Registrars are being appointed to carry out the process of issuing ‘unique number’ ID cards to all citizens, Unique Identification Authority of India Chairman Nandan Nilekani said here on Friday.
Speaking at the 5th annual Microsoft India Research Symposium Techvista, he said there would be 1,000 ‘touchpoints’ across the country where citizens could register and a central data base was being created to avoid any duplication of the unique ID numbers.
“We face several technical challenges in implementation. The aim is to bridge the gap between those who possess identification like voter’s cards or property deeds and those now without any identity at all, in the system,” Mr. Nilekani said.
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The Unique ID number would be linked to a database containing biometric fingerprints and photos. The number could be used to access public services like healthcare.
“Besides the online registering process , there can be possibilities like sending the fingerprints through mobile phones for immediate verification. We very much welcome help from organisations such as Microsoft India Research” he said.
Microsoft Research India Managing Director P. Anandan said “the research lab has 56 staff, 23 of them with Ph.Ds, working on a range of subjects including mobility, networking and systems to technology specifically for emerging markets.
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It is to the credit of the researchers that 86 research papers on an average have been published each year.”