[Reader-list] What’s so smart about SMART Cards?- 191

[Taha Mehmood]

Dear All

It seems that with the coming of UID/UIDAI/MNIC and so on, some people
in India start initiatives to systematically look into and inquire
various policy measures. 'Accountablitiy initiative' seems like one of
the first movers in this sector.

Mandakini Devasher, a consultant with the initiative suggests, 'The
Government of India has been issuing voter ID cards, ration cards and
PAN cards for a number of years, yet, discrepancies such as ghost
entries, missing beneficiaries, multiple cards continue to exist.
These are issues which must be addressed as smart cards become the new
mantra in service delivery. As Swaminathan A Aiyar recently observed,
there is a real danger of smart cards becoming “just one more scheme,
with its own leakages and omissions”. Ironically, it appears we need
to be smart about smart cards!'

Indeed!

May more such initiatives flourish.

Ameen!!

Warm regards

Taha

http://accountabilityindia.blogspot.com/2009/08/whats-so-smart-about-smart-cards.html
http://accountabilityindia.org/

What’s so smart about SMART Cards?
Mandakini Devasher

India is undergoing a smart revolution – make that a smart card
revolution. Smart cards have been in the news lately with the
Government’s decision to set up a Unique Identification Authority
(UIDA) to develop multi-purpose identity cards for every Indian. The
smart card UIDs are expected to improve national security, enable easy
access to government services and help eliminate fraud and corruption
in the management of large-scale social welfare schemes as the NREGA
and PDS. But, UIDs are just the tip of the iceberg – there is a vast
and untapped market for smart cards in India. Growing annually at the
rate of 45% the Indian smart card industry is predicted to reach $6
billion by 2010.

Basically, smart cards are pocket sized electronic devices that can
store a variety of data safely and securely. We are all too are
familiar with the many avatars of these nifty devices which include
credit cards, ATM cards, fuel and phone cards. Smart cards are
commonly used in Europe and other developed countries as they offer
governments and service providers and citizens with a number of
benefits. First of all, they are portable, easy to use and offer
cashless and paperless transactions. They can be used to as a one-stop
shop for citizens to access multiple services. Smart cards improve
service delivery by connecting clients directly with service providers
thereby reducing the discretion of public authorities. If implemented
well smart cards can improve service delivery systems to cut out
middlemen, corruption and bring services to closer to end users and
beneficiaries. From a service delivery and accountability perspective,
smart cards can help plug leakages and curb corruption in the
implementation of large-scale social welfare schemes. Capable of
storing a range of beneficiary data such as name, address, photographs
as well as biometric information, smart cards can help in beneficiary
selection, identification and targeting under anti-poverty programmes
and schemes.

The Indian government is experimenting with smart cards in sectors
such as health care, transport, social security and defence. Smart
cards are increasingly being used to deliver wages, pensions, rations
and even health benefits under programmes such as the NREGA and RSBY.
A number of States including Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Tamil Nadu
amongst others have already begun integrating smart cards in the
implementation of government schemes and programmes with interesting
results. In Andhra Pradesh, the State Government has tied up with
Mumbai based company - Financial Information Network and Operations
(FINO) – to provide biometric smart cards to disburse social security
pensions and NREGS wages in 5 districts. Following a successful pilot
of the smart card initiative in Warangal and Karimnagar districts,
smart cards are now being used for disbursement of pensions and NREGS
wages in 259 villages in Andhra Pradesh. In Delhi, the State
Government has launched “Samajik Suvidha Sangam” (Mission Convergence)
to streamline the delivery of basic services in the NCR by converging
citizen services provided by various departments into a single window
for easier beneficiary access. Key components of the programme include
the setting up of a computerised data bank, computer systems at each
delivery point and the provision of e-benefit cards to citizens. The
e-benefit card is a biometric smart card issued to individuals to
provide them with easy access to a number of government services. At a
national level, smart cards are being used to deliver health insurance
benefits to BPL families under the Rashtriya Swasthiya Bima Yojana
(RSBY). Under the scheme, all beneficiaries are issued biometric smart
cards that contain the fingerprints and photographs of family members.
As of 6 August 2009, 53,77,708 smart cards are active and operational
in the country. Increasingly, a number of States are considering using
the RSBY smart cards to piggy back other welfare schemes, as the cards
now provide a dependable means of beneficiary identification.

While there is certainly limitless potential for the use of smart
cards in India, there is also need for caution. For one thing, there
is a huge gap in our knowledge base about how smart cards actually
work on the ground. There is not a lot of data or research that
documents the use and impact of smart cards on large-scale social
sector programmes like the NREGA or RSBY. There is also little
information publicly available about the actual details of how these
schemes are being managed. With contracts being awarded to private
companies there are growing concerns about the transparency and
accountability of these companies to beneficiaries and ultimately
taxpayers. However, by far the biggest challenge is surely in the
execution and implementation of smart card technologies. Smart cards
clearly have the potential to revolutionise the way we think about
service delivery – but the success of this technology depends greatly
on how well they are implemented. The old adage “well begun but half
done” come to mind here. The perennial Achilles heel of India’s many
welfare programmes has always been weak implementation. The Government
of India has been issuing voter ID cards, ration cards and PAN cards
for a number of years, yet, discrepancies such as ghost entries,
missing beneficiaries, multiple cards continue to exist. These are
issues which must be addressed as smart cards become the new mantra in
service delivery. As Swaminathan A Aiyar recently observed, there is a
real danger of smart cards becoming “just one more scheme, with its
own leakages and omissions”. Ironically, it appears we need to be
smart about smart cards!

Mandakini Devasher is a Consultant with the Accountability Initiative.