My Experience Getting a Unique Identification Number

Sunday, 20 May 2012

By Anshupriya Jha | 20 July 2011 | Permanent link | 0 comments

If you were to count the number of times India’s Unique Identification Number (UID) or Aadhaar (foundation), as it has been named, has appeared in the print/web media after its inauguration, you could end up with the number of individuals the exercise has set out to count.

The UID project has been lapped up by the media as a one-stop solution to all the ills facing this country’s governance. An ambitious project, it will provide a 12-digit unique identification number to all residents, including infants. The UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) website says it will enable identification and universality that will, over time, be recognised and accepted across the country and across all service providers. It will, however, not establish citizenship.

For people in a massive, chaotic country with the unenviable reputation of having issues of Jugaad (read bribery, manipulation, nepotism) within the public sector, this concept of universality is irresistible.

Even with all the requisite supporting documents, applications for identification documents are sometimes turned down citing trivial reasons. Doing it for several documents such as the passport, driving license, ration card, voter ID, Permanent Account Number (PAN) card, an account in a nationalised bank, etc is a drain on resources: time, money, and the day’s wage for the labourer who lives a hand-to-mouth existence.

Moreover, the fact that UIDAI is being headed by a former co-chairman of Infosys Technologies, Nandan Nilekani, has made the educated middle class believe that the project would not be marred by bureaucracy.

The UID seemed to be the answer to all the ills plaguing this system. And therefore, when I saw the slip with the designated date and timings slid through my door, I made sure I turned up at the enrolment centre on time. A long queue greeted me and I realised I was not alone in the pursuit of an Aadhaar.

I overheard a few young men talking about how the police may end up using their number to record each time they violated a red light on the traffic signal and that they may be stripped of their Driving Licence after too many violations. So awestruck were most of the people there with the enormity of the project that they could not help but smile at the seemingly paranoid deliberations of the young men. I too set my apprehensions aside and proceeded with the enrolment.

It was during the school summer vacations this year and a room in a school in the neighbourhood was used to record the details. I handed over the verification document with my details to the enroler who then entered the data into the system and asked me to verify the same. He first clicked a photo of my face and then used iris and fingerprint scanners to scan my eyes and left and right hand fingers respectively. The fingerprint scanner was then used to capture both the thumbs together. The enroler signed the data using his thumb impression and handed over an acknowledgement card to me with the promise that my UID would arrive by post in 2-3 months.

While the scheme has seen several supporters, it has been questioned by an equal number of cynics.

Many eminent researchers have questioned the utility of the project and cited the absence of a cost-benefit analysis to show that though the project talks of better implementation of government schemes, especially for the poor, they have yet to see the claims backed by authentic research. While the government moves forward with digital inclusion, its transparency measures have yet to catch up, according to Professor Rajnish Das of the Indian Institute of Management (Ahmedabad).

On the UID being tipped as being similar to the Social Security Number (SSN) of US residents, R. Ramakumar of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences has been quoted as saying that the two can’t be compared, because SSN was “guided by extremely stringent privacy laws.” This argument suddenly seems to ring true in the wake of the Mumbai blasts on 13 July. Other fears include any violations in the name of security and curbs on personal freedoms.

Yet another factor is that biometric identification may not be able to serve its purpose in case of labourers with fading finger prints due to years of manual labour. The very purpose of linking the UID to social schemes of the government would then be jeopardised.

While the debate rages on, the UIDAI is gradually putting numbers to faces. Let’s wait and watch how it pans out.