The Hindu : Karnataka News : An identity card for all Business sense

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Saturday, Jul 18, 2009
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Karnataka

Karnataka

An identity card for all Business sense

The idea that a unique identity card with “smart” capabilities is the solution to the problem of “leakages” in the Indian welfare system has caught the imagination of the intelligentsia. The appointment of Nandan Nilekani, co-founder of Infosys Technologies, as Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has provided some cheer to the Indian IT industry at a time when it is reeling under the impact of the worldwide recession.

Those advocating a unique card for Indian citizens rest their case on three main arguments. Their most important argument is that such a card would plug loopholes in the present system of identification of beneficiaries of government programmes, which results in misdirected subsidies and government expenditures. A card that will have universal validity, with adequate authentication, would ensure that only the “deserving” avail themselves of these benefits.

The second reason for favouring such a card is that it would as a unique “identifier” of Indian residents. It is also seen as a means of removing the need for Indian nationals to get their identity verified by multiple agencies for their various needs (passports, Voter Identity Cards, PAN cards, ration cards, driving licences, for instance). However, the enthusiasm for such a card is primarily focussed on the possibilities of enforcing the targeted delivery of public services for the poor.

As Mr. Nilekani settles into his new position in New Delhi, it is becoming clear that the grand project to provide 1.17 billion citizens with identity cards is likely to cost a substantial amount of money. Industry sources say that nationwide coverage would cost at least Rs. 10,000 crore.

Anurag Srivastava, vice-president, Consulting Services (Asia-Pacific and Middle East), Wipro, while refusing to hazard a guess about the likely cost, says that calibrating the rollout of the service can control the cost. He points out that a card with smart or biometric capabilities will obviously cost more. “Whether the UID card would be issued on paper, plastic or be a smart one with an embedded chip is something that can be decided as we go along.” He points out that the “real issue is not the card but the unique identification number that is assigned to every citizen.”

Mr. Srivatsava was closely involved with a consulting project that Wipro conducted for the Department of Information Technology between June 2007 and late 2008. The company designed not only the UID number but also suggested possible way in which the database would link with other Indian databases (such as those for passports, PAN cards and many others which are already operational).

IT companies are excited about the possibilities offered by the UIDAI for several reasons. First, the clear emphasis on Public Private Partnerships as the preferred mode for implementing the project offers it business opportunities. Second, as Mr. Srivatsava observes, government spending on the roll out of the IT infrastructure will result in “scope for IT vendors, hardware for data storage, networks, connectivity and linkages.”

Of course, there are sceptics who view the project as an instrument of curtailing the scope of entitlements such as those offered by the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. They argue that a single, nationwide identity card would be a desirable objective if its objectives are not rooted in negativism that aims to exclude people in the name of targetting.

V. SRIDHAR

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