UIDAI to refresh data collection process in second phase

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) will be refreshing its data collection process by including the best finger detection and multiple-try method in the second phase of enrolment in April, the agency's chairman Nandan Nilekani said Tuesday.

"We have got the mandate to add another 400 million people. So we felt it was a good opportunity for us to take stock of all our achievement, examine all our process, technology, our audit etc. and see how we can make any slight improvements or tweaks.

And then we definitely intend to roll it out by April," Nilekani told reporters here. The UIDAI has collected data for 20 crore people in the first phase.

"We will be conducting multiple tries which means you try the finger two three times and it will work better. Second thing is we are conducting best finger detection. Out of your ten fingers which one can give the best authentication so we have prepared a software for that," he added.

Asked about the Home Ministry's security concerns, Nilekani said: "We will certainly. As part of our refresh strategy, we are going to look at all aspects, including the security issues."

Recently the Home Ministry had written a note to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh mentioning that the UIDAI data is not reliable, stating that anyone can get himself registered under any name and address.

About reports that the Food and Public Distribution Ministry had ignored the Nilekani task force report making UID central to information technology reforms in the public distribution system (PDS), he said that UID had been receiving excellent corporation from all the ministries.

"We are working with the food ministry for using Aadhar for PDS. If you look at the draft, National Food Security Act which is there on the website it clearly says that Aadhar will be used for enrolment into PDS because that is a very important way of reducing, eliminating duplicates from the system."

According to reports, the food ministry has proposed its own system developed by the National Informatics Centre called PDS common services platform.

Nilekani also said that UID is working with the Ministry of Finance and the Department of Financial Services on financial inclusion, with Oil Ministry on LPG subsidy reforms, with Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers on fertilizer reforms, Human Resource Development Ministry on integration of Aakash and Department of Telecom for providing Aadhar as know your customer (KYC) for mobile connections.