Business Standard / New Delhi Sep 17, 2009, 00:45 IST
Much has been written about the Unique Identity (UID) project that is being spearheaded by ex-Infosys chief Nandan Nilekani (“There is no dispute that we are going into uncharted territories …”, Sept 14). The usual lot who’re convinced the UID will allow hackers to steal fingerprints and other identity data have come out to oppose the UID. The question to be asked, however, is what is this data that is being collected? There is little that the UID is collecting that is not already being collected by some department of the government even today. Fingerprints, for instance, are available at each transport office issuing driving licences and possibly even in the passport office. If they are safe there, it is unlikely that a system designed by someone of Nilekani’s competence will not be at least as safe.
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