AADHAAR - UID CARDS

India Post with Aadhaar

Overview :

In India, an inability to prove identity is one of the biggest barriers prting 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. But till date, there remains no nationally accepted, verified identity number that both residents and agencies can use with ease and confidence.

As a result, every time an individual tries to access a benefit or service, they must undergo a full cycle of identity verification. Different service providers also often have different requirements in the documents they demand, the forms that require filling out, and the information they collect on the individual.

Such duplication of effort and ‘identity silos’ increase overall costs of identification, and cause extreme inconvenience to the individual. This approach is especially unfair to India’s poor and underprivileged residents, who usually lack documentation, and find it difficult to meet the costs of multiple verification processes.

There are clearly, immense benefits from a mechanism that uniquely identifies a person, and ensures instant identity verification. The need to prove identity only once will bring down transaction costs for the poor. A clear identity number would also transform the delivery of social welfare programs by making them more inclusive of communities now cut off from such benefits due to their lack of identification. It would enable the government to shift from indirect to direct benefits, and help verify whether the intended beneficiaries actually receive funds/subsidies.

A single, universal identity number will also be transformational in eliminating fraud and duplicate identities, since individuals will no longer be able to represent themselves differently to different agencies. This will result in significant savings to the state exchequer. As an example, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas can save over Rs.1200 crores a year in subsidies now reportedly lost on LPG cylinders registered under duplicate or ghost identities.

The UIDAI – evolving an approach to identity :

The Government of India undertook an effort to provide a clear identity to residents first in 1993, with the issue of photo identity cards by the Election Commission. Subsequently in 2003, the Indian Government approved the Multipurpose National Identity Card (MNIC).

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) was established in February 2009, attached to the Planning Commission. 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.

Features of the UIDAI model :

The UID number will only provide identity:

The UIDAI’s purview will be limited to the issue of unique identification numbers linked to a person’s demographic and biometric information. The UID number will only guarantee identity, not rights, benefits or entitlements.

The UID will prove identity, not citizenship:

All residents in the country can be issued a unique ID. The UID is proof of identity and does not confer citizenship.

A pro-poor approach :

The UIDAI envisions full enrolment of residents, with a focus on enrolling India’s poor and underprivileged communities. The Registrars that the Authority plans to partner with in its first phase – the NREGA, RSBY, and PDS – will help bring large numbers of the poor and underprivileged into the UID system. The UID method of authentication will also improve service delivery for the poor.

Role of Department of Posts :

The Department of Posts has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Unique identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to become a Registrar for enrolment process for UID cards (Aadhaar cards).

Tamil Nadu Postal Circle, which covers both Tamil Nadu State and Pondicherry UT, has already launched the enrolment process in Pondicherry UT on 29/07/2011. The enrolment in Tamil Nadu state is launched at Anna Road Head Post Office under phase I of the project on 25/10/2011. The same has been extended to General Post Office -- Chennai, Mylapore HO, T. Nagar HO and Park Town HO on 01/11/2011.