The Hindu Business Line : Cabinet panel to speed up Unique Identification project

New Delhi, Nov. 3 An 11-member Cabinet Committee to expedite decision-making and implementation of the Unique Identification (UID) project has been constituted.

The committee will have the same status as the CCEA — Cabinet subcommittees enjoy the same power as the Cabinet.

The UID project aims to handout a unique identification number to every Indian resident.

The Government is eyeing a deadline of 12-18 months for rolling out the first set of identification numbers under the project.

Supersedes PM council

Top government sources said that the new Cabinet Committee on Unique Identification (UID) will supersede the Prime Minister’s council for UID, that was formed on August 3, to ensure co-ordination between various Ministries/Departments, stakeholders and partners. It had also been advising the UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) on programme, methodology and implementation; and also tasked to identify specific milestones for early completion of the project.

Sources familiar with the development pointed out that although the PM’s Council was a heavyweight body of Ministers, the decisions still needed to go to the Cabinet. This is because the Council is not a Cabinet body, nor is it an eGOM, sources said, adding that the new committee will address this issue.

“The UID project involves big policy decisions….Decisions, major or minor, have to be ratified…For instance, it involve decision on what programs need to be taken-up first for the purpose of UID,” sources said.

Chaired by PM

The Cabinet Committee on Unique Identification, which will be chaired by the Prime Minister, will include the Finance Minister, Home Minister, External Affairs Minister, Law Minister, Agriculture Minister, Rural Development Minister, and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister.

It will also see the participation of the Planning Commission Deputy Chairman, Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, as well as the UIDAI Chairperson, Mr Nandan Nilekani, who has the rank of a Cabinet Minister.

A provision of Rs 120 crore has been proposed for the project but this is expected to increase as the project gets rolled-out.

Those below the poverty line, people covered under various social schemes, the rural population and urban poor are expected to be the major beneficiaries of this transformational project.

IT market

Apart from the obvious social benefits, UID project is also widely expected to galvanise the domestic IT market (the project requires full technology backbone — massive computing power, database, storage, biometrics among others).

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