vIndian.com (Aug. 18, 2009) — The government has planned to allot a unique identity to each citizen in a bid to target social security services as well as assure internal security.
Nandan Nilekani is the head of Unique Identity Authority of India, can issue identities to the 1.16-billion populations, which is laudable, but a very long-term exercise.
He could be looking for: databases of PAN card, passport, driving license, ration card, voter I-card and so on.
But the first three cover only a small part of the population and the ration card data is subsumed in voter card data. The database of voters is a credible starting point. Almost 586 million people have this card.
But there is another database which is equally powerful: the 427 million mobile subscribers, which have been verified by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). But all are not mean subscribers. Some have more than one connection. Research firm Gartner estimates that 10 percent of connections fall in this category.
So now we have two large databases, one with 586 million people in it and the other with 350 million people. There will be common entries in these two databases.
A de-duplication expert at IIT Bombay, reckons when such databases are merged and the common entries removed then the size of the database can become half or even one-fourth of the total entries. That number is 312 million.
Further Reading- Hackers nab card data from 200000 Citi customers – The Associated Press
- Citi Data Theft Points Up a Nagging Problem – New York Times
- Consumer Agency to Post a Database of Unsafe Products – New York Times
- Sirius finds a reason for some optimism – MarketWatch
- Your DNA particulars may shortly be with Govt
- Smart cards to replace ration cards in Haryana – Times of India
- Smart cards to replace ration cards in Haryana – Times of India
- O2 XDA II – Price in India & Features
- Taxpayer-ID Theft Climbs Despite IRS Crackdown – Bloomberg
- Taxpayer-ID Theft Climbs Despite IRS Crackdown – Bloomberg
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