[Reader-list] Israeli IT firms to bid for unique ID card project- 154

[pankhuree dube]

Dear Taha,

It occurs to me after reading this, that the biometric data of all Indians (once recorded for these ID cards), would then be available for sale on the international market. That is surveillance on an international scale. Science fiction writer Phillip Dick 

wrote about a future where commercials are tailored to every passerby by reading their eyeballs and matching it with the biometric data stored in databases. Who knew India would be where such a dystopian fantasy might be translated from fiction into fact? 

Thank you for sharing the updates on this fiasco with list readers,

Pankhuree
 
> Date: Wed, 22 Jul 2009 12:00:33 +0100
> From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com
> To: reader-list at sarai.net
> Subject: [Reader-list] Israeli IT firms to bid for unique ID card project- 154
> 
> Dear All
> 
> It is indeed very interesting to note that country with a population
> which less than that of number of people living in Delhi will help
> India in its UIDC project. The claim of this country is -domain
> expertise-.
> 
> As Mr.Katrin Melamed, business development manager for the Israeli
> software industry avers according to the report below, "Israeli IT
> firms with domain expertise in e-governance and homeland security will
> bid for the unique ID card project jointly with Indian vendors, as
> local participation is key to such projects dealing with critical
> mass," Katrin Melamed, business development manager for the Israeli
> software industry, told IANS here.
> 
> 'Domain expertise' seems to be the spin phrase here. What 'domain
> expertise' does Israel brings to the table is yet to be seen? The very
> attribute of branding people with numbers which is seen as one of the
> systematic and banal humiliations which the Nazi meted out to Jews is
> practiced by Israelis...and now after 60 years this attribute becomes
> -domain expertise-? Very very interesting indeed!!
> 
> Maybe the culture industry of Hollywood should take notice and not
> bore us with images of sad, angry, humiliated Jews showing their
> Auschwitz numbers to each other, because after all it has become an
> area of -domain expertise- these days. Maybe the world is ready, to be
> shown a conversation happening between two Jewish men admiring Hitler
> for his ingenuity in numbering them, even as they wait for their turn
> to be taken to a gas chamber.
> 
> or maybe I am completely wrong and completely ignorant about the
> -harsh realities- and the pain of responsibility which governance
> brings.
> 
> However for the time being it seems, that there is business
> opportunity to be availed. 1.5 Lakh crore rupees are up for grabs.
> Israelis see an opportunity and they are bidding for it while getting
> help from native informers aka Indian vendors, had I been in their
> place maybe I would have thought on same lines.
> 
> Warm regards
> 
> Taha
> 
> 
> 
> 
> http://blog.taragana.com/index.php/archive/israeli-it-firms-to-bid-for-unique-id-card-project/
> 
> Israeli IT firms to bid for unique ID card project
> 
> Fakir Balaji
> July 2nd, 2009
> 
> BANGALORE - Israeli IT firms will partner with Indian vendors to
> jointly bid for the ambitious unique identification (ID) card project
> of the Indian government, a visiting Israeli IT industry official has
> said.
> 
> "Israeli IT firms with domain expertise in e-governance and homeland
> security will bid for the unique ID card project jointly with Indian
> vendors, as local participation is key to such projects dealing with
> critical mass," Katrin Melamed, business development manager for the
> Israeli software industry, told IANS here.
> 
> Melamed, who is leading an Israeli IT delegation on a week-long trip
> to India, said many Israeli firms have developed the technology and
> solutions for e-governance projects like ID cards with security
> features such as biometric or fingerprints.
> 
> The trip is sponsored by the Israel Export and International
> Cooperation Institute (IEICI) and funded by the Israeli government.
> 
> "Though we are a small nation of seven million, every Israeli citizen
> has a smart card with personal details embedded in a chip. Our leading
> IT firms have the architecture and the model for the Indian ID card
> project, which is set to cover over a billion people," Melamed said
> Wednesday on the margins of an IT seminar here.
> 
> The government-funded project, to be implemented by the Unique
> Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) under the chairmanship of
> former Infosys Technologies co-chairman Nandan M. Nilekani, is
> expected to create unique identification cards to all citizens by
> 2011.
> 
> The 14-member delegation, representing large, medium and small IT
> firms are scouting for partnerships with Indian counterparts to
> develop or customise software products or solutions for Indian and
> global markets.
> 
> "The delegation has interacted with leading IT firms such as TCS (Tata
> Consultancy Services) in Mumbai early this week and are here for a
> similar exercise with hi-tech firms like Infosys and Wipro. It will be
> in Delhi Thursday for a similar exercise," said Elad Goz, Israeli
> consul for economic affairs.
> 
> The delegation is looking for partnerships in digital broadcast media,
> legacy IT modernisation solutions, homeland security and e-governance.
> 
> With about 3,000 indigenous IT firms, spanning hardware and software,
> the Israeli hi-tech industry has grown exponentially with exports
> alone accounting for $5.8 billion in 2008 as against $90 million in
> 1990.
> 
> "In the absence of a lucrative domestic market for historical and
> social reasons, we are an export-oriented nation with only human
> capital and limited natural resources due to scarce land and smaller
> size of the country," Melamed pointed out.
> 
> As a result, Israeli IT industry focuses more on research and
> development (R&D), product innovation and technology upgrading to be
> globally competitive in an ever-changing business environment.
> 
> North America contributes about 40 percent to Israel's total IT
> exports, while Europe accounts for 30 percent and the balance (30
> percent) is generated from rest of the world, including Asia.
> 
> "Our unique geographic, geopolitical, demographic, and cultural
> characteristics have combined to create a different software
> development climate where innovation and entrepreneurship are the
> norm, early adoption is the rule, and thinking 'out of the box' is a
> day-to-day phenomenon," Rita Katzir, vice-president of Tel Aviv-based
> i21-Ventures, said.
> 
> As part of its 'Look Asia Policy' the Israeli government has decided
> to expand industry and trade ties with India in diverse sectors,
> including drip irrigation, agro-technology, water conservation, IT,
> telecom and homeland security.
> 
> "The trade balance between the two countries grew marginally to $4
> billion in 2008 from $3.3 billion in 2007 due to global meltdown. We
> are keen to boost ties in the knowledge sector through partnerships,
> joint ventures and venture funding," Goz averred.
> 
> The non-profit IEICI, supported by the Israeli government and the
> private sector, facilitates business ties, joint ventures and
> strategic alliances between overseas and Israeli firms.
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