Rs 100 cr to solve identity crisis

UNIQUE IDENTIFICATION: The unique identity project will help provide better services to people below the poverty line.

The government has earmarked Rs 100 crore to establish “a comprehensive system of unique identity for the resident population of the country”.

“As part of this provision, the Unique Identification Authority of India is being established under the aegis of the Planning Commission,” Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee informed Parliament.

The identification would be on the lines of the social security number in the US and will help in identifying and providing better services to people below the poverty line. The identification will also act as a check against illegal immigration, which is a serious threat to the country’s security. The project will focus on border areas with illegal immigration in mind. It will also facilitate speedy and efficient transactions between individuals and service providers.

The unique identity will require the creation of a database linking an individual to unique identifiers that remain constant like parentage as well as date and place of birth. The card will automatically get activated as a voter identity card when a person attains the age of 18.

In fact, in 2008, the government implemented a pilot project for a “Multi-purpose National Identity Card” in 13 districts of 12 states and one Union Territory under which more than 1.2 million identity cards were issued to people above 18 years of age. Besides, to facilitate the project, Section 14A was inserted in the Citizenship Act, 1955, to issue each citizen of the country a national identity card.

The project envisages assigning a unique identification number to each resident in the country to eliminate the need for multiple identification mechanism. This project will eventually become the underpinning of the Citizens Smart Card Project which will enable citizens to avail of food, energy and education subsidies, among others, depending on their entitlements.

For the current financial year, the government has allocated Rs 700 crore for the e-governance programme.

The scheme had been in the works since 2002 when the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-run NDA government was in power. It is the brainchild of the then Union home minister, LK Advani. The project’s importance was underscored by President Abdul Kalam in his 2006 Independence Day eve address to the nation.

After remaining in hibernation for many months, the Government of India finally issued a notification approving the setting up of a National Authority for Unique Identity under the umbrella of the Planning Commission. An empowered group of ministers, under the leadership of External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, had approved the setting up of the authority with an initial core team on November 4, 2008.

The authority will function under the Chief Unique Identity (UID) Commissioner of India, whose rank will be equivalent to that of a Central Information Officer of India. The government plans to set up units at the state level that will be headed by state UID Commissioners.