Smart Card: Genesis of NPR -Governance Now

Smart Card: Genesis of NPR

S K Chakrabarti, deputy director general (NPR)

GN Bureau | June 14, 2012

In the 1960s, a document such as a ration card was taken as an identity proof. Later, when the election commission started issuing the voter identity card, it became the identity document. After the Kargil war, the review committee on security prepared a report recommending that identity cards should be made mandatory. The rationale to make them compulsory was to check illegal immigrants. The government accepted the report in 2001 and we started with a pilot project in 2003.

It took us six years to implement the pilot project, from collecting data to the delivery of smart cards. The outcome of the pilot suggested that proving the citizenship is very difficult in our country. In rural areas, people don’t have even a single document to prove they are citizens of India.

A group of ministers in 2007-08 recommended that we should have a ‘national population register’ (NPR) first. The aim was to have a single database in place. Every department has its own data, but they all work in silos and don’t talk to each other.

So we proposed the unique identity scheme, which originally was based on the amalgamation of three databases – the voter list, the database of public distribution system (PDS) and the below poverty line (BPL) database.

After 26/11, we were asked to pre-pone the rollout. Initially we had to deliver the smart cards in coastal areas. The entire software development was in-house; it was completely indigenous. More than 2.5 million cards have been produced and sent to residents.

Presently we are providing cards to residents because we can add citizenship in the database later. The final decision is yet to be taken. But as per the mandate from the government, we are going ahead. Our main scheme for issuing the smart card is under active consideration by the government.

According to various statements in parliament and the budget speech of the finance minister, it is clear that the government is actively considering issuing smart cards with Aadhaar numbers on them. This will enable a service delivery platform through a single card.

Comments

Other News

‘Oral cancer deaths in India cause productivity loss of 0.18% GDP’

A first-of-its-kind study on the economic loss due to premature death from oral cancer in India by the Tata Memorial Centre has found that this form of cancer has a premature mortality rate of 75.6% (34 premature events / 45 total events) resulting in productivity loss of approximately $5.6 billion in 2022

Days of Reading: Upendra Baxi recalls works that shaped his youth

Of Law and Life Upendra Baxi in Conversation with Arvind Narrain, Lawrence Liang, Sitharamam Kakarala, and Sruti Chaganti Orient BlackSwan, Rs 2,310

Voting by tribal communities blossoms as ECI’s efforts bear fruit

The efforts made by the Election Commission of India (ECI), over last two years, for inclusion of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) communities and other tribal groups in the electoral process have borne fruit with scenes of tribal groups in various states/UTs participating enthusiastically in t

GST revenue for April 2024 at a new high

The gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections hit a record high in April 2024 at ₹2.10 lakh crore. This represents a significant 12.4% year-on-year growth, driven by a strong increase in domestic transactions (up 13.4%) and imports (up 8.3%). After accounting for refunds, the net GST

First Magahi novel presents a glimpse of Bihar bureaucracy a century ago

Fool Bahadur By Jayanath Pati (Translated by Abhay K.) Penguin Modern Classics, 112 pages, Rs 250 “Bab

Are EVs empowering India`s Green Transition?

Against the backdrop of the $3.5 billion Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme launched by the Government of India, sales of Electric Vehicles (EVs) are expected to grow at a CAGR of 35% by 2032. It is crucial to take into account the fact that 86% of EV sales in India were under the price bracket of $2