Unique identification Number UID project

India
In modern times, bureaucratic administration demands that each person be
identified to ensure that they are entitled to call themselves citizens. Without
identification one can neither take on responsibilities, such as voting, nor enjoy
the benefits, such as protection from external or internal threats to well-being.
For good governance, a proper and efficient tab on the residents of a country, a
government should know who the residents of that country are. An identity of a
citizen is important, and more important is that identity of the citizen should be
easily and conveniently available to the government as well. The UID is
supposed to eliminate this problem of identifying a person within a country.

OBJECTIVE :

The purpose of the UIDAI is to “issue a unique identification number (UID) to

all Indian residents that is (a) robust enough to eliminate duplicate and fake
identities, and (b) can be verified and authenticated in an easy, cost effective
way.”
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has been created as an
attached office under the Planning Commission. Its role is to develop and
implement the necessary institutional, technical and legal infrastructure to issue
unique identity numbers to Indian residents.

Year of Estblishment :

The Unique Identity (UID) project undertaken by the Government of India

under the leadership of Mr. Nandan Nilekani as the first Chairperson of the
Unique Identity Authority of India (UDAI) with the rank of the Cabinet
Minister was established on June 25th 2009. Minister. Mr. Ram Sewak Sharma
has been appointed the Director General
Annual Budget
This gives a broad picture of the annual budget outlays vis-a-vis the
expenditure incurred.

Annual Budget 2010-11

Budget Estimated(BE) of UIDAI for the year 2010-2011
Head of Rupees in
 
Account thousands
01 Unique Identification Authority of India  
01.01 Establishment 17,41,200
01.99 Information Technology 24,53,800
Assistance to Registrars for Enrolling
1.02  
Residents
01.02.50 Other Charges 1,30,00,000
01 Total-Unique Identification Authority of India 1,71,95,000
     
Head of Rupees in
 
Account thousands
38.99 Information Technology  
38.99.52 Machinery and Equipment 8,05,000
38.0053 Major Works (Acquisition of Land) 5,00,000
38 Total-Unique Identification Authority of India 13,05,000
     
Head of Rupees in
 
Account thousands
07 Unique Identification authority of India  
  UIDAI Building and CIDR  
07.00.53 Major Works – Buildings 5,00,000
Total Budget 1,90,00,000
Outcome Budget

The extracts of the Outcome Budget 2010-11 of Government of India, Planning

Commission pertaining to Unique Identification Authority of India.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) was created during

2009-10 and a modest start with an expenditure of Rs 30.92 crore was made.
The draft approach to creating Unique Identification Numbers to every resident
in India, concept papers describing the linkages of various welfare schemes
steered by different Ministries/departments of Government of India and reports
of the
Demographic Data Standards and Field Verification Committee and Biometrics
Committee were completed. The preparatory work for the Proof of Concept
Studies and the Pilots were commenced. In the current year the Proof of
Concept Studies and the pilots will be completed and the UID numbers will
begin to be issued. Full scale enrolment of the resident and authentication
services will be commenced towards the end of the year. The Managed Service
Provider will be selected and the Central Data Identity Depository will be
handed over on a long term contract basis. For this budget of Rs 1900.00 crores
allocated during Annual Plan 2010-11. A major part of it is to be used for
reimbursement of enrolment costs to the registrars as also to the residents.

Mission and Timeline

The Mission

The role that the Authority envisions is to issue a unique identification number
(UIDAI) that can be verified and authenticated in an online, cost-effective
manner, which is robust enough to eliminate duplicate and fake identities.

The Timelines

The first UIDAI numbers will be issued over the next 12-18 months counted
from August 2009. The first number would be issued between August 2010 to
February 2011. Over five years, the Authority plans to issue 600 million UIDs.
The numbers will be issued through various 'registrar' agencies across the
country.

Prime Minister's Council

Prime Minister's Council on UIDAI Authority - Subsequently, on 02 July 2009,

the Government appointed Shri. Nandan M. Nilekani as Chairman of the
Unique Identification Authority of India, in the rank and status of a Cabinet
Minister for an initial tenure of five years. Mr. Nilekani has joined the UIDAI as
its Chairman on 23 July 2009. The Prime Minister's Council of UIDAI Authority
of India was set up on 30 July 2009. The Council is to advise the UIDAI on
Programme, methodology and implementation to ensure co-ordination
between Ministries/Departments, stakeholders and partners. The Council
would meet once every quarter. The First Meeting of the Prime Minister's
Council of UIDAI Authority took place on 12 August 2009.

The salient decisions in the PMs council were as follows :

Need for legislative framework
Broad Endorsement of the Strategy
Budgetary Support to partners
Setting Biometric and Demographic Standards
UIDAI Structure Contours Approved
Flexibility in Personnel and other issues
Choose, Deploy and Repatriate Officers
Government Accommodation Eligibility
Broad-banding of posts
Hiring of professionals from Market
Setting up of Global Advisory Councils of PIOs
Interns and Sabbatical Global Procurement
Cabinet Committee

The Government of India issued orders constituting the Cabinet Committee on

UIDAI Authority on 22 October 2009. It is headed by the Honourable Prime
Minister and consists of the Minister of Finance, Minister of Agriculture,
Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Minister of Home
Affairs, Minister of External Affairs, Minister of Law and Justice, Minister of
Communications and Information Technology, Minister of Labour and
Employment, Minister of Human Resource Development, Minister of Rural
Development and Panchayati Raj, Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty
Alleviation and Minister of Tourism. The Deputy Chairman Planning
Commission and Chairman UIDAI are special invitees. The functions of the
Committee, which is headed by the Honourable PM would be as under :

All issues relating to the Unique identification Authority of India including its
organisation, plans, policies, programmes, schemes, funding and methodology
to be adopted for achieving the objectives of that Authority.

What is Aadhaar?
Aadhaar is a 12-digit unique number which the Unique Identification Authority
of India (UIDAI) will issue for all residents. The number will be stored in a
centralised database and linked to the basic demographics and biometric
information – photograph, ten fingerprints and iris – of each individual. The
details of the data fields and verification procedures are available Aadhaar will
be Unique and robust enough to eliminate the large number of duplicate and
fake identities in government and private databases A random number
generated, devoid of any classification based on caste, creed, religion and
geography .
Benifits and Effects on indian Socities :

In India, an inability to prove identity is one of the biggest barriers preventing

the poor from accessing benefits and subsidies. Public as well as private sector
agencies across the country typically require proof of identity before providing
individuals with services. Further, the UID card is supposed to eliminate
duplicate and fake identities and quick and authentic verification of
the identity of a person. Thus, enabling good governance in terms of reaching
out to the people and identifying the persons who are in need of beneficial
schemes of the government.

Some of the essential benefit of UID includes de-duplication of identity and

prevention of identity theft, transparency in the governance process; efficient,
fast and effective method of working of the governance process. Other
benefits of UID include cost- reduction in terms of eliminating repetitive
process of verifying the identity of a person. UID provides an effect
method of identifying a huge number of people who are migrates from one
part of the country to another, and are basically without a proper identification
in that new place.
UID is an effective tool in deter and control the illegal migrants from other
countries.3 Though, UID in India is an inclusive one and provides identity not
only to its citizen but non-citizens as well. India is facing a though problem of
illegal immigrants, mostly from Bangladesh, who are residing in India often
permanently.4 Tracking of foreign nationals is essential in interest of national
security. The UID could be used by employers to verify the identity of a
prospective employee through his/her UID.5 The UID register would, by
verifying entitlements to public services, make it more difficult for those here
illegally to gain access to them, and thus would reduce the “pull factor” the
perception that once in the country people can work and obtain benefits and
public services with impunity. Further, the bonafide non-citizens will find it
easier to establish their own identity quite easily and keep a check on the
companies using illegal migrants as workers.