

1.2bn population of India to be given biometric ID cards - shykes
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/16/india-population-biometric-id-cards

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furyg3
_Eventually, cards will hold the person's name, age, and birth date, as well
as fingerprint or iris scans_ [...]

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.

------
known
Govt of India is risking $30 billion tax payers money on Multi-purpose
National Identity Card project. <http://www.no2id.net/>

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.

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ijiouniu
Because identity theft is india's major problem ?

~~~
ajju
Actually identity is a HUGE problem in India. Each department from the DMV
equivalent to the one that provides subsidized food to the poor to the
passport office require different forms of identification. Since corruption is
frequent and bureaucratic bullshit as rampant as anywhere else, this makes
getting anything that requires govt. involvement very difficult and expensive
for poor people. 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.

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.

~~~
justlearning
"Crooks use identity theft to claim this stuff on behalf of poor folks and
sell it at higher prices in the market"

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....).

~~~
boundlessdreamz
He was correct too. There have been incidences when the ration card has been
forged when the rightful owners were never given one.

