The Government of India could save over Rs 15,000 crore even if 10 per cent of the money (Rs 1,50,000 crore) spent on food, fertilisers and fuels each year can be saved by identifying and eliminating duplication in recipient data, according to Mr Ajay Bhushan Pandey, Deputy Director-General, Unique Identification Authority of India.

He was speaking at the Institute of Management Consultants of India’s (IMCI) national convention in Mumbai organised in collaboration with the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies on Saturday.

Mr Pandey underlined the cost benefit of the UID programme, which is estimated to cost the Government Rs 18,000 crore, and explained the figure of 10 per cent savings.

“The Government of Maharashtra gives grants to school students from certain segments of about Rs 1,500 crore. A drive was undertaken one year ago, to give those students money directly by getting them to open bank accounts. By the end of the year, they had spent only Rs 1,000 crore and there were no claimants for the remaining Rs 500 crore, because those students don't exist,’’ Mr Pandey pointed out.

With linking of biometric data collected through the UID project to the bank accounts, there would be further tightening of data by avoiding duplication, he said.

“Verification processes have shown that 10 to 15 per cent of the existing data is bogus,’’ he said, citing the case of a drive on enrolment data in schools in Maharashtra, on the basis of which grants for mid-day meals, books and other benefits are awarded.

Underlining the need for capturing biometric data that ensures uniqueness for each individual, he said: “I used to live in Delhi and had a ration card there. When I moved to Mumbai, I got one here. Even in the same place, it is possible to get multiple PAN cards by using a small change in the spelling of the name or change in address. The existing data is not robust enough because they cannot ‘talk' to each other. With the UID data being online, verification to avoid duplication is possible.’’

Focus on weaker segments

The UID programme has so far enrolled 13.3 crore Indians, he said, and is growing at the rate of 10 lakh a day. The focus has been on weaker segments of society to start with.

“The starting point has been remote and rural areas, and in cities it has been the slums. While in Maharashtra, for instance, 30 per cent of the population has been enrolled, the bulk of it is from rural Maharashtra,’’ added Mr Pandey.

In Amravati, 95 per cent of the population has been covered; in Ahmednagar the figure stands at 80 per cent, while it is 70 per cent in Jalgaon, he said.

For de-duplication for each of the 10 lakh people enrolling each day, their biometric data (10 finger prints and eye iris capture) are cross-checked against each person’s data already captured (13.3 crore). This poses huge technological and process challenges, said the UID official.

>gokul.k@thehindu.co.in

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