Census 2011,unique identification project work to go in tandem

Manish Bhardwaj,the Census director of Gujarat,said that work on the database for the ambitious unique identification project will begin along with Census 2011. National Identity Number (NIN) will be provided to all the residents of the country above the age of 15.

“We will first begin the house listing operation,and all the houses will be assigned a number,” he said.

Normally,after house listing,population enumeration operation is undertaken,and subsequently,the census is declared. But this time,the national population register will be done prior to the population enumeration exercise.

“In the national population register,each individual above 15 years,who is a resident of the country — irrespective of the nationality — will be registered with his/her fingerprint,bio-metric details and a photograph,in a separate form,” said Bhardwaj.

“Once the database in the national population register is prepared,it will be handed over to the unique identification authority,which will undertake the exercise of de-duplication and verification of the database collected from across the country,” he added.

The smart card will be issued at the district magistrate (DM) level and it will be made a routine official procedure,which means,it will be issued on a regular basis to the new entrants. Bhardwaj added that the unique number will be used for passport and other official purposes subsequently.

“However,the smart card will not give entitlement to citizenship. It will be mentioned on the card itself that the holder is not entitled to citizenship,” he said.