Aadhaar – support

I had been to the Aadhar enrollment center in Vasai today morning and was not pleased with the experience there. For a population of 174396 (indicative population of 8 lacs in the Vasai-Virar region) (Census 2011) Class I town the infrastructure that’s been provided is pretty basic and insufficient. The programme was launched in the Vasai-Virar on the 18th of January 2011 has managed to get only 10% of the population registered (as on 10th July). There are currently 8 stations for the enrollment right now. As per the earlier report, the total number of stations required to complete the process by March ’12 is 23 stations. Clearly they are insufficient for the population of the region.

When the programme was launched, the VVMC planed to create awareness through cable channels and by distributing pamphlets to residential buildings also banners were to be put up giving details of the project. Though the awareness has been created to some extent, the infrastructure required to carry out this exercise is falling short. Vasai has just the two machines at the two centers designated for the purpose – one at the Thesildar’s office in Vasai and one at the Mahanagarpalika office at Diwanmaan. I was at the Diwanmaan office today and this is what was told to me.

• The tokens for enrollment were issued yesterday (15th July)
• Close to 12,000 tokens were issued and enrollment of those will begin next month
• The next round of tokens will be issued in March 2012
• It takes about 20-25 minutes for the enrollment process
• The center does only 30-40 enrollments per day.
• The enrollment need not be done at the closest center, you can do it anywhere in the state.

How to solve this problem, Simple, speak to the corporator in your area and ask them to raise the issue in the council when it convenes next. Hopefully, this will help get more stations in the region and the exercise will be complete at the earliest.

What

Aadhaar is a 12-digit unique number which the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) will issue for all residents. The number will be stored in a centralised database and linked to the basic demographics and biometric information – photograph, ten fingerprints and iris – of each individual.

Why

Aadhaar-based identification will have these features:

• Universality, which is ensured because Aadhaar will over time be recognised and accepted across the country and across all service providers.
• Every resident’s entitlement to the number.
• The number will consequently form the basic, universal identity infrastructure over which Registrars and Agencies across the country can build their identity-based applications.
• Unique Identification of India (UIDAI) will build partnerships with various Registrars across the country to enrol residents for the number. Such Registrars may include state governments, state Public Sector Units (PSUs), banks, telecom companies, etc. These Registrars may in turn partner with enrolling agencies to enrol residents into Aadhaar.
• Aadhaar will ensure increased trust between public and private agencies and residents. Once residents enrol for Aadhaar, service providers will no longer face the problem of performing repeated Know Your Customer (KYC) checks before providing services. They would no longer have to deny services to residents without identification documents. Residents would also be spared the trouble of repeatedly proving identity through documents each time they wish to access services such as obtaining a bank account, passport, or driving license etc.
• By providing a clear proof of identity, Aadhaar will empower poor and underprivileged residents in accessing services such as the formal banking system and give them the opportunity to easily avail various other services provided by the Government and the private sector. The centralised technology infrastructure of the UIDAI will enable ‘anytime, anywhere, anyhow’ authentication. Aadhaar will thus give migrants mobility of identity. Aadhaar authentication can be done both offline and online, online authentication through a cell phone or land line connection will allow residents to verify their identity remotely. Remotely, online Aadhaar-linked identity verification will give poor and rural residents the same flexibility that urban non-poor residents presently have in verifying their identity and accessing services such as banking and retail. Aadhaar will also demand proper verification prior to enrolment, while ensuring inclusion. Existing identity databases in India are fraught with problems of fraud and duplicate or ghost beneficiaries. To prevent these problems from seeping into the Aadhaar database, the UIDAI plans to enrol residents into its database with proper verification of their demographic and biometric information. This will ensure that the data collected is clean from the beginning of the program. However, much of the poor and under-privileged population lack identity documents and Aadhaar may be the first form of identification they will have access to. The UIDAI will ensure that its Know Your Resident (KYR) standards do not become a barrier for enrolling the poor and has accordingly developed an Introducer system for residents who lack documentation. Through this system, authorised individuals (‘Introducers’) who already have an Aadhaar, can introduce residents who don’t have any identification documents, enabling them to receive their Aadhaar.

How

The process to get an Aadhaar is pretty simple residents need to go to the nearest Enrolment Camp to register for an Aadhaar. The resident primarily needs to carry an ID proof and a residence proof – Original : Ration Card , Pan Card or Passport or Driving licence or Any government ID.

Upon registering for Aadhaar, residents will go through a biometric scanning of ten fingerprints and iris. They will then be photographed and given an enrolment number upon completion. Depending on the enrolment agency, residents will be issued an Aadhaar number within 60 to 90 days.