[Reader-list] News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose National Identity Cards-63

[Taha Mehmood]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Indians_may_have_a_unique_identification_number/articleshow/2575017.cms

The Economic Times

Indians may have a unique identification number
27 Nov 2007, 1443 hrs IST, Rajeev Jayaswal, TNN

NEW DELHI: Indian citizens may have a unique identification (UID) number
soon. The government
may issue an executive order to introduce a unique
number for citizens that could be used for a wide range of activities
including social benefit programmes, security-related applications,
employment, targeted subsidies and financial transactions.

According to official sources, "UID should be in place by June 2008 for
effective targeting and implementation of government schemes." The UID
programme is being undertaken by the department of information technology
(DIT) under the direction of the Planning Commission. Another purpose of the
scheme is immigration control in a phased manner.

The government also intends to ensure that citizens are not harassed during
its implementation. While giving an in-principle approval, the prime
minister's office (PMO) has instructed that "the scheme should be devised in
such a manner that the responsibility of keeping records, maintaining data
banks and verifying the authenticity of individual beneficiaries would be
primarily that of the state and not of the beneficiary", an official source
said.

It is also likely the UID scheme would be combined with an existing scheme,
multipurpose national identity card project (MNIC), a similar pilot
programme launched by the ministry of home affairs (MHA) in border areas.

An empowered group of ministers (EGoM) has been constituted to combine the
two schemes. Under MNIC, citizens of 18 years or above living in border
areas are being issued smart cards.

It is understood that MNIC implementation could be used in border areas for
control of immigration while UID could be implemented in rest of the
country. "The experience of the pilot project shows the determination of
citizenship is a complex issue as it has never been questioned in the past,"
an official said.

A committee of secretaries, while considering the proposal for preparation
of national population register (NPR), concluded that the UID scheme should
be implemented and the NPR should be completed by 2011.