Thursday, 17 May 2012
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Analysis, Central Government, E-Government
Privacy concerns shape biggest ID project ever
The government of India hopes to have given half of the country’s residents an identification number within four years of the launch of the most ambitious project of its kind ever attempted. The Unique Identification Authority of India’s (UIDAI) Director General Ram Sharma told FutureGov that the UID project, which is expected to roll out around October this year, will see 600 million residents registered with a unique identity number by 2014, if all goes according to plan.
“Everything is proceeding as per schedule,” Sharma said. “We are in the initial stages of the project where we are setting up the standards, systems, processes and other bits of ICT infrastructure. A project of this magnitude and complexity has never been done anywhere in the world, and there are huge challenges relating to technology, adoption, sustainability and politics. But we are confident we shall overcome these challenges.”
The technology behind the UID project is still being designed, although Sharma said that standards for demographic data and biometrics have already been finalised. Privacy is a major concern, so the system will collect only ‘basic’ demographic information: name, date of birth, gender, address and the parent or guardian’s name. “We will not collect any other information which could potentially be used to create a profile. We do not propose to collect any transaction records either,” Sharma explained.
“At the design stage some privacy concerns have been addressed. However, we share the concern relating to privacy and we feel that a legal framework should be put in place which takes care of these concerns,” he said.
The cost of the project, which observers reckon could eclipse US$5 billion, has not been worked out yet either. However, Sharma said that given the high level of priority the government has made the project, “We do not foresee availability of funds blocking the path to implementation.”
The idea behind India’s UID project is to issue all Indian residents with a unique identification number that can be verified and authenticated in a fast, cheap and easy way, and that is robust enough to eliminate duplicate and fake identities.
The project will involve issuing 1.2 billion people with ID cards. Currently, Indian citizens may have up to 20 forms of identity, including birth certificates, driving licences and ration cards, all of which are relatively easy to forge. No form of identity is universally accepted, which means that if people move from state to state they can become officially invisible – a real problem for poor citizens who rely on state handouts.
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2 Comments
On 18 February 2010 Kris Dev wrote:
The UID data should be complete in itself with all particulars of the individual including blood group, height, weight, etc. and a robust back end must be created to extend support to any / all application ensuring uniqueness, least intrusion and maximum security of data. The UID number should be a encrypted unique random number with a check digit and not known to any one but linked to the biometric of the person.
The encrypted UID number and encrypted biometric data must stored in a secure database and in a smart card and issued to the individual for validating transactions. The card should not have a name, photo, address, etc. No official should have exclusive access to the database. There must be a multiple lock similar to the bank locker which only has dual. If the need arises, the personal data can be obtained only against a court order. This is to ensure the privacy and safety of individual.
The card must be the passport for all transactions including health, housing, education, employment, earnings, spendings, social security, etc. This will ensure the rights of the citizen / resident and at the same time, protect other citizens from terrorism, arms and drug trade, money laundering, corruption, etc.
On 18 February 2010 dr. shankara prasad wrote:
I wish the UID Project has a separate website, where they will upload “on a daily basis”, what is happening, what decisions are being taken and how people who are planning to incorporate the UID into solutions, need to plan.
UID will have significant emotional impact on ALL citizens, both literate and illiterate. A transparent approach to designing the UID will be welcome, since we citizens will be the owners of the ID.
Considering what happened to Bt Brinjal, (Mr. Jairam Ramesh) the more open Mr. Nilekeni is, the less resistance he may face when the actual UID his the public arena.