Its nice to see that UIDAI is not only back on tracks, but they are now aggressively setting targets to achieve. Here is a statement released by Government yesterday,
The Cabinet Committee on Unique Identification Authority of India related issues (CC-UIDAI) today approved commencement of Phase-Ill of the UID scheme at an estimated cost of Rs.8,814.75 crore which subsumes the earlier approval of Rs.3,023.01 crore, and comprises costs for issue of 20 crore Aadhaar numbers through Multiple Registrars upto March 2012, printing and delivery of 20 crore Aadhaar letters, technology and other support infrastructure cost for creation, storage and maintenance of data and services for leveraging the uses of Aadhaar for the entire estimated resident population upto March 2017.
So, nearly a fifth of all Indian citizens will have an Aadhaar Card by March 2012, and all approvals are in place for that.
Additionally, the UIDAI authority released a press note yesterday clearing the confusion between UIDAI & NPR (National Population Register). It has been decided that NPR and UIDAI enrolments will proceed simultaneously, with suitable provisions to eliminate avoidable overlap.
During NPR registration if a person indicates that he/she has a Aadhaar card, the biometric data will not be captured by NPR. Instead the Aadhaar number/enrolment number will be recorded in NPR and the biometric data will be sourced from the UIDAI.
The committee has also approved that UIDAI will be allowed to enroll additional 40 crore residents beyond 20 crore already approved & funded. Provisions for additional funds for these will be made in the budget for 2012-13 in anticipation thereof.
