CITIZEN DATABASE: Why Don’t We Wake up?

Imagine no poll-related violence and booth capturing being reported from

Bihar, or for that matter, any other part of India. The voters just go to a

nearby information kiosk, log on to the election commission’s Web site, punch

in their citizen number, swipe their ID cards and vote. Of course, their

identity is also determined by the biometrics scanners that these outlets have

Forget those nasty scenes and long queues for kerosene or sugar in front of a

public distribution system (PDS) outlet as the government decides to do away

with the subsidy regime. Instead, those below the poverty line (BPL) can now

make purchases through the open market with the same subsidy being made

available to them in cash through a monthly stipend. What’s more, the

beneficiaries just need to walk into an ATM center, swipe their ID cards, key in

their citizen numbers, put hands on the biometrics scanner to confirm their

idendity and walk out with the dole.

The touts at the passport office have been put on the endangered species list

as a person can use the information kiosk to log on to the Web site of the

regional passport office and send online application. The passport office issues

the passport in less than a week’s time as it is able to verify the person’s

antecedents by simply capturing information from the ID card and cross checking

with the national database. What’s more, as the verification is based on both

biometrics and the unique citizen number, the department does not make a mistake

such as issuing multiple passports to the same person.

If these are not enough motivation to make you all agog to be part of the

citizen database and get your unique citizen number, think about the number of

times you have faced an embarrassing situation just to prove that you are who

you claim to be. All this despite carrying several documents that may simply not

have been attested. According to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), on an average,

Indian adults waste one day per person, every year in just proving their

identities. Multiply this with the minimum wage of Rs 60 and one can very well

calculate the huge productivity loss for the country–Rs 4,000 crore per annum,

as per a very conservative TCS estimate. Interestingly, one would agree that

most of the individuals who actually have to struggle in providing proof of

their identity earn much more than the minimum wage.

Be it applying for a driving license, telephone connectivity or LPG, getting

an insurance policy or just opening an account in the bank, one’s identity is

always an issue of suspicion. Not to forget the fact that despite showing proof

of residence and other such required documents, there still remains a need for

someone who can introduce you to the bank. What if all this is taken care of by

simply flashing a citizen ID card and through the verification process as

mentioned above. Sounds interesting?

The way out

While it’s a fact that the possibilities such as mentioned in the three

examples might need some time for materializing into a reality; it is also a

given fact that none of these usage can be realized unless there is a proper

mechanism to identify citizens, their needs and potentials. All this–and

everybody will agree–requires a uniform citizen database and technology tools

that would enable datamining by different departments to compare, correlate and

cross-reference their independent information while constantly upgrading any

changes. This calls for intensive use of technology to create a data management

system that will be able to respond to queries from different agencies about

each individual in the country. In other words, this also means that every

citizen has to be identifiable by the system and hence the need for a unique

number.

So is the citizen database or the need for a national identity card system (NICS)

primarily aimed at making identification process much simpler for Indians? The

answer lies in understanding what identity is all about. According to Viraj R

Chopra, consultant with TCS and head of the team that has prepared a feasibility

report of implementing the national ID system, Nishan, for the ministry of home

affairs, "Citizen’s ID is the sum total of either their past

transactions." To make it simple, an individual is recognized either by

organic details like appearance, physical structure and fingerprint or by the

inorganic identity derived from the person’s transactions with varied

institutions, the society and the nation. Hence, inorganically a person’s

identity would be the summation of transactions like education, hospitalization,

travel, mobility, employment, marriage, parenthood awards and honors et al.

Experts believe that it is these sets of citizen information that is needed

the most when it comes to planning for a nation. In fact, an identity

essentially facilitates transactions between individuals and institutions, or in

the nation’s context, facilitates the citizen-to-nation interaction. This

unfortunately is negligible in India as compared to other developed and

developing countries like the US, UK, Germany, Argentina, Malaysia and even

Brazil or China. Nevertheless, like in most of the other countries, the need for

NICS in India has been triggered by the internal security threats.

A long pending issue

In India, the idea for NICS or a similar system was mooted in the early 1950s

with the government of India realizing the need for maintaining a national

population register that would record and reference citizens. Through the 1970s

and 1990s, this requirement assumed alarming urgency with the influx of illegal

immigrants, especially from Bangladesh, threatening to overturn the demographic

balance in several parts of the country. According to estimates, there are

around 18 to 20 million illegal immigrants already residing in the country. Add

to this, facts that the country has ten times the number of illegal immigrants

than the US, a population approximately four times that of the US and is of

one-third size of the US, and one can imagine the magnitude of the problem. What’s

more, India’s GDP at $450 billion is one-fourteenth that of the US, severely

straining its social welfare and basic infrastructure.

Does this mean that the need to distinguish between citizens and non-citizens

should then be the prime driver for initiating such a massive exercise in India?

Also, what is the guarantee that NICS will actually be able to stop, or even

curb, or regulate the influx of illegal migrants? Experts agree that there can

never be a foolproof system to tame this menace and hence no guarantee. However,

it’s a fact that a citizen database and subsequent issuance of citizen ID card

does help a country tackle infiltration more effectively. It also facilitates

anti-insurgency drive, enhances investigative capability of law and order

agencies while providing reference for crime records and judiciary.

Plugging breaches

But that’s not all. While internal security is a national

concern and its breach is one of the prime drivers for a secure ID system, there

are other equally important issues–breaches in economic, social and

administrative security. An authentic citizen database not only helps in

plugging these existing big gaps; it also makes sure they do not become

recurring issues for the country.

Just consider these facts. While there are 20 million

tax-payers in the country, an equal number of citizens are estimated to be out

of the tax net. Equate the present tax payer base with the budgeted IT

collection of Rs 31,950 crore during 2000—01 and one realizes that a million

tax payers contribute Rs 1,600 crore. A proper documentation of citizens will

substantially enhance revenue generation by eliminating tax evasions. Similarly,

while India’s food subsidy bill is around Rs 8,210 crore, an estimated 25% of

the population benefiting through the scheme, actually do not qualify for the

dole. Also, about 10% of the PDS supplies are reportedly diverted to the open

market. All these amount to a serious social and economic breach.

An accurate and dynamic database will not only help the

central and the state governments streamline their utilities management and in

eradicating corruption at all levels, it will also help them move towards the

much hyped e-governance–the government of Andhra Pradesh providing a fitting

example. It will also help the government computerize issuance of welfare and

rehabilitation grants, or any other subsistence allowance from time to time,

making the dream example come true. If only the country is able to mop up tax

revenue from the additional 20 million evaders, India can afford to start

weaving its first social security network.

However, does all these causes actually warrant creation of a

new database and issuance of yet another ID card when the country has already

spent millions in electoral cards, IT PAN cards, passports, ration cards,

driving licenses, birth and education certificates? The answer is yes, because

despite having an exhaustive coverage of the population, the present systems are

not equipped to handle a population figure that is one billion and growing.

What ails the present system?

To understand why the existing ID document systems–and

there are plenty of those in the country–do not fit the bill of serving as a

national database one needs to understand what these systems have actually

achieved.

While several government agencies in the country have been

conducting surveys and verifications to keep their databases updated, there has

been no attempt whatsoever to standardize the format and analyze the information

captured to project a complete picture of the human resources. Neither has any

attempt been made to link all these data to facilitate their usage. A classic

example of this is the case of the income tax department. In its attempt to

widen the assessee base, the agency, in 1999, decided to use four basic criteria–ownership

of phone, property or vehicle and undertaking of foreign visits. This was a good

move as the department could have got lot of reference data in the form of

ownership numbers, land registrar record and passport details. However, they

soon realized that it would take them several man-years of programming efforts

to arrive at a semblance of this information flowing in from different sources.

Similarly, while the election commission has done a good job

of converting the electoral roll into electronic format and perhaps has the most

comprehensive population database that exists in India, this cannot be utilized

by any other agency in a comprehensive manner for lack of a standardized

datamining facility. Accuracy and the number of citizens covered are the other

drawbacks of the legacy systems. While IT PAN card and the passport enjoy the

highest credibility, the database is too small to be of much use. On the other

hand, ration card has the highest reach but scores lowest in terms of integrity

of the data captured. Also, there has been a considerable skepticism about the

voter’s ID card system with the country actually ridiculing the EC initiative–a

fact proved by the lack of interest amongst the average citizen to register with

the department.

But then how does one ensure that another such attempt to

create a national repository of citizens’ data will not be inflected by the

same maladies and does not suffer the same fate. According to the feasibility

report submitted by the TCS to the ministry of home affairs, the maladies can be

avoided by enacting a legislation to create a special purpose vehicle that would

work independently despite using the several existing databases for reference.

The new game plan

The feasibility report for implementing National Identity

System Home Affairs Network (Nishan), submitted by the TCS to the union home

ministry in August 2000, suggests that the government first needs to enact

legislation through a bill in the Parliament. Creating a dedicated task force to

steer the cause can do this. The next step TCS suggests is the creation of a

national registration authority, and a special purpose vehicle (SPV) that would

implement and sustain the system. The task force would also select equity and

technology consortium leaders, who in turn would finalize partners to handle

these. Finally, TCS recommends that the government of India (GoI) adopt a

market-based data capture mechanism that would use 15,000 franchisee as

collection centers to capture citizen data. The consultant also suggests use of

the state machinery for compiling information in sensitive areas like the

Northeast and Jammu and Kashmir, as also in remote rural areas where

accessibility is the key issue.

TCS proposes a five-layer network for Nishan that will be

divided on the basis of functionality. According to it, the 15,000 franchisees

will form the base of this pyramid network. Data captured by these franchisees

will be transferred to 462 distribution centers located in each district

headquarter or area having good optic fiber connectivity. Data from these

distribution nodes will be forwarded to 43 access nodes, all of which will be

located at major urban centers on the department of telecommunication’s

synchronous transmission module (STM) rings. These access nodes will in turn

forward data to the five backbone nodes at Mumbai. Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and

Hyderabad. Finally, data from the backbone layer will be transferred to a

central database, preferably in Delhi, for specific purpose of verification, PIN

and card issuance and storage.

The TCS proposal also suggests that the plan can be

self-sustaining with a little help from the GoI. The agency estimates the total

project cost to be around Rs 4,000 crore–the total capital expenditure being

Rs 1,584 crore and data capture cost hovering at Rs 600 crore. The report

suggests that the GoI needs to pay Rs 10 per card issued to the special purpose

vehicle. It also proposes to charge Rs 50 each from citizens being issued the ID

card. This, experts at TCS feel is a nominal amount that 80% of Indians will be

willing to pay, provided they are convinced of the benefits attached. For the

remaining 20%, those unable to afford the cost, TCS suggests a little cumbersome

route of processing the application through local police station. Remarks

Chopra, "These 20% population would be having negligible transactions with

the state and hence very few would have documents to support their application.

Hence, we will have to refer them to the local police in any case. Starting the

process from a police station for them would at least ensure saving on the time

lag between data capture and verification.

However, warns Tanmoy Chakrabarty, VP, business development,

EDS, "The success of the system depends much on the country’s willingness

to undergo a business process reengineering in terms of how a citizen would

benefit by getting registered with the database and keeping yet another ID card.

The process could add value to the ID document by ensuring hassle-free services

from the government and that could be a big motivation factor." According

to him, the project needs to evolve a value proposition to entice the common man

to be part of the process, which otherwise will become another farce.

Shubhendhu Parth in New

Delhi