Unique ID will bring 60 pc poor into banking system
Nine months after leaving the posh corporate job to join the government as head of Unique Identification Authority, Nandan Nilekani is all set to roll out first set of unique numbers after August this year. In an interview with Chetan Chauhan, he speaks about benefits of UID in governance and how it will help in financial exclusion of the poor.
Nine months after leaving the posh corporate job to join the government as head of Unique Identification Authority, Nandan Nilekani is all set to roll out first set of unique numbers after August this year. In an interview with Chetan Chauhan, he speaks about benefits of UID in governance and how it will help in financial exclusion of the poor.
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What was the need for collecting three different biometrics for every person. For a population of over one billion, uniqueness of the biometric data is important. It is only then a unique number can be allocated to each resident. Only if all the 10 hand fingers, face impression and two iris is taken, the UID would become a unique biometric data. Iris in biometric will increase accuracy and can ensure children above the age of five can also get a unique identification number.
There is an issue of privacy as UID data will be used by different agencies. Our data will not be shared with anyone. At the time of authentication of a UID, our reply only will be in Yes or No. We will not provide details of the person. As a policy, we support a privacy framework for the country.
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You have said that UID can improve financial inclusion. How would this work? The UID can help in bringing over 60 per cent of Indians, who don't have accounts, into the banking system. It can help the government in framing policy on micro payment to poor people as one would be able to deposit or withdraw small amounts even from a local ration shop with the help of finger print compatible mobile phones. We have come up with a new document (From Exclusion to Inclusion with Micropayments) on how the banks with the help of UID can open no frill accounts by reducing documentation required. The UID's know your resident would be sufficient for the banks to open accounts.
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You have said that UID can improve financial inclusion. How would this work? The UID can help in bringing over 60 per cent of Indians, who don't have accounts, into the banking system. It can help the government in framing policy on micro payment to poor people as one would be able to deposit or withdraw small amounts even from a local ration shop with the help of finger print compatible mobile phones. We have come up with a new document (From Exclusion to Inclusion with Micropayments) on how the banks with the help of UID can open no frill accounts by reducing documentation required. The UID's know your resident would be sufficient for the banks to open accounts.
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How will UID and National Population Register (NPR) converge? NPR is a massive effort by Registrar General of India to collect data on all residents. No other agency will be collecting data on them. NPR will act as registry of residents for UID like any other agency. NPR will follow our biometric standard so that there is no duplication of work.
Chetan Chauhan is the National Affairs Editor looking into all aspects of news and features from across India. A Chevening scholar with over three decades of experience in reporting and news management, Chetan has extensively covered all important aspects of the social sector, political economy, environment and climate change nationally and internationally. He did a journalism course at the Reuters Institute of Journalism in Oxford and Digital Media training at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He started as a reporter with The Statesman in 1996 and joined the Hindustan Times in 2000 in the metro bureau covering environment, crime and Delhi politics. He covered hot local news, from the Jessica Lal murder case to the rebellion of Delhi Congress MLAs against then Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, to the replacement of toxic vehicle fuel with cleaner compressed natural gas (CNG) in the national capital. Some of his stories on air pollution became part of the Supreme Court’s landmark MC Mehta versus Government of India case in the National Capital Region (NCR), forcing the government to take corrective measures. As part of the national political bureau since 2004, he covered important central sectors such as environment, education, social justice, labour, rural development, water resources, renewable energy, agriculture, broadcasting and the Planning Commission for more than a decade producing several exclusive and investigative breaking stories. His specialisation is the environment, having covered at least a dozen United Nations global conferences on climate change, biodiversity and wildlife including climate summits in Paris, Copenhagen and Bali. He also covered India’s two five-year plans ---11th and 12th and reported on drafting and execution of right based laws such as Right to Education, Right to Information and rural job guarantee law, MG-NREGA, now being introduced in new format as VG-RAM-G Act. He has in-depth knowledge of social sector issues. He was one of the first to report on tigers vanishing from Sariska and Panna wildlife reserves in 2004 and 2008, respectively, leading to the setting up of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the introduction of stringent penal provisions for poaching. He has written extensively on the rising human-animal conflict in India and the degradation of India’s biodiversity hotspots because of mining and other activities. Since 2004, Chetan has covered Parliament comprehensively and participated in training on the nuanced coverage of Parliament proceedings. He has travelled extensively across India to cover national and provincial elections since 1998, especially in the Hindi heartland states, considered India’s road to power. He writes a regular column for Hindustan Times, Ecostani, on important national politics, economy, Himalayan ecology and environmental issues. His other responsibilities include providing inputs for edits and edit page articles for the publication, apart from managing news flow from across India.
