Unique identity project to take off from Sep 29

Press Trust Of India
Posted on Sep 28, 2010 at 08:53

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New Delhi: With the launch of the 'Aadhaar' number on September 29, India will become the first country in the world to implement a biometric-based unique ID system for its residents on a national scale. The national launch of Aadhaar will herald a new chapter in the efforts of the government in enabling inclusive growth and bringing in greater efficiency and transparency in governance. Aadhaar has the potential to fundamentally transform the service delivery and governance in the country, a statement released by the Unique Identification Authority of India said.

The UIDAI promises to ensure the uniqueness of the Aadhaar numbers through the use of biometric attributes (finger prints and iris), which will be linked to the number.

"This will help agencies and service providers across India clean out duplicates and fakes from their databases. The elimination of duplicate, ghost and fake identities across various schemes is expected to substantially improve the efficiency of the delivery systems by ensuring that the leakages are reduced and the benefits reach the right people," the authority said.

The Adhaar would be launched nationally by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi by distributing the first set of numbers among the villagers of Nandurbar district of Maharashtra. The goal of the UID Mission is to deliver Unique Identification Numbers (Aadhaar) to every resident in the country. In addition, it aims to establish a cost-effective, ubiquitous authentication infrastructure to easily verify these identities online and in real-time. (ibn live)

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