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According to Nandan Nilekani, chairperson of the newly set-up Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI), the aim of the project is to provide each Indian an identity card. He also added that this will help to eliminate fraud.
The new authority would help end ID card duplication by creating a network of verification and authentication, Nandan Nilekani, co-founder of IT major Infosys, told the reporters after meeting Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa.
"A major problem today with identity is that many (government) systems have lot of duplicates leading to fraud," he said.
Yeddyurappa felicitated Nilekani on his new assignment. Nilekani had quit the Infosys co-chairman's post and also from the company's board on July 9 following his appointment as head of the UIAI.
The UIAI would create a national database of Indian residents. It would use bio-metrics, fingerprints and other methods necessary to ensure people have a unique number. This would end the problem of duplicates, he added.
On the time the authority would need to complete the process, Nilekani said: "First I have to find an office." A hunt is on at Delhi for office premises for the new authority, which will function under India's Planning Commission, which is headed by the prime minister.
