Dry run for the Unique Identity Number (UID) project has started in two districts of Andhra Pradesh. Eight villages?four each in Medak and Krishna districts and one semi-urban centre in both districts?have been identified for the process. Once the results of the dry run are declared, a decision will be taken on when to launch the pilot project in other parts of the country.
Over two months, biometric data, including face image, fingerprints and iris scans of 25,000 individuals living in these eight villages and two semi-urban centres, will be collected and fed into a system.
Andhra Pradesh has been chosen for the trial because the Civil Supplies Department here has one of the most comprehensive databases in the country and it has issued iris-based biometric cards to over 4 crore people between 2006 and 2008.
An MoU was signed between the UIDAI and the Andhra government on March 10 to implement the project in the state. A state-level Empowered Committee has been set up under the chairmanship of chief minister K Rosaiah while a state UID Implementation Committee has been set up under the chairmanship of chief secretary SV Prasad to oversee the implementation of the project.
The UIDAI has roped in Hyderabad-based 4G Identity Solutions, which has expertise in providing biometric and identification solutions for security and public applications, to conduct the trials.
?This test project is called ?Proof of Concept? in which we will be validating our software, devices and process being used for the UID. We will be assessing whether our processes meet the best practices standards, whether the devices function properly or not under certain conditions and also see if there is a chance of duplication in spite of using biometric technology. The first phase of ?Proof of Concept?, which started on April 10, will cover 26,000 individuals who already have been issued biometric technology-based ration cards by the Andhra government. This project will also tell us if we need to make changes in the design and structure of the project and improve or enhance the software and devices being used to collect the data,? said VS Bhaskar, deputy director general, Hyderabad regional office, UIDAI.