Soon India will have a unique identification number (UIN) or similar mechanism. The Planning Commission of India has approached the IT & Communications Ministry to coordinate a nationwide initiative and establish such a mechanism in the country.
The Planning Commission is using IT to improve the welfare programmes in the country. The department of IT (DIT) is making its report for complete framework. DIT is expected to work out the modalities for assigning such an identification mechanism, which could be in the form of a number, a photocard or a biometric card. In the first phase of the programme, UIN would be assigned to below-poverty-line (BPL) under the government's welfare schemes. Later on, the e-Governance programmes could also dovetail into the new initiative. The department of telecommunications (DoT) is insisting that every telephone subscriber should be verified to identify country's population.
