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Unique Identity Authority of India chairman Nandan Nilekani has mentioned that the first unique identity of India will be issued in 2010.
"According to the present status of the project, the first UID issuance will take 12 to 18 months from the date of sanction of the project in August (2009). It is likely to cover about 600 million people within five years," Nilekani told reporters here.
He was attending a two-day workshop conducted by Indian Institute of Advanced Study in Shimla.
"In our country, inability to establish one's identity is one of the biggest barriers preventing the poor from availing government welfare schemes. This problem can be tackled by issuing a unique number to each Indian that can be verified by any public authority to establish the identity of the individual," Nilekani said.
"The number given as the unique identity will be linked to the basic information about the individual and his or her biometric information," he said.
He also mentioned that the biometric information will ensure that there is no duplication as the backup system will cross check every entry against each other entry present.
"In the initial stages of the project, the UID will be voluntary and it will ultimately serve as identity proof for all purposes," he said.
