UID Numbers -- A key to mark India's development

'Is this Possible in India ???', this was first question that struck my mind on reading the news which stated Unique Identification Numbers are going to be issued in India,but we have to wait for another 12-18 months for the question to be answered.The Unique Identification Authority of India will be headed by Mr.Nandan Nilekani, a former Infoscian who has a very high profile in the field of Information Technology.The Infosys co-founder gave a brief about the project in the first press meet after he took charge as the chairman of UIAI.

An Unique Identification number is nothing but an alphanumeric value which will serve as Unique Identifier and will be issued for the all residents of India.Now for the first set to be issued, the Chairman and his board has planned to issue the UID number for all the eligible voters who are above 18 yrs of age.This number will be mapped against the basic details of every Indian like Name,Address,DOB and some more personal details and it is sure to serve the purpose of every Indian starting from opening a bank account to getting an electricity connection.This unique number will be used by all the other Government departments and certain private sectors also for verification purposes and this number can replace all the proofs that are being submitted now for even getting a driving licence or a passport.

The best part to be noted in this upcoming project is that the software gaint Microsoft is very keen to be a part of this UID project and its chairman Bill Gates on a recent visit to India said that he is looking forward for a discussion with Mr.Nilekani on the same.

To think from a developer's perspective,it is not an easy task to generate this number for a country that has more that 1 Billion people out of which atleast 700 million people are eligible voters.We as an Indian,can be proud that the Indian Government has taken forward a good step which will not only be a great mark in India's development but also adds more benefits to the people.