Oped»
Know thyself
JUL 24 -
Nepalis can look forward to a trendy new identity card incorporating the latest technology and design to replace the good old citizenship certificate. The government has decided to establish a central level agency to distribute the new computer-fed national identity cards made of polycarbonate. The National Identity Card Management Centre (NIDMC) will be responsible for assigning National Identification Numbers to individual Nepali citizens and issuing the multi-application biometric smart national ID cards. It is currently working on preparation for streamlining and channelising the information collection and card distribution system. The District Administration Offices (DAOs) throughout the country will work as the enrolling agency to collect applications and other documents and forward them to the NIDMC for processing.
A national identity card is a portable document, typically a plasticised card with digitally-embedded information, that people are required or encouraged to carry as a means of confirming their identity. Many countries have initiated issuing national identity cards as a way of checking crime and terrorist activities. The government of India has made all the preparations for a national identity card using biometric techniques such as iris and fingerprint recognition to confirm the identification of the card holder. There will be a national data repository established to collect individual demographic and biometric information.
As of now, the NIDMC will be the only agency distributing the national
ID number and card. The role of the DAOs will remain the same, the only change is that they will collect the applications and other necessary documents and information regarding the applicant for the ID cards with demographic and biometric information and forward them to the NIDMC which will distribute the national ID cards.
To obtain a national ID card, a Nepali citizen will have to go to an enrolling agency, fill up an application form and provide the supporting documentation including a photograph and fingerprints. The enrolling agency will collect this information and send the data either singly or in batches to the NIDMC database. The system will engage in a de-duplication exercise. If the individual is not already in the database, a national ID number will be issued. The applicant will receive a letter containing the national ID number and other individual information. The ID card will be delivered later via the concerned DAO. The same process will be followed when renewing the card and correcting the information.
The unique ID number, once assigned to somebody, will not be reassigned to other individuals. The number itself is the basic identity linked to demographic and biometric information and can be used to uniquely identify the person. The best match will be the individual’s biometric which cannot be substituted. The physical card can be forged, stolen, lost or destroyed; but the identity linked with the national ID number
will ever be saved. If the individual seeking a national ID number is already
in the database, registration will be rejected and the person will be notified.
A National Identity Data Repository will be established at the NIDMC with a backup at the Government Integrated Data Centre and remote backup at another place for physical and logical security. A communication network
will be established between these places. The database collects the details of the card holder that will include demographic information like, full name, sex, date of birth, place of birth, present residential address, parent’s name, ID number and so forth. Similarly, the biometric information will include finger prints and a photograph of the card holder. The card will contain the dates of issue and expiry.
The information in the database should be used only for authentication purposes. If anyone seeks to authenticate the identity of a person using the ID database, they will receive a yes or no answer. The national ID database should not transmit information or share data with anyone. It will only be linked with other existing databases such as passport, citizenship certificate, license, land ownership, voter list and so on. The national ID database will be guarded both physically and electronically by a few select individuals with high security clearance. It will be available only to authorised members of the national ID staff and will be secured with the best encryption and in a highly secure data vault. All access details will be properly logged. The database will be maintained in English, but the data format will be in English and Nepali.
The government of Nepal has decided to issue national IDs on the basis of the database of voter registration prepared by the Election Commission. The database established by the Election Commission will be transferred to the NIDMC where national ID numbers will be assigned and cards printed. The national ID will not be mandatory at first, but the government’s decision that all Nepali citizens must hold a national ID card to vote in an election will urge them to obtain one. Issuance of ID numbers is expected to prevent rigging in national elections and widespread embezzlement that affects subsidies and poverty alleviation programmes besides terrorist threats. The national ID number will also be helpful in criminal investigation. The system may assist the government to deliver services and subsidies to the citizens properly. It will also create new jobs and business opportunities in the country.
Advocates of privacy and individual liberty may criticise the system on the ground that the database may contain individual information. Moreover, the large investment required to complete the national roll is another aspect. Such voices have been raised in other countries which have decided to go for national IDs. Moreover, if untrained manpower handles the system without full reliance on technology, then the whole procedure may prove to be a failure. The government should move carefully if such a situation were to occur. An integrated effort of all the stakeholders is a must to implement the project.
(The author is a section officer, National ID Management Centre, Ministry of Home Affairs)
rajendramoha@gmail.com
Posted on: 2010-07-25 08:53
Headlines
Advertisements
