UID card will come with a bank account

“The finance minister is likely to announce major support for the UID programme in the Budget of Rs 1,900 crore against its current allocation of Rs 100 crore. The project will kick off next fiscal,” a source said. UIDAI is chaired by Infosys co-promoter Nandan Nilekani who has since quit the board of the IT major. It was formally constituted on January 28,2009 and has been mandated to lay down policies to implement the scheme besides owning and operating the biometric UID database and update it on a continuous basis.

The authority recently decided to authenticate an individual to private companies and public sector entities for a small transaction fee. The UIDAI proposes to charge user companies Rs 5 to verify each address,and Rs 10 for every biometrics confirmation,once the system is fully in place. The UIDAI may also explore the option of charging beneficiaries of the cards to offset enrolment costs. The Authority estimates it may cost Rs 20-25 to enroll each resident,adding up to Rs 3,000 crore.

UIDAI thinks this service could be used by banks,credit card companies,mobile operators and government agencies that issue passports,PAN cards and gas connections. Government agencies may be given a subsidised rate. According to the UIDAI,address verification may fetch Rs 159.55 crore per annum,and biometrics confirmation could bring in another Rs 128.60 crore per annum.

The Authority expects to issue the first UID numbers within 12-18 months from August 2009. It also hopes to roll out 600 million UIDs within six years though full coverage of the population might take longer.

UIDAI expects to partner with state governments,oil companies,insurance companies,banks and others,which it believes would be a win-win situation as it would help in plugging leakages and reduce cost of verification.