Norms soon to make banks UID-ready

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) would draw up standards for banks in the next six months to make them UID-ready. Based on the standards, the banks should put their systems in place by the time the first UID numbers are rolled out in the next 12-18 months, Mr Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, UIDAI, said.
“UID and financial inclusion go hand-in hand. It will help banks reduce financial costs while reaching out to the poor,” he said in his address at the FICCI-IBA seminar.
Banks will be the enrolling partners and the users of the authentication service, he said.
The UIDAI has initiated talks with the Indian Banks’ Association, the RBI, SEBI, IRDA, LIC, TRAI and PFRDA to get their feedback.
Database
UIDAI plans to use the databases of a wide range of organisations for building its master database. The issuances will be demand led. It is looking to issue unique identification numbers to 60 crore Indians in the next 4-5 years.
The registrars will have to agree to a standardised authorisation process. The Authority will have a different strategy to reach out to the poor, as demand-led issuance will not be very effective here.
“UIDAI will issue numbers, not cards. It will be ensured that the numbers are not duplicated. That is one person will get only one number,” Mr Nilekani said.
Information The authority will issue a number based on two kinds of information — demographic information such as name, address, date of birth and so forth and biometric information such as fingerprints that can uniquely identify the person. When a new user comes in for a number, his/her biometric information will be screened to check if a UID number has already been issued to the person. This will help to control the duplication at source.
The database will just be a master database and will have no transaction records. It will not have information such as income details, religion etc.
All Indian residents will get this number, including infants and students. For infants and students, the UID of the guardian will be the legal ID number.