India issuing biometric IDs to all 1.2 billion citizens
According to The Times (UK), less than seven per cent of the population are registered for income tax, and the voting lists are terribly inaccurate. Hoping to bring the nation’s census data into the 21st century, India has created the Unique Identification Authority. Under the direction of Nandan Nilekani, one of the founders of Infosys, the plan is to outfit every one of the nation’s citizens with a biometric ID card that contains personal data, fingerprint or iris scans, and possibly even criminal records and credit histories. Gathering the data is projected to cost at least $4.9 billion, a figure that’s likely to soar once the ball gets rolling. While the Government expects that the first cards will be issued within 18 months, analysts say that project won’t likely reach “critical mass” for at least four years.
Picture and words via engadget.com.
[...] India issuing biometric IDs to all 1.2 billion citizens [...]
That is insane. There are parts of India that have not seen a technology level above tribal stage since the British empire was running around India, will they even comprehend what these ID’s are for?
And the costs…oh ye gods the costs.