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| Edited By: Vivek Seal |Source: DNA |Updated: Mar 17, 2018, 03:47 AM IST
The Nandan Nilekani driven Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) would spend Rs 3,000 crore to reimburse the poor, who will not be able to pay for the unique number.
The department would spend the money in the next five years to facilitate the roll out for the “extremely poor”.
“Our budget of Rs 1,900 crore includes Rs 600 crore for technology and the rest to enable it in the current fiscal. Apart from that, we also have an approval from the finance commission of about Rs 3,000 crore to facilitate the numbers to poorest of the poor, who could be daily wage earners etc, and they would be reimbursed with an indicative amount of Rs 100 or so, if they miss out on a days work and or not able to pay for the cost,” Nandan Nilekani, chairman, UIDAI said.
The 12-digit unique number, which has been named Aadhhar, will partner with various registrars, including state governments and other national agencies, and agencies that have a pro-poor focus-such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY).
Currently, the department is executing Proof of Concepts (PoCs) in three states-Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Bihar. These PoCs will enable systems to be tested before the concept is scaled up. The indicative price for the service is pegged at Rs 70-130, but the official refused to confirm it.
The UIDAI plans to complete field testing on enrolment and biometric processes by mid-July. The first Aadhhar is expected to be issued between August 2010 and February 2011, while the authority plans to issue 600 million UIDs over the next four years.
The UIDAI is now looking to aggressively focus on Expression of Interest (EoI) and Request for Proposal (RFP) for biometric and software solutions, as well as for training and certification agencies so to meet its deadline.
On the application side, there has been a consensus for a UID-enabled micro payments solution, which will enable the poor to access and use bank accounts at low cost and remotely, anywhere in the country.
