-PTI   A cost-benefit evaluation of the Unique Identification Project (UID) is necessary, considering difficulties in implementation and scope for misuse afterwards, a working paper (WP) by a professor at the Indian Institute of Management says. "There had been serious debates in countries like Australia, Canada and UK about the viability national identity policy, given that the chances of misuse of data in a centralised system increase by leaps and bounds," the WP...

Over 60,000 people of Jharkhand are fast realising the benefits of aadhaar, having already opened bank accounts with the help of their unique numbers issued by the Nandan Nilekani-headed Unique Identification Authority of India. UIDAI started enrolments in the state last September, and already six lakh residents have their numbers with another 16 lakh waiting in the wings, having completed formalities that include recording fingerprints and retina scans. “According to latest figures...

The concept of “a ubiquitous magic plastic” that bring out the unique in a living person has caught the fascination of most of us. An unpopular government sees in it the ability of cutting a long red tape short to correctly identify the genuine citizens in need. The agonised cops of India see in it a great ally to apprehend the much-wanted terrorists, whose biometric data could now be verified...

The income limit for households for qualifying as a beneficiary under the BPL (below poverty line) list has been pegged at about Rs. 27,000 per annum, according to the methodology approved by the Union Cabinet on Thursday. A household with an annual earning of more than Rs. 27,000 will stand excluded from the BPL list. This is what the automatic exclusion and automatic inclusion criteria and the seven deprivation indicators are...

Though the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has prioritized enrolling people who have no valid proof of their identity and worked out a mechanism called the "introducer based verification system", it came to light in camps organized in the state that there are few takers for this system. An authorized person with a valid UID number can introduce a person with no documentary evidence. Commissioner NREGA, Ajay Kumar Singh, who...