Even as the entire country awaits the launch of the Unique Identity Project of the Government of India headed by Nandan Nilekani, Pune is set to get a taste of something of a precursor to the ambitious scheme. The Ministry of Petroleum has decided to issue smart cards based on the Unique Identity Number concept to consumers of PDS kerosene and domestic LPG in the country.

The pilot project will be launched in Pune and the smart cards will be ready in a year’s time, confirmed the ministry officials. The experience and information garnered during the exercise will be shared with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) for further use.

“We are looking at starting the pilot project in Pune and in a couple of cities in the south and may be a few villages, too. But as of now, Pune is definitely confirmed for the pilot project,” said S Sundaresham, additional secretary, Ministry of Petroleum. Work on the smart card project has begun and the process of releasing the tenders is being finalised. It would take about a year for the smart cards to become a reality.

According to Sundaresham, the smart cards will work like the unique identification cards and would form an important database for the UID project. “The idea is to give a card to every LPG user in the country on the basis of which they can obtain subsidised kerosene or LPG. It will restrict malpractices and unfair means adopted by people to obtain kerosene or LPG. The process will give us a precious data base given the fact that the users cover a large portion of the country’s population,” said Sundaresham.

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