Identity will help the poor participate in economic growth: Nandan Nilekani ……….Shelley Singh & Pramugdha Mamgain
Unique Identification Authority of India chairman Nandan Nilekani spoke to Shelley Singh & Pramugdha Mamgain soon after the launch of Aadhaar the new brand identity for the UID project. Excerpts:
What difference does this make to the country?
Fundamentally, lack of identity is an obstacle, especially for the poor and the marginal in India to participate fully in the economic and social growth. Identity becomes a bottleneck if one wants to have a ration card, driving licence, passport, bank account or a mobile connection. This problem is compounded as large number of people do not have birth certificates. UID number will help bring financial inclusion to the poor, regardless of where they live and give better mobility within the country. It will enable poor residents to access multiple resources including education, health and financial services.
How can the UID help in financial inclusion?
The government plans to issue 600 million Aadhaar numbers over the next four-and-a-half years through various registrar
agencies. UIDAI is also in talks with banks to make sure that the Rs 100 is directly credited to peoples bank accounts. This way, people who are not financially included will also be allotted a bank account number.
agencies. UIDAI is also in talks with banks to make sure that the Rs 100 is directly credited to peoples bank accounts. This way, people who are not financially included will also be allotted a bank account number.
NGOs will act as introducers to make sure enrolment happens across the country. Have you identified any NGO so far?
We are having a series of civil society outreach initiatives. We would like to work with NGOs who will act as outreach partners. We have been conducting meetings in Ahmedabad, Guwahati and Delhi on the same. They know these people and are aware of the challenges and will work with us and registrars to enrol the homeless into our system.
A childs fingerprint do not develop till the age of 15. How are you tackling this problem?
There are many reasons for taking the iris test. One reason is, we can start biometrics at a younger age. Well be posting a document on our website shortly, which will explain the iris rationale. The identity number will help get a child admission in school. Other biometrics will be added once the child attains the age of 15.