With Aadhaar, a 12-digit number issued by the government, all set to become the single source as proof of identity and residence in India, the state government has begun a pilot project in some areas of the city and suburbs as a prelude to a massive exercise scheduled over the next five months. Food & civil supplies department officials have stepped up efforts to reach out to all residents as per...

782474317884. Ranjana Sadashiv Sonawane is unable to read the 12-digit number printed on a piece of paper given to her. But the 41-year-old resident of Tembhli village in Nandurbar district, who created history on Wednesday by becoming the first person to get an unique identity number under the UPA government’s Aadhar project, is not willing to let such minor issues mar the celebrations. “We will get many benefits. This will provide...

As the Prime Minister hands out the first official AADHAAR numbers in the tribal district of Nandurbar on Wednesday, civil society activists in the capital are questioning the very basis of the ambitious Unique Identification (uid) scheme. “Even basic procedures have not been followed before launching such a massive project,” said Usha Ramanathan, an expert in law, poverty and civil rights. “The people of India, as well as Parliamentarians need to...

While there is all-round concern about how the NREGA funds are being utilised at the grass-roots level, the Union rural development ministry has initiated the process of inducting technology to streamline the delivery system under NREGA. This will have a revolutionary impact on programme delivery. With about 50 million people working on site in 2,50,000 panchayats all across the country, the magnitude of the task is daunting. However, once the initial...

Mysoreans can take pride in being the first in the country to be assigned Unique ID numbers. The Unique Identification Authority of India (uidAI) tested its mechanism in April-May across Mysore and Tumkur districts. Now that the Mysore district administration has an action plan in place, the uidAI and Karnataka's e-governance department will allot Aadhaar, the 12-digit uid numbers, in October. uidAI deputy director-general Ashok Dalwai on Wednesday said: ''The...