The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to facilitate close coordination and cooperation on the latter's ambitious AADHAR project, which is primarily aimed at curbing pilferage of PDS kerosene and domestic LPG.
As per the MoU, oil marketing companies IOCL, BPCL and HPCL will act as registrars for the UIDAI on behalf of the Ministry for implementation of the project.
The 12-digit unique number that the UIDAI will generate will be combined with the smart card project of the Ministry for distribution of PDS kerosene and domestic LPG through biometric identification of beneficiaries.
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UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani said Rs.50 would be given to the oil companies for every enrolment done. At present, there were more than 11.5 crore LPG customers in the country and it is envisioned that by the year 2015, there would be 16 crore LPG customers.
“With focus on BPL families and village communities, this partnership will help in de-duplication and authentication,” he added.
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According to a senior Ministry official, the de-duplication process and the online authentication that the UIDAI offered would enhance the efficiency of the oil companies in delivering services to the increasing customer base.
“The biometric smart card-based distribution of PDS SKO [superior kerosene oil] and LPG pilot project will be executed along with the Andhra Pradesh government. The initial pilots would be held in Hyderabad, Mysore and Tumkur. Selected blocks in Pune are also proposed to be covered under the pilot,” the official said.