identification authority of India on Aadhaar cards, Mr Chidambaram confirmed that the home ministry would include the Aadhaar number in the NPR. “Aadhaar is only a number while NPR is a resident identity card,” he said, adding the culmination of the two would help in better governance.

“For example, if a student wins a scholarship, he only needs to open a bank account. The government will deposit the scholarship amount in his account and he can access it by using the smart card, which will prove his identity,” he said.

2252 - UID rollout caught in tech glitch - Hindustan Times

Chetan Chauhan, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, January 24, 2012

The Unique Identification (UID) is supposed to provide technological solutions, to improve governance, but the same technology had slowed down its rollout. Of the 17 crore people enrolled, the UID or Aadhaar letters have been dispatched to just three crore. The Unique Identification  Authority of India (UIDAI) had procured a two mbps leased line to transfer Aadhaar data to the postal department. The lease line has the capability to download data for printing just two lakh Aadhaar letters as against the required 10 lakh to ensure that one gets his or her UID within three months.

“We have to deliver an Aadhaar letter in 17 working days. Our data shows over 65% of the letters were delivered within seven days,” a senior official of the postal department said to indicate that delay was on part of UIDAI, not them.

The UIDAI was supposed to take a month for generation of an Aadhaar number after enrollment but the average period taken had been two to three months. The authority’s technology centre in Bangalore was not able to cope with the sudden increase in enrollments in later part of 2011.
Not just UIDAI, the postal department has also been technologically handicapped. Of the three crore Aadhaar dispatched, the department has clue to about 60 lakh of them, which are in transit. “Their status has not been updated as many post offices are not computerised,” the official said.

Human error was just 1.5 lakh or 0.4% of Aadhaar letters dispatched being returned to UIDAI as their was no claimant on account of wrong address.

Many such as Ashok G Waghmare have not received Aadhaar number even after 10 months after enrollment. Vivek Sharma, a government official, is surprised, as his wife has received an Aadhaar number but he and his two daughters haven’t.
 
PC dismisses reports of rift over Aadhar

Home minister P Chidambaram on Monday played down reports of a rift between the home ministry and the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIADI) led by technocrat Nandan Nilekani. “There is no clash between Aadhar and the Smart Card issued by the home ministry,” he said launching the distribution of smart cards for coastal villages in Tamil Nadu at Pattipulam village, about 80 km from Chennai.

“We are at examining how best to include the Aadhar number into the Smart Card,” he added.

Of the 17 crore people enrolled, unique identification or Aadhar letters have been dispatched to three crore people. “We have to deliver an Aadhar letter in 17 working days. Our data shows over 65% of the letters were delivered within seven days,” a senior postal department official said in Delhi to indicate that the delay was on the part of the UIDAI. It was supposed to take a month to generate an Aadhar number after enrollment but the average period taken has been two to three months.

2147 - Home ministry moves govt for financial clearance on NPR - Governance Now

ID cards would have a 64 kilobyte embedded chip which will require internet connectivity in order to read the individual details

GN BUREAU | DECEMBER 26 2011

National Population Register, the mamoth digital database of individual identities, has moved the government for financial clearance. The plan of the home ministry to issue identity (ID) cards to over 84 crore residents above the age of 18 years is going to cost the government Rs 6,790 crore. The data once finalised will be part of a confidential database, as reported by Hindustan Times.

The ID cards would have a 64 kilobyte embedded chip which will require internet connectivity in order to read the individual details. However, the home ministry is trying to look for a solution to ensure that no internet connectivity is imperative to obtain the details.

The hand-held chip reader — the size of a credit card swipe reader — that costs about Rs 7,000, would be able to print the data on its small screen. This would include the photograph, pictures of two fingerprints and other demographic details such as date of birth, place of birth and the name of the resident’s father or mother. The card will have a validity of 10 years.

The ministry has done same exercise in the coastal region and has distributed ID cards to over 1.2 crore  residents. Based on this exercise, the estimated cost of each card would be Rs 80.

Nandan Nilekani promoted Unique identification is on somewhat the same lines, where by the agencies will issue aadhar numbers as a proof of residentship. If compared to NPR, the UID too will face challenges owing to dependence on the internet connectivity and low connectivity in rural areas.
  

2144 - Govt gives all clear to Rs 6,790 cr-ID card project - Hindustan Times

Monday, December 26, 2011

Aloke Tikku, Hindustan Times

New Delhi, December 26, 2011

Email to Author

The mother of all identity cards — the multi-purpose ID smart card — to be issued to every resident will come at a price tag of Rs 6,790 crore. The home ministry has firmed up its plan to issue the ID card to over 84 crore people above 18 years and has moved the government for financial clearance.

The ID card will be the public face of the National Population Register (NPR) that will become a confidential database once it is finalised.

The NPR and the ID cards will get its unique character from Aadhaar, the Nandan Nilekani-led unique identity number project.

But a 64 kb embedded chip in the card will ensure that residents will not have to depend on internet connectivity for a machine to read the details.

A home ministry official said they wanted to avoid the dependence on internet connectivity to access or verify the identity of the card-holder.

This is a disadvantage that Aadhaar numbers may have to face, at least in the short run due to patchy mobile and internet connectivity in rural and remote areas.

Instead, a hand-held chip reader — the size of a credit card swipe reader — that costs about Rs 7,000, would be able to print the data on its small screen. This would include the photograph, pictures of two fingerprints and other demographic details such as date of birth, place of birth and the name of the resident’s father or mother. The card will have a validity of 10 years.

Home Ministry officials said they were projecting a cost of R80 per card including delivery on the basis of their experience in coastal areas.

“We have been able to reduce the postage charges by one-fourth, primarily because we will post the cards to families rather than individuals”.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/787173.aspx#

© Copyright © 2011 HT Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.

2045 - Identity Card to Every Adult Resident of the Country under NPR; No Card being issued by UIDAI -pib.nic

Identity Card to Every Adult Resident of the Country under NPR; No Card being issued by UIDAI 


The Home Ministry has a proposal to issue every adult resident in the country an identity card. The Government has decided to create a National Population Register (NPR) by collecting information on specific characteristics of all usual residents in the country.

The NPR would also have photographs, 10 finger prints and 2 IRIS prints of all usual residents who are of age 5 years and above. As per the approved procedure, NPR database would be sent to Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) for de-duplication and generation of Aadhaar Number. 


Financial proposals for issuance of Resident Identity (smart) Card (RIC) under the NPR are under the consideration of Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC). The scheme has not yet been approved.

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. UIDAI has informed Government that UIDAI is not issuing any card. 


However, it is learnt that the National Payment Corporation of India has tied up with the UIDAI for issue of ‘RuPay cards (Dhan Aadhaar cards) which serves as ATM/micro-ATM cards and about 250 such cards have been issued by Bank of India.

This was stated by Shri Jitendra Singh, Minister of State of Home Affairs in written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.

MP/PT/Identity Card
(Release ID :78189)