UIDAI outpaces NPR in biometric enrollments

The Unique Identity Authority of India is enrolling applicants faster than the National Population Register project, based on a Home Ministry assessment of the two projects.

The UIDAI and NPR have long battled over the priority and status of their respective biometric enrollment projects. As the Economic Times reports, according to a Home Ministry assessment of the two projects, by the end of March, 2013, the UIDAI had issued over 300 million Aadhaar numbers after enrolling nearly 380 million people, whereas the NPR captured the biometrics of only 120 million

Despite the fact that the UIDAI and the Aadhaar program are making steady progress, there have been some growing pains along the way. Reported previously in BiometricUpdate.com, the biometric data of about 300,000 Aadhaar applicants was lost in Maharashtra as it was being uploaded.

Also, several banks in India have recently come out against a platform created by the UIDAI which would see Aadhaar numbers used to authentication ID before every transaction regarding bank accounts receiving welfare benefits.

Resistance is reportedly rooted in two main concerns: Banks want the UIDAI to bear liabilities related to false identification, and the UIDAI wants banks to reconfigure their existing systems to its interoperable solution.

Earlier this year, the Union Cabinet in India stopped the NPR’s ID card program, finding it quite similar to the Aadhaar program, spearheaded by the UIDAI. The NPR program was working in tandem with the country’s census efforts and was to be used to streamline the delivery of government services and facilitate economic development.

 

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