India to Give 1.2 Billion Citizens Biometric ID Cards

The Indian government will establish new biometric identification cards that will be released to every citizen of the nation that holds 1.2 billion people.

“It is surely the biggest Big Brother project yet conceived,” according to a report published by the Times Online. India will issue 1.2 billion biometric identification cards to every one of its citizens in the nation. The card will include a computer chip with either an iris scan or a fingerprint and, according to the report, may tie criminal and credit histories. Only seven percent of Indians are registered to pay income tax, this new database will help the Indian government collect taxable income. This new initiative will cost the Indian government seven billion pounds ($11.45 billion) and it will be operated by the Unique Identification Authority, which is a new government department in India. Nandan Nilekani, head of the unit’s operation, called this new initiative, “humongous, mind-boggling challenge,” and further added, “But we have the opportunity to give every Indian citizen, for the first time, a unique identity. We can transform the country.” According to Mr. Nilekani, it will take up to eighteen months to issue these new identification cards however; many analysts feel that this new operation could take up to four years to reach the “critical mass.” In the Times Online report they describe the amount of cards, “If the cards were piled on top of each other they would be 150 times as high as Mount Everest — 1,200 kilometers.”