Bangalore: A committee will decide on the
set of biometrics in issuing the unique identification
numbers, head of the ambitious project Nandan Nilekani today
said.
The numbers would be unique and accorded to an
individual based on a set or combination of his unique
biometrics and would carry minimalistic demographic
information relating to his name and address, the Unique
Identification Authority of India chairman said.
Addressing the platinum jubilee meeting of the Indian
Academy of Sciences here, he said a biometric committee would
decide on the combination of biometrics that would be used to
decide the number. It could be a combination of fingerprints
of all 10 fingers, an iris scan and a facial photo.
The system would contain one large database,
comprising the unique identification number of one billion
plus population. "It would not entitle the holder to any
rights of entitlements nor be a proof of his citizenship or
nationality," he clarified, adding it would provide no
additional information on his income, caste or religion.
UIDAI will authenticate IDs online. A bank and a
service provider could check an individual's by asking him to
log his fingerprint and other biometrics and connecting it to
the master database that would verify whether the person is
who he claims to be.
The first rollout is expected to take place next year
and 600 million would be covered in five-and-a-half years, he
said.
Bureau Report
First Published: Thursday, November 12, 2009, 23:35