UID In Jeopardy
The UPA-II's dream project, the Unique Identification Card project that it was very gung-ho about is getting into rough weathers.
First, it was the home ministry that raised serious questions about its reliability. Then the NAC and NHRC have expressed reservations
on Aadhaar saying that it could lead to discrimination against minorities and those who do not have the Aadhaar number, and now
the parliamentary standing committee has also given it a thumbs down.
Therefore, the big question is if the UPA abandoning the project?
This is the thought that all of us are fearful of right now.
Now let us look at the noble cause of the government behind this project in the first place.
Unique Identification System is a system in which every citizen of a country will have a unique 16 digit number, Unique Identification
Number which would not just help the government track down individuals, but would make life far easier for citizens as they
would not have to submit multiple documents each time they want to avail a new service—public, private, government, regulatory authority or law-enforcement agency. This system will contain details like the name, sex, address, marital status, photo, identification mark, and
face biometrics.
Now in how many ways this card could help the people of this country. Other than the identity benefit, the first and the most important benefit that the UID can provide and where most of the corruption takes place in this country is confirmation of the entitlement actually reaching the intended beneficiary. For example, a farmer getting his subsidy or other compensations directly credited in his bank account.
This means that Aadhaar could very well improve the delivery system of the government and therefore control corruption.
The home ministry and the parliamentary standing committee have suddenly woken up and started questioning the credibility of Aadhaar. One of the several questions raised by the home ministry about UID is its unsecured data. Well, how the home ministry is going to get the secured data is beyond my understanding. I bet the home ministry does not have records of all the criminals of this country. We all know the blunders they committed when the ministry disclosed the list of most-wanted criminals living in Pakistan.
It is noteworthy that no previous government scheme has been 100% effective. We all know there are flaws in all of them. Even this project may not be 100% perfect, but after weighing the pros and cons, the good that will come out of this project will definitely outweigh the bad.
I feel there is a serious conspiracy going on to defame the UID and then scrap it altogether. Earlier, we saw Mr. Nilekani being ridiculed on the TV talk shows by trivializing and naming the whole idea as a number project (will number the individuals) and then by various articles in the print media.
We need to be more alert and sensitive about the intentions of those who want to sabotage this project. After all, we have a serious
job in our hand to help the lesser India (India that has neither seen India Shining, nor has seen Bharat Nirman) to help join the mainstream for inclusive growth. India that is up until now irrelevant after 60 plus years of independence. We must stand up and fight for that India. We must fight for that aam aadmi who is nowhere in the picture and has no known existence and dies without a trace. He, who is someone born here without a birth certificate and dies without a death certificate. We must fight for those who even do not know what Aadhaar is and what good it can bring to them.
The opposition parties are also silent on this issue and have not aired their views very clearly. We should question that silence.
Many people feel that the politicians are not going to let this UID happen because that would just reduce their importance.
The civil society is fighting a war against corruption. They should also fight for UID.
The politicians on the other hand have more responsibility as they govern the country and therefore could face Kolaveri Di from the
people of this country if they do not deliver.
Mr. Nilekani really has done a commendable job so far. We must give credit to our prime minister as well for giving Mr. Nilekani all the financial as well as political support.
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