Opinion Numbers divisible by two

Its main objectives: first,a credible individual identification system,with a unique national identity number to deter future illegal migration; second,preparing the NRIC register and issuing citizens an MNIC to aid interaction with government; third,more efficient e-governance; and fourth,continuous updating of NRIC based on births,deaths and fresh registration of citizens. This pilot project was undertaken after meeting legal requirements — by issuing the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and issue of National Identity Cards) Rules,2003 under Section 18 of the Citizenship Act,1955.

This is not the only home ministry project. Along with the 2011 Census,data will be collected for a National Population Register (NPR); this will be used for the photographs and biometrics to complete the UIN database. The RGI had arranged to canvass the NPR,the updated NRIC,at the pre-test of the 2011 Census,conducted recently,during July and August 2009.

Purportedly for security reasons,the ministry has accelerated the NPR in coastal villages of 9 maritime states and 4 Union territories and will issue identity cards to all the usual residents in these areas. The home minister is keen that this be completed soon; the RGI,working with the state governments and local administration,has already started preparing the NPR,including registering photographs and finger biometrics in the coastal areas.

Clearly,the two agencies — the home ministry and Nilekani’s authority (UIDAI) — are working with their own,independent,thinking and strategy. First,to begin with,the UIDAI will prepare its own database by networking with major registers like the NREGS,the PDS and the RSBY; the ministry,meanwhile,has planned to prepare and adopt the NPR. It is not clear how and why the UIDAI has,suddenly,preferred the less reliable data in the scheme registers to the better-authenticated NPR. Did they conduct any study to assess the accuracy,feasibility and availability of these registers for adoption in preference to the NPR? Secondly,the UIN is “random” while the ministry’s ID number will be assigned systematically.

The UIDAI have to spell out how the electronic database complete with photograph and finger biometrics of each individual will be maintained and updated at Central,state and lower levels. India has 35 states/ Union territories,593 districts,5,463 sub-districts,5,161 towns and 6,38,588 villages (according to the 2001 Census); establishing a UIN authority for each administrative unit is a Herculean task. This has to be planned and performed very carefully,so that what happened in 1951 is not repeated: the project of maintaining and updating of a national register of Indian citizens,prepared at the first Census of independent India,failed miserably.

Nilekani’s authority and the home ministry are looking after this project in different ways and proceeding according to their own strategies. Yet there are common goals: both these government agencies are to provide an individual,numerical,identification system,a basis for more efficient e-governance and deter future illegal migration for improved internal security. There is no alternative but to evolve a common strategy and work-plan,rather than moving independently. It is therefore necessary for the PM’s council on the UIN to look into this before it is too late,and do what is necessary to avoid duplication of effort. The aims and objectives for these projects are of great national importance,and have a huge budget — Rs 1,50,000 crore; energies cannot be allowed to dissipate.

The writer,a former deputy registrar-general of the Census,was a senior advisor to the home ministry’s MNIC project

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