[Reader-list] Smart cards for ESIC beneficiaries launched-210

[Taha Mehmood]

Dear All

That a government often behaves like a many headed-hydra is nothing
new but what's amusing about government of India is that, it is
behaving like a blind many headed hydra!

We all know that UIDAI is set in place. We all know that Nandu, the
plumber, is doing his job. We also know that MNIC will be distributed
soon.

The argument for ONE SMART NATIONAL IDENTITY CARD was that there are
too many paper identity documents and it is confusing to keep a track
of all of them. Therefore uncles running the show thought that for the
good of all there should be ONE smart card.

Why then, the other day, Union Minister for Employment and Labour, M.
Mallikarjun Kharge was seen attending a inauguration ceremony in
Bangalore?  Apparently this ceremony was held for the eventual
distribution of  2.4 crore cards to 1.2 crore people whose name come
under the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) databases.

Why can't Nandu, pick up a phone and give a call to Kharge and say,
'Hang on Dude!! What you doing here...this is MY job. I am the plumber
here!!! NOT YOU.'

Why can't Nandu, the plumber, say to Kharge, 'Man!! let me just
complete the merge and purge exercise. Let me just give the numbers
first then let RGI distribute MNIC. We will then add your data on our
chip. After all we are going to spend 1.5lakh crore rupees for this
exercise.'

No! Nandu, the plumber, will not do it. Why because he is part of a
blind many-headed hydra. I can bet he doesn't even know what his own
cabinet colleague Kharge was doing in Bangalore the other day.

So actually we are going to have at least 20-25 smart cards in near
future. Every ministry will insist that the consumer/citizen produce
cards issued by its ministry and will not recognize cards by any other
ministry. Interoperability will remain an interesting idea....

Why can't there be a blanket ban on all Ministries of GOI and all
State Ministries all over the Country to not to issues any identity
documents till such time Nandu, the plumber, is over with his task?

Why can't then RGI be called in to distribute one card in a
systematic, time bound manner?

Why can this systematic and ugly abuse of public money in the name of
documenting individual identity be stopped right away?

Please read the story below for more.

Warm regards

Taha

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/states/karnataka/article9206.ece

Smart cards for ESIC beneficiaries launched
Special Correspondent

The first set of Pehchan smart cards were distributed to beneficiaries
of the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) in Bangalore on
Tuesday by Union Minister for Employment and Labour, M. Mallikarjun
Kharge.

The smart cards entitle the insured person and his/ her family to step
into any ESI dispensary, hospital or branch office of the ESIC across
the country and avail themselves of the facilities and services in a
hassle-free manner.

Mr. Kharge said the Pehchan smart cards, which will replace the
existing paper-based identity cards, will be distributed to 1.2 crore
workers and their families covered under the ESIC across India in due
course of time.

“One smart card will be given to the insured person and another to his
or her family. Around 2.4 crore cards will be prepared under the
project and the total number of beneficiaries will be around 6 crore,”
he added.

The issue of smart cards is part of the ESIC’s Information Technology
Roll Out Plan named “Project Panchdeep,” touted as the country’s
largest e-governance scheme. The project entrusted to Wipro
Technologies envisages the development of necessary hardware and
software networking for country-wide implementation by August 2010.

Mr. Kharge said the smart card will have the photograph of the insured
person, besides the medical history. All ESIC outlets that will be
networked, will contain personal details and medical history of the
insured persons and their family members. “There will be no scope for
misuse of the facilities by producing bogus bills,” he said.

Director-General of ESIC, S.K. Srivatsava, said the Corporation had a
huge infrastructure comprising 144 hospitals, 42 hospital annexes,
1,397 ESI dispensaries, 1,753 panel clinics, 795 Branch and Pay
offices, besides 51 regional, sub-regional and divisional offices.
“Often, an employee needs to go out of town on work. He can carry his
Pehchan smart card with him and leave the one issued to his family
with his folks