The Unique Identification Number project of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) chaired by IT czar Nandan Nilekani was renamed 'AADHAAR' (foundation) as part of the efforts to reach out to the common man.

“As many people were getting confused with the present UID name, we renamed it, so that it could be recognised across the country, could resonate in different languages and could be easy to remember and pronounce,” he said.

He said the same standard was also set for designing the the logo. The new logo, with a sun in yellow and a fingerprint in the centre, was also made public at a seminar organised by the UIDAI here.

The logo, selected after a nation-wide competition, was unveiled by Dhaneshwar Ram, a resident of Azamgarh in UP, who was invited by the UIDAI to speak on the hardships faced by the common man in getting an identity at present.

Atul Sudhakarrao Pande, a Mumbai resident was given a cheque of Rs 1 lakh after his design was selected from over 2000 entries. Speaking to reporters Pande, who is a designer by profession said, “My sister told me about this competition. I read their concept notes and knew that I had to create something which is easily recognisable. People can easily recognise the sun and the fingerprint."

Nilekani said the first 16 digit number would be rolled out by February next year.