Nandan M Nilekani, who was appointed as head of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI), on Monday said the government would take steps to end ID card duplication leading to fraud and create a network of verification and authentication.

"The UIAI would create a centralised, national database of Indian residents," the former Infosys co-chairman told reporters here after meeting Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, who felicitated him on his new assignment.

The key issue was to ensure that there were no duplicates, he said.

"...the big problem today with identity is that many systems have lot of duplicates which lead to fraud," he said.

The idea is to use bio-metric, fingerprints or whatever to make sure that people have a unique number. The UIAI would then create a national network of verification so that "people can verify that somebody is who he claims he is," he said.

Nilekani parried questions on immediate key challenges for UIAI, saying, "First I have to go and find an office."

On the timeline to complete the project, he said, "Let me go and take stock of the situation."

The UIAI would create a national authentication and enrollment capability and an identity system, an "infrastructure" on which Centre, state governments and private sector can have "value added applications", he said.

Giving an example, he said, a state seeking to implement a scheme can use this database to identify beneficiaries.