All your 10 fingerprints may be captured or an eye scan done during the upcoming 2011 census that will come in handy for the ambitious government project which aims at giving a unique number to every resident in the country.
The Unique Identification Number (UID) scheme, which is expected to roll out the first number in 12-18 months, will be first conferred on the beneficiaries of the Centre’s flagship programme under the NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act).
But the specific 16-digit number, which will be unique to an individual, will not confer on anyone any rights including citizenship, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Chairman Nandan Nilekani said.
He said “several thousand crores” will be required to fund the scheme but details of who exactly will do the financing are yet to be finalised. He dismissed reports that the project would cost about 1.5 lakh crore.
The UID is a concept designed mainly as an inclusive scheme for the benefit of the poor and the marginalised and for better targeting of anti-poverty and developmental programmes which are now plagued by inadequacies like duplicate and anonymous beneficiaries, he said.
Published - October 16, 2009 03:01 pm IST
