With the objective of enabling the common man to access all Government services through a single system, Collector U. Sagayam has proposed the introduction of a multi-purpose smart card, which would contain all details of the card holder right from name, address and community to profession and land holdings.
Pilot basis
According to officials who were briefed about the project, the Collector had evinced interest in implementing the project on a pilot basis at Kottanathampatti village in Melur block.
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The village, which has a population of 2,940 as per 2001 census, has been declared as a ‘Model Village' by the Collector. Mr. Sagayam has urged bankers in the district to come up with a software that could enable a smart card to hold all these details. He has suggested that technology of these cards should be capable of instantly updating any subsequent changes in the card holder's status.
At present, banks are in the process of disbursing biometric-enabled smart cards in various villages of the district to enable those in rural areas to access their bank accounts from their villages through Business Correspondents (BCs).
The Business Correspondents have been provided with a hand-held device to read these smart cards and allow the villagers to withdraw or deposit cash.
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The Old Age Pension is going to be the first Government scheme to be accessed through smart cards as pensioners would soon be able to draw their pension from their locality.
New software
However, a banking official said, the existing smart cards could hold only limited data and a new software would have to be developed to incorporate the features suggested by Mr. Sagayam. While the bank responsible for Kottanathampatti village has been asked to pursue the project's feasibility with its IT department, efforts were likely to be taken to rope in National Informatics Centre, the premier institution of the Central Government for providing e-Government solutions.