The Union Home Ministry plans to link its crime records with the Aadhar unique identity project, a move which indicates a reversal in its hostile stance towards the Nandan Nilekani-led Unique Identity Authority of India.
According to reports, the home ministry’s 2,000-crore Crime and Criminal Tracking System project, which aims to create a central database of all crime records in the country, will have a provision for linking up with UID or Aadhar numbers.
The development indicates a u-turn in the P Chidambaram-headed ministry’s approach to the massive project to provide unique photo identity cards to all Indian residents after collecting their fingerprints and iris scans.
The UIDAI has issued Aadhar numbers to 20 crore Indians till now and is expected to cover another 40 crore people in the second phase. It is expected to cover the entire country by June 2013. The Crime and Criminal Tracking System was launched in 2009 as part of the e-governance project. The core framework of the project is ready and states are now setting up crime record bureaus.
