The Hindu : National : Slow-moving multipurpose ID scheme now in maintenance mode

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Wednesday, Apr 16, 2008
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National

Slow-moving multipurpose ID scheme now in maintenance mode

Vinay Kumar

NEW DELHI: Launched as an ambitious project of the National Democratic Alliance regime in 2003, the Multipurpose National Identity Card (MNIC) scheme has made slow progress in about a dozen States, where nearly 12 lakh citizens were provided with cards till March 31 this year.

Now — from April 1 to March 31, 2009 — the scheme will be put in “maintenance mode” and another two lakh cards issued, according to Home Ministry sources.

2011 census

The United Progressive Alliance government has already set up a Group of Ministers headed by Pranab Mukherjee to decide on the modalities of the national rollout of MNICs. The Home Ministry says that as a census will be conducted in 2011, the data collected during the elaborate exercise could be used for preparing and handing over MNICs to citizens.

Keeping in view the enormous logistics and financial requirement for the national rollout, the Ministry has proposed data collection for preparation of the National Population Register (NPR) along with the 2011 census, say the sources.

Photographs and finger biometrics will be integrated with the individual records after the creation of the NPR and assigning of the National Identity Number (NIN) to each resident.

A Rs. 300-crore outlay has been approved for the preparation of the NPR during the 11th Plan and for 2008-09 another Rs. 5 crore earmarked for development of indigenous technology for multilingual data search, extraction and matching of fingerprints.

To understand the complexities involved in giving identity cards along with technical specifications needed for the national rollout, a pilot project of the MNIC has been under implementation in 12 States and one Union Territory, covering nearly 31 lakh people.

As many as 20 MNIC centres have been set up in the pilot areas equipped with hardware and software. The National Informatics Centre (NIC) has been offering assistance in providing connectivity for data transfer, software development and cyber security of data base. The MNIC centres will run for another year for updating the citizen database for changes in names, marital status and addresses.

The pilot project has been under implementation in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry.

The Citizenship Act, 1955 was amended in 2003 and Section 14A was inserted, providing that the Centre compulsorily register every citizen and issue the National Identity Card. However, the MNIC scheme, envisaged on an elaborate scale, was launched as a pilot project before its national rollout was decided on by the government.

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