In Guj, Nilekani pins coastal security on ID project

The country is waiting with bated breath for the implementation of the ambitious Unique Identification (UID) project initiated by the Union government. But Gujarat may well come out on top because of its concerns regarding the identification of residents in the coastal villages of Saurashtra, and of people living in Kutch close to the Pakistan border.

These were among the main concerns articulated at the first meeting between UID chairman Nandan Nilekani and chief minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday. Nilekani also met senior bureaucrats of the state.

Nilekani’s hectic day on Tuesday started with a jog on the IIM campus, followed by a public lecture at Tagore Hall, and a meeting in Gandhinagar in the afternoon. It ended again at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad — his favorite place in the city — where he was putting up for two days.

After a genial talk at the institute about the UID project, Nilekani spoke to DNA about his meeting with the 15th state government for cooperation in the implementation of the project, concerns about Gujarat’s coastal security and how he is getting used to becoming a ‘Cabinet-rank’ minister, from an IT czar. Excerpts:

How was the meeting with the CM and state government officials?
I have been meeting ministers and bureaucrats in all states for the UID project, which is why I also met Gujarat government officials. On Tuesday, I met Modi for around half-an-hour and he showed interest in the project. The meeting was fruitful. The Gujarat government is going to be one of the registrars in the project. Overall, I got a good response from the government and after explaining the whole project, the government is quite keen to participate. I must appreciate the civil service cadre of Gujarat - very sharp. I met the chief secretary, forest officials and several others for around two hours on Tuesday afternoon.

Coastal security formed a good chunk of the discussion?
It is a concern and it was a part of the discussion, as it is a part of the UID project.

When will the first UID be issued?
We have set the target for February 2011 by when we will start issuing numbers.