E-Paper
Plugging the loopholes
There has to be a major overhaul and assessment of the present scenario of multiple identity cards in the country before unique identity cards (UIDs) can be issued to the citizens. Subimal Bhattacharjee writes.
The Union government has finally notified the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and has chosen Nandan Nilekani to head it with a Cabinet minister’s rank so that he can deliver the project in the stipulated three years. The Prime Minister must be thanked for picking on Nilekani’s vision on the matter expressed in his book Imagining India and also offering Nilekani another challenge — this time in the government with its various paraphernalia. Also, it is likely that the Finance Minister will revise the Budget for the same from his allocation of Rs 100 crore in the interim one as some indicative costs for the project are more than Rs 100,000 crore.
The intention of the government to have this new card is to offer a unique identity and rid citizens of having multiple cards that they have to carry for various purposes. Indirectly, it is meant to identify each citizen digitally and thus enhance national security and plug illegal immigration that still happens in the eastern sector under the nose of the administrative machinery and, also to a great extent, facilitate the deprived sections of society to receive the benefits of government welfare schemes.
However, what’s important is to understand if the project — however novel the intent — can be optimally successful. The project’s conceptualisation and implementation is a wonderful mix of the present-day socio-politico scenario in the country and the increasing role of technology. Apparently, the ease and pace with which the nation is adopting technology and the changing thinking of the government — with the implementation of a few e-governance projects — make many people feel that the timing of this project is right.
However, there has to be a major overhaul and assessment of the present scenario of multiple identity cards in the country before unique identity cards (UIDs) can be issued to the citizens. So many bogus identity cards are present in the country either as ration cards, voter cards and BPL cards. Unless a proper verification process is carried out, the malaise of the current issuing system will be carried forward and effort and money will be wasted. This will take a long time and the target of three years looks very difficult.
Today, technology is there to support the project — how much technology goes in is also another point of concern. The cards could be made of plastic, tamper-proof, with built-in biometric features and smart chip-enabled. The back-end infrastructure will involve setting up big secure servers to store huge databases. This digital infrastructure has to be constantly managed for security and availability.
The good part is that Indian IT companies and system integrators are very competent to do this job. However, what information is sought from citizens and what gets stored with the government for the purpose of activating the cards is critical. The possibility of snooping by government agencies has to be addressed with a specific law that guarantees the privacy of citizens in the digital space. Digital footprints generated in the process will have to be carefully managed so that they are not misused for political reasons. Many major countries have trodden very cautiously on the national identity card issue, as this is highly sensitive and they are still examining if they actually require the system.
So much homework remains to be done by the UIDAI before it starts the process of issuing the card. The government will have to take the call while making a national effort of getting a sincere machinery in place to issue cards to genuine citizens.
Subimal Bhattacharjee is country head of General Dynamics and writes on IT issues
