[Reader-list] Citizen IDs to cost Rs 1.5 lakh crore - 131

[Taha Mehmood]

Dear All

All this while I have been maintaining that MNIC project is going to
cost 'us' anywhere between 25000-30000 crore rupees but it seems that
I have been grossly wrong in estimating the scale of costs involved.

Not withstanding the fact there is no clear way in which one can
identify a person as a particular person, neither can one completely
map one thousand million people without committing gross errors, nor
can one be completely assured that such a scheme will be beneficial in
all aspects to all Indians, it seems that a dream of citizenship and
identity is being sold in the name of a digitized plastic token in
MNIC.

As the TOI report below suggests, the cost will be to the tune of 1.5
Lakh crore rupees :) (unfortunately Jeebesh it seems that 'disquiet'
suddenly has no currency)

Now this is very significant. 'Other' budgetary allotments, like
health, education, or even basic sanitation appear minuscule when
compared to MNIC.

What sort of message does the GOI intends to spread with investing so
much of money with MNIC?

Why does the government feels that having a digitized plastic token
will be more beneficial to Indian citizens than having solid
institutions or having infrastructural support?

Is this redistribution of public wealth justified?

Who are the key players of MNIC project? Who will 'actually' benefit
from a transfer of 1.5lakh crore rupees?

Warm regards

Taha


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Citizen-IDs-to-cost-Rs-15-lakh-crore/articleshow/4703794.cms

Citizen IDs to cost Rs 1.5 lakh crore
26 Jun 2009, 0156 hrs IST, TNN


With the central government announcing a panel to implement the
programme of giving identity cards to all citizens of the country, it
appears
that this much hyped scheme is finally getting some traction. It is
estimated that this gigantic and complex exercise will involve an
expenditure of over Rs 1.5 lakh crore.

It will put India in the club of about 56 countries around the world,
which have some form of national identity cards. These include most of
continental Europe (not UK), China, Brazil, Japan, Iran, Israel and
Indonesia.

The idea itself is not new, but in the past it had not received a
clear centralized push. As a result, several pretenders emerged and
vied with each other, creating confusion typical of India. There is
the PAN card created by the tax department but now used for diverse
financial transactions. Then there is the photo ID card issued by the
Election Commission, primarily meant for voting.

Earlier, ration cards were the mainstay of identity proof, but lost
their relevance as the ration system became restricted. Driving
licenses are popularly used as ID but only a very small fraction of
the country’s billion-plus citizens have them.

In 2003, the government decided to launch a pilot project for
providing the Multipurpose National Identity Card (MNIC) to 31 lakh
people in 12 states and one UT. This exercise was to give a taste of
what is entailed in giving ID cards to citizens. The first card was
delivered only in 2007 and it is still in progress.

In January this year, the apex court got involved, suggesting to that
nation identity cards should be made mandatory for all citizens. This
contributed to energizing the languishing program.

The first step in issuing ID cards is building a complete computerized
record of all citizens above the age of 18. It needs to be
computerized so that it is accessible and it can be updated
constantly. The task is being done by the Registrar General of India
(RGI) under the home ministry, because they have the requisite
experience after all, the RGI carries out the census every decade. In
fact, this database is going to be generated along with the next
Census, slated for 2011. It will be called the National Population
Register.

The technical challenge is to create a tamper-proof smart card, which
can function in Indian conditions. A sophisticated software called
SCOSTA will reportedly be used for creating the cards. The cards would
contain as many as 16 pieces of personal information.

This information will be stored in micro-chips embedded in the card
and it will be accessible only to authorized users, like police
officials. Apart from carrying personal details like photo, age,
address and fingerprints, the MNIC will contain a National Identity
Number, which will be unique to the individual.

The other challenge is to computerize the civil registration system
across the country so that all births and deaths are entered into the
population register.