The launch of Aadhaar or Unique Identification number (UID) last week has given a fillip to the idea of a smart card which would help track not just one social security programme but at least four or five.
According to a proposal with the Planning Commission, instead of a smart card for the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) or Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), as suggested by Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, there would be a card which would combine all four programmes.
?This makes sense as one smart card was earlier costing the government a minimum of Rs 30 per head. If this multiplied for four programmes, the cost of the card would eat into the social sector budget of the country. Generally, the life of a smart card is five to seven years. This means a recurring cost to the government,? said an official associated with the proposal.
The main aim of the proposal is to integrate the back end and front end of issuing smart cards and databases for at least four major social security initiatives of the government. These include TPDS, Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, MNREGA and National Old Age Pension Scheme. Biometrics for the card would be captured just once. An institutional mechanism to co-ordinate between the various departments will need to be set up.
?As of now, the jury is out on the idea of a smart card to track subsidies in food and social sectors. The idea appears to be a hard-sell even for a single programme like the Targeted Public Distribution System under the proposed Food Security Bill,? said the official.