'The protection of secrecy and anonymity gets lost with this linking.'
'Today, the State looks at everyone with suspicion.'
In an interview with Sanjay Jog, Unique Identification Authority of India chairman Nandan Nilekani explains the objectives of the UID scheme and its challenges.
The co-founder of Infosys said that they plan to start issuing UID number within 18 months time.
The Unique Identification Number, renamed as 'Aadhaar', would be issued soon to Indian residents, Nandan Nilekani, chairman of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) said on Wednesday.
Banks in the medium future, may not need to engage in the "know-your-customer" (KYC) process, a check on customer antecedents, to open no-frills accounts. This could happen once a sizeable chunk of population gets a Unique Identification (UID) Number.
The government on Monday said it will provide all the funds necessary for the implementation of its unique identification number project, dismissing media reports to the contrary.
Registrars would be appointed who would see the preparations and the implementation of the scheme for the cards at State level.
The first batch of the Unique Identification number is expected to be ready by 2010 end, chairman of the national project Nandan Nilekani said.
Manmohan Singh will call a Cabinet meeting on Friday to take final call on extension of the Unique Identification Authority of India project, under which national identity cards are issued to entire population.
At least 60 crore people would get their Unique Identification Numbers (UIDs), a much-touted initiative of the government, in the next 4-5 years, its project chief Nandan Nilekani said.
'The Aadhaar project has grave civil liberty implications. It will enable the government to profile citizens and track their movements and transactions.'
The government on Tuesday gave in-principle approval for adoption of standardised approach for collection of demographic and biometric attributes, including iris scan, of residents by various bodies for the UID project.
People tend to think that online means access to information on the fly. But that does not mean that any individual can access the data, says Sunil Chandiramani.
Sources said bank chiefs would discuss the challenges of taking the UID project ahead by accessing the data available with the branch network (for corroborate identity). Bank branches have extensive nationwide data about their customers. Unique identity envisages authentication -- "Are you who you claim to be?
A Congress bastion over the years, the tribal dominated Nandurbar district in Maharashtra has been chosen for the launch of Aadhaar, the unique identity (UID) numbers.
347688003622 is the Unique ID number of Raju Makkan Madi of Tembhali village, one of the first recepients of the government's most ambitious schemes. The long wait for the UID cards is over for 33-year old Raju Makkan Madi, a labourer who earns Rs 75 a day.
"The UID project involves huge database. We at Yahoo have expertise in handling such huge amount of data. We met the PM today morning and discussed, among other things, how Yahoo can help the government in the project."
The much publicised Unique Identification number may not be as infallible as it is touted to be. Though Aadhaar -- the implementation programme of the UID -- records both the biometric and iris scan data of the individual, it is solely dependent on biometrics for application. The government aims to have biometric authentication readers at ration shops to ensure that only eligible candidates get access to food subsidy and other benefits.
The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has been given the responsibility of promoting the Unique Identification Number project, officials said here on Friday.
Brief profiles of the 10 Indians who were the first to get their unique identity cards
Nearly two months into his new job as the head of the Unique Identification Authority of India, Nandan Nilekani says the real beneficiary of the project will be the poor who have no identity at present.He is in a hurry because "the next 12-18 months are very critical in getting this project off the ground," by when the first set of identity numbers will be issued. If all goes well, five years from now the UID data base will cover a few hundred million people.
Internet search giant Google on Thursday said it will be "happy to help" India in implementing a project to provide unique identity numbers to citizens, if asked.
The working group on food and public distribution constituted under the chairmanship of Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia is likely to recommend using the numbers effectively for streamlining PDS.
Market intermediaries, who are constantly on the lookout for avenues to reduce overhead and compliance costs, have found a new tool.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will launch Aadhaar, the Unique Identification (UID) project, in Maharashtra's tribal-dominated Nanduarbar district on September 29.
The department of post has offered to include one-and-a-half-lakh post offices for this purpose initially.
'The decision to deny certain rights to a citizen who refuses a UID is completely at the state government's discretion.'
As a registrar, SBI will collect both demographic and biometric information of the bank's 170 million account holders.
The department of telecom will meet UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani on Sept 24 to discuss how the database of nearly 500 million telephone subscribers can be used for issuing the unique identification number.
Nandan Nilekani and his UID/Aadhaar project appear quite complicit in unconstitutional act of surrendering the country's interest in favour of a global system led by ungovernable and undemocratic business enterprises not by democratic legislatures, says Gopal Krishna
It is reliably learnt that the Congress is clear that such a historical project cannot be kicked off without the presence of Sonia Gandhi and there is a mo ve afoot to ensure that she is also part of the function.
MindTree, the Bangalore-based information technology services provider, has bagged the application development services segment of the Nandan Nilekani-headed Unique Identification (UID) project, renamed as 'Aadhaar'. This is the first of the many IT projects that has come up for bidding till date.
How can Aadhaar be deemed 'voluntary' if service delivery is being made dependent on it, asks Gopal Krishna
He said so far only 3 million people have been covered in the country since the project was launched by the Centre.
'Why does a State that sees a national security issue at every turn not recognise the seriousness of the data from sensitive databases being breached?'
UIDAI has split the overall project into small ones and handed them over to multiple vendors to speed up work.
'Maybe the State wants to be watching people all the time. But when they are watching, others too may be watching!' 'The State is becoming more and more secretive while throwing people to the wolves.'
'We expect the new government to look into the issue of penalties imposed on technology firms involved in UID related projects.'
The UID number should have age, breed, sex, lactation, height, body, colour, horn type, tail switch and special marks details of the animal, the Centre said.
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