*UIDAI does not have any statistics of UID progress to share*
*The UIDAI has rolled out its ambitious UID or Aadhaar project. However,
there is no information or update about the progress of Aadhaar, except from
Mr Nilekani who said the same would be made available in two weeks. *
Nandan Nilekani-led Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which
started collecting data, including biometrics and issuing unique
identification (UID) numbers to people does not have any update on the
progress.
Moneylife sent a mail to Mr Nilekani asking about the progress of its
ambitious UID project, Aadhaar. We asked him about the total number of
people enrolled for Aadhaar, the number of de-duplications required for
fingerprints, iris scan and face pictures (all forms part of biometrics) and
the number of cases where de-duplication was not possible. (De-duplication
means to eliminate duplicate or redundant information).
We asked the UIDAI chairman if its database is ready for authentication
process and number of people who have successfully authenticated their UIDs
at least once as well as percentage of false positives and negatives during
the authentication. Moneylife also asked if the authority can share the
statistics and update it on a regular basis.
We received just one line mail from Mr Nilekani, in which he says, "We will
be shortly be having a Public Data Portal on our website
http://www.facebook.com/l/9d6223McG26ed0gsPeaNQtuI5MQ;www.uidai.gov.inwithin two weeks which will answer all the relevant questions in your email."
Separately, according to a report from the Hindu, the government of Kerala,
the only State that mandates the use of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)
in governance recently found that the client enrolment software used is only
compatible with Windows.
The UIDAI is using a software that is compatible only with Microsoft's
Windows operating system (OS), for its ambitious UID or Aadhaar project.
However, this has irked many activists as well as advocates of open source
software since UIDAI itself has mandated that all the middleware used in
Aadhaar must be vendor neutral. This means it should not be dependent on any
particular software and must work across the OS or platforms.
In Kerala, which has embraced open platforms, this is a vexatious issue
because virtual device managers, which provide an interface for applications
to devices such as biometric devices - are not Linux-compatible, the
newspaper report said.
Kerala has declared that it will provide the UID number to over 60 lakh
schoolchildren in the state under the UIDAI initiative and has selected
Akshaya, IT@School and Keltron as enrolment agencies for the work. However,
in countries around the world where a national ID card system is being used,
these IDs are given only to those above the age of 14 years and not to
school-going children between five years and 14 years of age. (Read Is the
UIDAI database vulnerable?
http://www.facebook.com/l/9d622J9lb8acR8dWXDmtsb8g6Cg;www.moneylife.in/article/78/9594.html )
What is interesting in the case of Kerala is all three agencies appointed to
do the enrolment of students use only Linux OS, which is completely
different from Windows OS. Speaking with the Hindu, Ashok Dalwai, deputy
director-general, UIDAI, said this is a "Kerala-specific issue." He
confirmed that all enrolment software is 'purely for the Windows platform.'
"For now, we have asked Kerala to go ahead with laptops with Windows. Our
developers will work towards Linux compliance later," he told the newspaper.
This has left many activists and advocates of open source software furious
as they feel depending on a particular vendor, especially Microsoft, which
is known for its Windows and the unending security issues associated with
the OS, to speed up the UID process.
Just last month, VK Saraswat, scientific advisor to the defence minister
said that the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) would
spearhead an effort to develop India's own futuristic computer OS to thwart
cyber crimes like data theft.
Mr Saraswat, who is also director general of DRDO, said, "In today's world,
where you have tremendous requirements of security on whatever you do...
economy, banking and defence... it's essential that you need to have an
operating system."
UIDAI has been facing criticism for rolling out UID numbers to 'residents'
and not to 'citizens' of India in addition to privacy and security issues
related with its database. Many activists and analysts are now questioning
the motive behind the authority's approach to align with one particular
vendor and diluting its vendor neutral mandate.
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