Chidambaram, Nilekani engage in 'biometric' battle

Threat of possible fake identity through UID data is a security concern, said Home Minister P Chidambaram, thereby raising questions on the reliability of the massive biometric process. From the letters exchanged between Chidambaram and the Registrar General as accessed  by CNN-IBN, it is learnt that the minister wants the Cabinet committee on UID to discuss the matter with urgency. [caption id=“attachment_133839” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Home Minister P Chidambaram. Image courtesy PIB”] [/caption] “The possibility of fake identity profile in the UID data is real,” Chidambaram said about the data collected by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), as reported in the CNN-IBN story . The debate is however seen as a turf battle between Chidambaram and UIDAI Chairperson Nandan Nilekani  who holds the key to India’s biometric data. According to the CNN-IBN report , while the Home Ministry claims that UID can be generated by producing documents without any verification, the Registrar General and Census Commissioner maintained that the job of collecting biometric data should be left to them. However, Nilekani defended the process saying, “The Aadhaar cards have been given based on the UID data taken as per the accepted procedure.” The CNN-IBN report said, “The Home Minister, in a letter to Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, has made it clear that data collected by the UIDAI does not meet the degree of assurances required under the National Population Register from the point of view of national security.” ( read complete story ) Till date, Aadhaar generated 12 crore Unique Identity Numbers and is authorised to create UIDs for 20 crore people. Until this battle of the bigwigs is not resolved, the very purpose of this whole biometric exercise may be lost.