History and Current status of the national ID card implementation process.

A National Identity Card scheme for India, referred to as the Multi-Purpose National Identity Card or MNIC, was first initiated in 2002 by the NDA government under Prime Minister A.B Vajpyee and was then continued by the current UPA government led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The UPA government initiated a pilot project of the MNIC scheme in 2008 in 13 districts of 12 states and one Union Territory wherein more than 1.2 million identity cards were issued to people above 18 years of age and in order to facilitate the national ID card project, Section 14A was inserted in the Citizenship Act, 1955 to issue a national identity card to every citizen of the country.

The MNIC project took on a new life after the terrorist attacks in Mumbai on November 26th 2008, coupled with the concerns surrounding illegal immigration and a new body, the Unique Identification Authority of India or UIDAI, headed by Nanden Nilekani, was established on January 27th 2009 to hasten the process of the implementation of the National ID card. The Interim budget presented Mr. Pranab Mukherjee on the 16th February 2009 allocated Rs. 100 Crore towards the establishment of the National Authority of Unique Identity under the National Planning Commission.

The first phase of the National ID car implementation by the UIDAI is expected to cover nine states and four union territories. National ID cards are to be issued to people living in the coastal villages of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal. The Union Territories of Dadar and Nagar Haveli, Lakshadweep, Puducherry and Andaman & Nicobar Islands shall also be covered in this first phase expected to deliver the identity cards by early 2010. Numerous firms are interested in securing contracts for the implementation of the National ID card in India as such a massive IT project promises to deliver large profits to any companies involved in the implementation of the scheme. Firms, which are interested in the National ID card scheme, include TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies, along with smaller players like Spanco, Bartronics, Gemini Traze and NXP Semiconductors.

The final goal of the Nationl ID card project is to provide every citizen in the country with a national ID card and unique identifying number linked to a comprehensive database which is operated and controlled by the UIDAI by 2012. The UIDAI will be responsible for “creating and maintaining the core database and to lay down all necessary procedures for issuance and usage of UID including arrangements for collection, validation and authentication of information, proper security of data, rules for sharing and access to information, safeguards to ensure adequate protection of privacy and all aspects related to all of these issues.”