"The facility is ambitious and is sure to make functioning easy from the governance perspective. But at the moment, it is not clear how the government's plan for UID will work out," Bhaskar told IANS.
"There is some kind of certification or guarantee needed from companies that are pooling the database or will be handling it," he said on the sidelines of a seminar on cyberspace and democracy at the India International Centre here.
UIDs, the UPA government's flagship programme chaired by Nandan Nilekani, seeks to accord each Indian a unique identification number.
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is the nodal agency which has appointed registrars across the country to facilitate the enrolment process. Registrars, typically government departments and public sector organisations, have in turn appointed the agency to collect data.
Over 200 such agencies, including Wipro, Comat Technologies, Alankit and Virgo Softech, are involved in enrollment and will issue a 12-digit number.
Within the proposed process, it is to be delivered in 20-30 days at the person's address by speed post, after verification of biometrics and demographic data. Data verification is done by the authority under a centralised system.
"The immediate threat may not be realised now. But in a span of next five years, when the cards will be rolled out completely, we may also witness cases of cyber mischief such as hacking," Bhaskar said.
He further warned that cybermischief may also evolve into cybercrime that poses serious threat to country's national security.
While the UID guarantees uniqueness and a universal identity through a centralised online identity verification process, experts point out that biometric information such as iris scan and fingerprinting lead to a misuse of an individual's personal information.
Experts have also raised concerns on the number getting misused by anti-socials such as terrorists, since they can get it issued through fake identities during large-scale enrolments.
"If the key to the database is owned by non-sovereign entities, then we really need certification and stronger laws that sort the issue of licensing of the UIDs," Bhaskar concluded.
The UID cards are expected to ease the administrative pathway for citizens, as one card will serve all purposes related with identification.
Currently, on average, 150,000 enrolments are done each day. The number of enrolments is expected to reach six million per day by October. The task, therefore, is daunting, since the latest data places the country's population at 1.21 billion.
By DNA Correspondent | Place: Bangalore | Agency: DNA
The Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI) will begin issuing Aadhaar numbers to Bangaloreans from August 17 to 30 through its special centres.
During the first phase, 120 stations will be set up across the city. This will be increased to 1,100 stations during the last phase.
Considering the city's vast population, services will be available for the general public from 8am to 8pm and 10pm to 6am at select BangaloreOne centres.
During the second phase of the registration process (August 30), day walk-in centres through appointment-based registrations will be available.
Centres will also be set up at various institutions for employees and their families. Institutions and corporate houses wishing to set up enrolment centres in their office premises can request the UIDAI for the same.
"This will be an opportunity for people to avail as they do not have to queue up at post offices. UIDAI will be coming to your locality. All you have to do is bring an address proof and an age proof and register yourself," said MN Vidyashankar, principal secretary to the government, department of IT, BT, S&T and e-governance.
Each area or centre will have five to ten stations, based on the population of the area, where the general public can register for the UID.
"A call centre will be set up for people to enquire on the nearest enrolment centre details, status of enrolment and documents to be carried for enrolment," Vidyashankar said.
Aadhaar registrations were almost completed in Tumkur and Mysore districts, he said.
"The journey was a learning process for us. For instance, during the initial stages in Tumkur, some people used to sell registration forms. Responding to complaints, we booked criminal charges and arrested them. After that, there had been no problems," he said.
Even though a few people opposed UID in these districts, perception towards the system was positive. "We have managed to complete registrations of over 95% of the population in these districts and the number speaks for itself. Aadhaar is a genuine scheme that will help us weed out malpractices in terms of multiple pan cards, multiple gas connections and so on," he said.
UIDAI would also be setting up permanent centres in order to accommodate people who are living outside the state.
http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_bangaloreans-need-not-queue-uida_1575114
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