Karnataka might be a pioneering State in IT solutions, but it stands 18th in the country in Aadhaar enrolment.
Delhi ranked first with a coverage of 110.2 per cent, while Assam secured last position (36th rank) with single digit coverage (3.2 p.c.).
Karnataka has covered 84.4 p.c. (5.45 crore) of its 6.46 crore population. Nationwide, more than a billion people have enrolled under Aadhaar, the project envisaged by Nandan Nilekani, former Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) chairman and co-founder of Infosys.
Karnataka scored low rank owing to migration of private agencies to other States and absence of campaign-mode drive, an official in the Karnataka’s Centre for e-governance told The Hindu on Monday. Poor remuneration for private agencies and low turnout of people in enrolling centres also contributed to the State’s position.
By proving legal sanctity to Aadhaar by passing the Aadhaar Act, the official said the enrolment process will gain pace in the coming days. The Deputy Commissioners have been asked to use resources at the disposal to ensure cent per cent coverage by August. Some of the special activities include a special enrolment drive in schools and colleges.
Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh (UT) and Himachal Pradesh fared better than Kerala (9th rank) and Tamil Nadu (21st). Gujarat ranked 27th.
