1.2bn population of India to be given biometric ID cards
guardian.co.uk
guardian.co.uk
Arg. Why are they putting this info on the flipping cards?
I just can't understand why these types of ID systems are implemented in an era where it's so easy to hack/crack/counterfeit anything that was made more than six months ago. No system should involve the object which is to be verified presenting you with the credentials through which to verify it.
Cards should be as dumb as possible: They should have a unique ID printed on them. Done. Information on the cards is for the cardholder, not for the verifier. Thus, it may be nice to put the name of cardholder on there, possibly a birth date, so that people don't get cards mixed up. A expiration sticker may also be desirable to remind the cardholder he/she needs to renew.
Anything else you put on there (pictures, descriptions, fingerprints, etc) is dangerous because it will tend to make officials trust the cards, which is exactly what we don't want. We also don't want anything on there which could be useful for someone else (baddies) to know.
No holograms, UV stripes, smart cards, etc are necessary, unless you think they're pretty and like spending money. People should be able to auth just by remembering their number.
I think it is prudent to issue PASSPORTS to all Indians at a subsidized nominal fee of 10 rupees.
30 million Non-Resident-Indians have sent $10 billion to India last year.
By the way identity theft is a huge problem too but not in the way that you think. The government subsidizes a lot of stuff for poor people (sugar, kerosene, cooking gas) and naturally there is a per person quota. Crooks use identity theft to claim this stuff on behalf of poor folks and sell it at higher prices in the market. Although the problem has become significantly less serious since India liberalized its economy (due to various reasons), it is still a significant problem.
may i suggest- what you 'think' as identity theft is plain old black marketing after stocking up piles of 'stuff' supposed to be in hands of the poor. They don't steal the identity of the poor(or middleclass or..) They sell tons of subsidized rice/wheat and other rations at market (or above) prices (to the people whom it was actually subsidized for!). So identity theft, not!.
"The hope is that these IDs will replace all forms of identification and store information that will let all these departments use the same card."
Nandan Nilekani and the hype of id-cards. What happened to the election card? wasn't that supposed to be "the" card to identify anyone/everyone. Then everyone finds out - if you are registered in one state, you are an alien if you move to another state. So phase it out and bring the pan card. Wasn't the pan card supposed in a similar us ssn -unique to everyone? These experiments have failed, so now to the next experiment with hi-tech. So now everyone carries 3-4 identity cards (along with a new card with the new added biometric - 'wow' factor and nice smart chip)
I am not being a pessimist, just realist. It's nice to have this smart card, but implementation and success(as in operability) is questionable. If it works kudos to Nilekani.
having said this, I am curious to know of 'smart cards' implementation in large countries/population. I have seen these smart cards (possess one) in very small countries (singapore,hong kong....).