India will soon make it mandatory for all
its residents – native and foreign-born – to have a biometric identity card, in
a massive operation coordinated by the Department of Information Technology and
the national census bureau. The effort, in its scope at least, is to
fingerprint everyone living in India and could very well become the largest
biometric identification drive in the world.
Described in different accounts as National Identity Card and resident identity card, the ongoing effort is in addition to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) card, known as Aadhaar – for which registration process is still continuing.
The endeavor is to make it legally binding on everyone residing in India to have the national identity card and included in a national population register database.
Camps have been opened to make biometric registration along with the 2011 census data collection.
Some states will start issuing the cards as soon as next month.
National security is one of the explanations or excuse if you will, for the registration drive. One of the apparent aims is to prevent infiltration of terrorists from across the border with Pakistan. Such a solution was mooted after the Kargil conflict with Pakistan in 1999, but the proposal has been gathering dust since then, before being revived now.
Millions of rupees are being spent on this gargantuan project involving thousands of government officers.
After the current phase of collecting biometric data is over, smart cards will be issued, which can be used as single identification document for all purposes for which identification is usually required.
The card will become the most authentic identification document of the government.
In states where the census data collection is over, the process of gathering biometric data is underway through village and township-level camps.
Each registrant will be provided a 12-digit identification number in the smart cards.
Those who have taken the Aadhar card can use the same number in the national identity card.
Details recorded in the 64 kb memory chip in the cards will be shared only within and among governments, and can be deciphered only using special card readers.
There are 27 such details stored in the cards. Personal data as well as numbers of other documents (driver’s license, election ID card, ration card number, passport number), and any other number that various states may suggest (consumer numbers for electricity and water connection) will be recorded. Personal data includes name, address, place and date of birth, nationality, educational qualifications and employment details.
Biometric data to be recorded in the card includes fingerprints of all ten digits and iris, besides photo.
While the effort is commendable in its scale, questions remain as to the consequences of putting a barcode on every Indian. Does this amount to a police state? Does it invade areas of privacy and personal liberty?
Whether to ask for only one or a set of documents for various official purposes – adding another layer of bureaucracy -- is another question. Usually, more than one document is required, one to prove identity and another to prove date of birth and another to prove residence and so on. Usually the passport suffices for all these purposes, but not everyone has passports in India. Insisting on national ID card as the only valid identification puts to question the utility of the financial and human resources already spent for Adhaar, as well as makes it difficult for those who have either lost their national identity card or whose card-issuing is delayed due to bureaucratic hurdles.
It’s interesting to note that such a biometric information gathering does not exist even in most advanced nations. There had been resistance to fingerprinting of locals in USA, while it’s the norm for visitors to the country.
People have always resisted the idea of government holding too much information about them. It could potentially be used against them to ‘track’ them, let’s say, in case they participate in political dissent.
But not much resistance has been offered to the registration drive so far. Probably most Indians are okay with it, or do not realize potential dangers.
Described in different accounts as National Identity Card and resident identity card, the ongoing effort is in addition to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) card, known as Aadhaar – for which registration process is still continuing.
The endeavor is to make it legally binding on everyone residing in India to have the national identity card and included in a national population register database.
Camps have been opened to make biometric registration along with the 2011 census data collection.
Some states will start issuing the cards as soon as next month.
National security is one of the explanations or excuse if you will, for the registration drive. One of the apparent aims is to prevent infiltration of terrorists from across the border with Pakistan. Such a solution was mooted after the Kargil conflict with Pakistan in 1999, but the proposal has been gathering dust since then, before being revived now.
Millions of rupees are being spent on this gargantuan project involving thousands of government officers.
After the current phase of collecting biometric data is over, smart cards will be issued, which can be used as single identification document for all purposes for which identification is usually required.
The card will become the most authentic identification document of the government.
In states where the census data collection is over, the process of gathering biometric data is underway through village and township-level camps.
Each registrant will be provided a 12-digit identification number in the smart cards.
Those who have taken the Aadhar card can use the same number in the national identity card.
Details recorded in the 64 kb memory chip in the cards will be shared only within and among governments, and can be deciphered only using special card readers.
There are 27 such details stored in the cards. Personal data as well as numbers of other documents (driver’s license, election ID card, ration card number, passport number), and any other number that various states may suggest (consumer numbers for electricity and water connection) will be recorded. Personal data includes name, address, place and date of birth, nationality, educational qualifications and employment details.
Biometric data to be recorded in the card includes fingerprints of all ten digits and iris, besides photo.
While the effort is commendable in its scale, questions remain as to the consequences of putting a barcode on every Indian. Does this amount to a police state? Does it invade areas of privacy and personal liberty?
Whether to ask for only one or a set of documents for various official purposes – adding another layer of bureaucracy -- is another question. Usually, more than one document is required, one to prove identity and another to prove date of birth and another to prove residence and so on. Usually the passport suffices for all these purposes, but not everyone has passports in India. Insisting on national ID card as the only valid identification puts to question the utility of the financial and human resources already spent for Adhaar, as well as makes it difficult for those who have either lost their national identity card or whose card-issuing is delayed due to bureaucratic hurdles.
It’s interesting to note that such a biometric information gathering does not exist even in most advanced nations. There had been resistance to fingerprinting of locals in USA, while it’s the norm for visitors to the country.
People have always resisted the idea of government holding too much information about them. It could potentially be used against them to ‘track’ them, let’s say, in case they participate in political dissent.
But not much resistance has been offered to the registration drive so far. Probably most Indians are okay with it, or do not realize potential dangers.
Ref : http://www.economist.com/node/21542814
http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21564861-fifty-years-after-nasty-high-altitude-war-border-dispute-remains-unresolved
http://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/it/fast-start-for-worlds-biggest-biometrics-id-project/0
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/biometric-data-recording-underway-in-phased-manner/article3887984.ece
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-biometric-data.htm
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/12/biometric-id-systems-grew-internationally-2012-and-so-did-concerns-about-privacy
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