Cabinet to decide on future of UID project today

The Cabinet Committee led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet on today to take a decision on the continuation of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) project led by Nandan Nilekani.

Today’s meeting comes a day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held discussions with senior Cabinet colleagues to resolve the issue amid reports of difference between Home Ministry and Planning Commission over continuation of UIDAI project.

Reports claim that a compromise formula has been reached according to which Nilekani-led Unique ID Authority of India and the Registrar General of India will be carrying out parallel exercises to collect biometric data.

While the UIDAI will do it in 13 states, the Registrar General of India will collect data in coastal areas and areas where UIDAI has no presence. The two bodies will reportedly share some data. The Cabinet Committee will today take a decision on what data the Registrar General must share with the UIDAI.

The Cabinet committee meeting led by PM Singh will take a final call on extension of the UIDAI project, under which national identity cards are issued to entire population.

"I think we have come to an agreement on how both the projects can proceed together without any difficulty... the Cabinet Committee (on UIDAI) was rescheduled and will happen on Friday. We are quite hopeful that we will have a resolution of these issues in that meeting," Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said after the meeting.

Besides Ahluwalia, meeting was attended by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Home Minister P Chidambaram, UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani and National Security Advisor (NSA) Shivshankar Menon.

At the centre of the controversy is the collection of bio-metric data of all residents.

While the Home Ministry has maintained that the Registrar General of India (RGI) under it has been mandated to collect the data through the NPR, the Nandan Nilekani-led UIDAI has also been authorised to gather the information.

Home Minister P Chidambaram has sought clarity on the status on who will capture bio-metric data - Registrar General India or UIDAI. The Home Ministry feels that the data collected by UIDAI was not secure as it is not verified by a government servant.

The data collection by UIDAI has been done by hired organisations which is a cause of concern for the Home Minister.

Since the UIDAI has already enrolled 170 million residents, the government will have to take a decision on the future of the body.

UIDAI is likely to complete the mandate of enrolling 200 million residents even before the deadline of March 31 this year.

Ahluwalia has thrown his full weight behind the UIDAI saying the project should continue. On concerns over duplication of work and extra burden on exchequer, he had stated that the project is well worth it.

The Planning Commission wants more resources for the authority for continuation of its work.

According to the Home Ministry proposal, chip-based smart cards will be issued to all residents on the basis of the record maintained by the NPR - a digital database under construction.

Govt likely to table Lokpal Bill on December 20

With Anna Hazare threatening to go on hunger strike from December 27 if the government fails to fulfill its word on a strict anti-graft bill, the Centre is likely to introduce the Lokpal Bill in Parliament on December 20 with possible amendments.

Anna’s threat has put the Congress-led UPA government at the backfoot and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has convened a special meeting of the Union Cabinet on Sunday to discuss the format of the bill and various recommendations made by the civil society and the opposition parties.

The Lokpal bill will be discussed and approved during the cabinet meeting and would then be tables in Parliament on Tuesday for urgent consideration and passage.

The Centre has also formed a three-member team of the Cabinet - comprising Law Minister Salman Khurshid, Home Minister P Chidambaram and Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office V Narayanasamy – which will hold internal consultations to finalise the bill.

The final draft of the Lokpal Bill will be overseen by Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, according to sources.

The consultations come in the wake of the meetings of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) leaders this week and an all-party meeting on the contentious legislation, which ended inconclusively.

The fresh move by the government to introduce the Lokpal Bill comes a day after Anna Hazare threatened a fresh agitation from January 1 if a "strong Lokpal bill" is not passed by then.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is on a three-day visit to Russia, will be back in the capital Saturday evening, a day before the scheduled special meeting of the Cabinet.