1.

INTRODUCTION
a. Unique Identification (UID) project was initially created by the Planning
Commission as an initiative that would provide identification for each
resident across the country and would be used primarily as the basis for
efficient delivery of welfare services.
b. The Unique ID or UID will be a numeric that is unique across all 1.2 billion
residents in India.
c. In older identity systems, it was normal to load the ID number with
information related to the date of birth, as well as the location of the person.
d. However this makes the number susceptible to fraud and theft, and migration
of the resident quickly makes location details out of date. The UID will be a
random number.
The UIDAI will also be collecting the following data fields and biometrics for issuing
UID:a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.

1.1.

Name.
Date of birth.
Gender.
Father's/Husband's/Guardian's name and UID (optional for adult residents).
Mother's/Wife's/Guardian's name and UID (optional for adult residents).
Introducer's name and UID (in case of lack of documents).
Address.
All ten finger prints, photograph and both iris scans.

Historical Background of the UIDAI project

The concept of unique identification (UID) was first discussed and
worked upon since 2006 when administrative approval for the project
Unique ID for BPL families was given on March 3rd, 2006 by the

Department of Information Technology.

This project was to be implemented by the NIC over a period of 12
months. Subsequently, a Processes Committee to suggest processes for
updation, modification, addition and deletion of data fields from the
core.

1.2

Benefits of having UID (Unique ID):

Unique IDs would help in better delivery of government services like

Rozgar Yojana, Self- Employment, banking and investment services,
health facilities and different schemes offered by the government.

A single document with multiple information integrated to strengthen

national security and social security for citizens, a useful means for
citizens to access multiple government and private services and
benefits, and an easier and safe means for entities to offer services,

employment, etc.
It would enable to create a one point source of information hub and
would include important information about each citizen.
It can help to clear off redundancies in the existing multiple ID proof
system and save time, resources and energy of the citizens and country.

2. EXISTING SYSTEM
In India, multiple identification proof cards are being issued to its citizens. Each of
these existing ID proofs have limited use. Here we would highlight about widely used
identification proofs by the citizens of India:

2.1

Pan cards
PAN is an all India, unique number of 10 characters allotted by the Income
Tax Department. It is permanent for the tax payers and does not change with
change of address or station, or change of Assessing Officer, etc.
The current PAN is a ten digit alphanumeric number system that uses

soundex algorithm to prevent multiple allotments to same person.

Close to 70 million cards have been issued till date.
Use of PAN has grown beyond its original role as a taxpayer
identification number. It is also necessary to quote PAN for obtaining a
mobile connection and credit card. It is one of the numbers used by
banks for KYC.

Passport

2.2.

Passport is one of the most acceptable and widely used proof for

identification/address proof/ age proof both in India and outside.

Very few bogus passports exist as the verification process is extremely robust.

Voter ID card

2.3

Following are the necessary documents which have to be submitted for the
voter ID card:
1. Proof of residence (Ration Card, Electricity Bill)
2. Photo identification (Passport/Drivers license)
3. Age proof (Passport/Birth Certificate/Drivers license)
The data is further segregated at the assembly constituency level to a cluster
of houses in each assembly. This, together with the above information enables
them to trace each individuals address for future correspondence/updating of
the database.

2.4

Ration Card
Ration cards have been issued by the government allowing the holders to
obtain access to the public distribution shops for essential items. Though many
people could not get ration cards it is relatively widespread, with about 220
million Indians having ration cards. However, with the waning importance of
public distribution of late, especially in the cities, its importance has
diminished.
Procedure:The application form (Form no 1) can be obtained for making a new consumer
card from any Circle Office on payment of 50 paisa. Application form for Blue
card is supplied free of cost. Same can be downloaded and presented in the
form of duly filled hard copy at your Circle Office on any working day
between 9.30 to 1:00 pm.

3. PROPOSED SYSYTEM
By UID project we propose that the UID Aadhar will become the single source of
identity verification for all. After enrolling the number can be used multiple times and
the residents would be spared the hassle of repeatedly providing different identities
each time they wish to access services such as : Bank account
Passport

Driving license
Pan card
Voter Id

The UID project provides the following facilities and easy access to services by
providing a single unique identification number and replacing the existing system of
multiple identities:a. Getting new telephone, mobile or internet connection.
b. Subsidies on food, energy, education etc. to people who are entitled to receive
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.

them.
Opening bank accounts.
New light or gas connections.
Getting a passport.
Driving license and store your traffic violation records.
Electoral card.

There are some other facilities that the proposed system will bring forth for all the
residents of India:

The aadhar will also facilitate entry for poor and underprivileged residents into

the formal banking system.

The opportunity to avail services that are provided by the government and

private sector.
The aadhar will also give migrants mobility of identity.
It also provide government with accurate data on residents.
It allows direct benefit programs.
It allow government departments to coordinate investments and share
information.

4. METHODOLOGY
Enrolment into the UID System:

A critical aspect of the UID enrolment process is that enrolment will not be
through a mandate, but will be demand driven. The UID will come from
residents enrolling in order to access the benefits and services associated

with it.
The basic advantage of the UID that can drive this demand, which will be
communicated while promoting enrolment, is that the UID will be one,
which can be used to prove identity for life.

Once the resident gets the unique ID, it may be accepted as identity proof
across the nation.

The Enrolment process:-

4.1.

The enrolment process for the UDI number will start with a individual
submitting his/her information to the enrolling agency with other

supporting documents.
This information will be verified according to the prescribed verification
procedure as per the DDSVPC Report (Demographic Data Standards and

Verification Procedures Committee).

To make sure the poor individuals are not excluded, the UIDAI (Unique
Identification Authority of India) has prescribed separate guidelines for

applicants without documents.

Once the enroller verifies the resident's information, it will submit the
application request to either singly or in batches i.e. to the Registrar to the

CIDR (Central Identities Data Repository).

The CIDR will then run a rechecking process, comparing the resident's
biometric and demographic information to the records in the database to

ensure that the resident is not already enrolled.

Since rechecking process also compares biometric records, it would catch

individuals enrolling with a different set of demographic details.

The fact that the UID system is both rechecking process and universal will
discourage residents from giving incorrect data at the time of enrolment.

4.2.

Ensuring clean enrolment data from Registrars:The UIDAI will periodically carry out a process audit of the information that
comes in from the Registrars, to ensure data quality. The audit might focus on:

Verification against scanned documents The data contained in the resident

records will be verified against the scanned documents.

Physical document verification The physical documents that are held by

the Registrar will be validated against the electronic copies.

Periodic process audits Periodic audits will be carried out to at the
enrolment sites, of the processes and software.

4.3.

Updating information with UIDAI:-

 The UID number is a lifetime number, but the biometric information

contained in the central database will have to be regularly updated.

Children may have to update their biometric information every five years,

while adults update their information every ten years.

From time to time, the demographic information that the CIDR holds on the

resident may also become outdated.

Fields that is necessary to change could be the 'present address' field, as well

as the resident's name (after marriage).

There might also be an error in the fields that occurred during enrolment into

the UID.
So it is necessary to update the information in central database time to time.
The service provider may make the update a condition for the resident to

receive the service/benefit.

The resident will have to submit their new information at these updating
points with the required documentary evidence. This may also include a
biometric authentication prior to processing the request.

4.4. Tracking enrolments across the country: The UIDAI will employ a GIS internet-based visual reporting system to track
enrolment trends and patterns across India, as the project is rolled out across
various Registrars and states.
The GIS system will show all UID enrolments by state.
The system will also be able to drill down within states and into districts.

Reaching a sustainable, steady-state in enrolment:A challenge for full enrolment is registering the approximately 60,000 babies

that are born in the country every day.

Over the next several years, the UIDAI expects to enrol close to the entire
Indian population. Once that goal is achieved, enrolment will reach steady
state,

where only births and deaths as well as immigrants need to be

recorded.
There are some challenges in registering new births.

4.5.

The UID in the birth certificate:-

One way to ensure that the UID number is used by all government and private

agencies is by inserting it into the birth certificate of the new born child.
Since the birth certificate is the original identity document, it is likely that this
number will then use as the key identifier through the individual's various life

events, such as joining school, voting etc.

The name is a mandatory field in the UID database, it is essential that the child
be given a name before applying for the UID number. This would ensure that the

UID can also be allotted at birth time.

In the case of urban births, the municipality will be the enrolling authority and
the UID Registrar can be the 'Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriage' at the

state level.
In rural areas, births take place at district or block level hospitals, in health care
centres and at homes in the village therefore the village accountant is the
Registrar of rural births, and he/she also issues the birth certificate and updates
the information.
Protecting privacy and Confidentiality:

The information that the UIDAI is seeking is already available with several

agencies (public and private) in the country.

The additional information being taken by the UIDAI are the finger prints
and iris scans.

5. IMPLEMENTATION
a. The goal of the UIDAI was to implement the necessary institutional, technical,
and legal infrastructure to issue unique identity numbers to residents all across
India and to issue a unique identification number that can be verified and
authenticated in an online, cost effective manner, which is robust enough to
eliminate duplicate and fake identities.
b. The guiding principles for Indian national identity system were laid down by the
former President, His Excellency APJ Kalam: It should be a multipurpose,
secured and authentic ID card.

c. This card should be akin to the Xerox copy of the individual with the multifactor
authentication such as photograph, biometrics-fingerprint, iris-based systems and
digital signature.
d. India with a population of one billion people should be concerned about provided
this card to the citizens at a cost effective.
e. Various databases can be shared and worked upon among the partners through
information technology based systems.
f. The public- private partnership model has also been suggested by Dr Kalam and
some other countries have already explored use of public-private partnership
models for their respective national identity programmers. The proposed
integrated registration system would consist of three subsystems:

The enrolment system

The smart card

The technology platform

At another level the proposed system would comprise two layers:

The legal, administrative and regulatory framework

The business model and technology platform

In light of above discussions, the contours of an integrated registration system to

provide a unique, but multipurpose identity are as below:

5.1.

The Rollout: Registrars and Enrollment Agencies

In addition to the UID Authority itself, State and Union governments also play
an enormous role in the rollout of the UID program. The UIDAI is responsible
for setting the standards and processes for enrollment, but it is the
responsibility of the States and the Union Territories to identify Registrars and
provide the resources necessary to fulfill on the enrollments. State
departments, such as the Rural Development Department or the Civil Supplies
and Consumer Affairs Department act as partners with the UIDAI and sign
MOUs that articulate the States commitment to enhance efficiency in
delivery of government benefits and services through accurate identification of
beneficiaries and to have uniform standards and processes for verification and
identification of beneficiaries.

5.2

Trusted partners
A trusted partner would be a government department or a private

organization,

which has huge and comprehensive data used in their business and

agree to

participate in the national identity program. As a part of their

responsibility. At
obtain, digitize. And
program. Some

the time of enrolling their clients, the trusted partners will

transmit information required for the national identity
Examples of trusted partners are schools, colleges &

motor licensing authorities

5.3

Exception Handling
With any biometric or citizen identification system, it is important to consider
Challenges associated with capturing biometric data. As stated earlier, finger
print of day laborers can get worn and difficult to capture. Iris capture is not
without its challenges either. Indeed, Indias population contains 15 million of
the worlds37 million blind people, often related to cataracts49. While
blindness as a stand-alone condition does not prohibit iris capture, cataracts do
affect the ability to properly capture the iris. Additionally, an unfortunate
number of the population lack eyes due to disease or accidents.

5.4

Smart National IDs

Conventionally, identity cards, which were issued on plain paper, with
photographs pasted and authenticated, have become obsolete. These smart
cards comprise of chips which consist of information about the concerned
individual citizen. E.g. of smartcards are identity badges used to access
buildings; credit cards, debit cards are forms of smart cards. Most of the
existing smart cards have limited usage and are issued by different entities,
thus citizens need to carry a set of cards daily. EMV type smart cards are cost
effective and have benefits of data residing in back end machines.

5.5

Technology should be handed over to private sector

A private entitys cooperation would help in distribution of tasks, leading to
optimum utilization of resources available within the organization. The Data
Network Infrastructure for national ID should be accessible from across the
country and transferable to another state/district/village. Moreover it should be

able to detect any repetitions, errors and frauds. Data Network Infrastructure
could be distributed into data centers:
1. National Data Hub: This hub would form the core base for national ID.
Creation of national hub is essential to begin with the process of national ID.
The hub would be interconnected with regional, state, district, taluka and
village data hubs.
2. Regional Data Hub: Regional data hub would be required for efficient
management of data and would support the national data hub. Moreover, it
IIMA INDIA Research and Publications would be easily accessible for
regional requirements.
3. State Data Hub: State data hub would interconnect districts and taluka level
information of the citizens residing there. These data hubs are easily accessible
to citizens, state government and organizations located within the state.
4. District Data Hub: These hubs would be useful to maintain, update and
make changes in primary data.
5. Taluka Data Hub: This hub would be the database of citizens residing within
the taluka and a support to government and organizations in reaching their
services effectively.
6. Village Data Hub: Village data hubs would be supporting the above tiers.

5.6

Accuracy
In January 2012, the UIDAI issued a report on the accuracy achieved by the
UID system Based on the 84M UID numbers that had been issued as of
December 31, 2011. The UID release the report in the hopes of dispelling
concerns and misinformation on the accuracy and reliability of the system.
Indeed, the report states that the results lay to rest unfounded claims that the
underlying technology is untested.

5.7

Authentication Applications
One of the main objectives of the UID program is to be able to accurately
identify people at various points of service and enable them to receive the
services they are entitled to. Most of the visible effort to date has the process
of becoming an AUA is extensive. First, an entity must identify the service

delivery areas for which they would like to authenticate people. AUAs
carrying out direct cash disbursement can utilize the Aadhaar Payments Bridge
(APB), a platform that was developed with the National Payments Corporation
of India (NPCI) as a mechanism of posting payments directly to beneficiaries,
in order to avoid state level disbursement of government to person payments
(G2P). The APB acts as an aggregator for various government entitlements.
Once an account is credited, beneficiaries can withdraw money using the
Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS).

5.8

Maintaining and Updating the Database

By allowing the unique identification number to fulfill the Know Your
Customer (KYC) norms for services such as banking, taxation, insurance,
social security delivery, and other critical functions, it becomes absolutely
necessary to maintain and update the information. The two types of
demographic and biometric data stored in the CIDR are either timeless
information such as gender and birthdate or data that changes with
circumstance and age. Ensuring that the latter is continuously updated is of
paramount importance in maintaining the integrity of the database.

Conclusion
India is the first country in the world which has initiated a challenging project to
implement biometric-based unique ID system.
The UID system will empower the resident with single, nationally accepted
and verified identity and elimination of unnecessarily costs of identification
and inconvenience.
It will also facilitate the government to have a clear view of Indias actual
population, social deprived sections, and real beneficiaries of social welfare
schemes, formulate new social development plans and policies on targeted
population, monitor money and resource flows within various sections of
society across the country.
Being a new system that too on such a large pollution of about 1.21 billion, the
UID has certain risks like highly dependent on technological solutions to
manage

enrollment,

de-duplication,

and

authentication

simultaneously and completely online using CIDR.

of

residents

 From a very high-level system design standpoint, a biometric framework has four
main aspects: enrollment, database management, exception handling and
verification. Each of these has unique elements that have to be care considered.
For example, it is critical from a multi-biometric perspective that all biometrics
captured from one individual are linked correctly in that particular record and not
mismatched. On the database side, particularly for a project the size of Andhra
Pradesh, the system must be designed to manage proper throughputs and to
accommodate scalable workflows.
The technology that was originally selected was clearly not appropriate for this
use. The original workflow as well could not support real time responses, which
contributed to opportunities for fraud.
On the enrollment side, quality control is absolutely critical to the accuracy of the
results that the system will generate. This includes the quality of the data and also
the integrity of the data, and having checks and balances in place to prevent
operator error and fraud.
As implied before, quality control includes operator errors, whether purposeful or
not. In fact, one clear lesson is the need for appropriate incentives for high-quality
enrollment, including payment only for actual cards or benefits issued. On the
policy side, there was not sufficient clarity as to which families should be included
or excluded in the ration card program. This resulted in the genuinely poor being
excluded at higher rates. There were also no controls in terms of the use of a
singular identity for multiple programs, so people were able to game the system
by UID).