Unique ID pilot project in a week

Ranchi, 29 July: Nandan Nilekani-headed Unique Identification Authority of India’s (UIDAI) plan to pay rural job scheme wages by putting to use the unique ID number will have its pilot run in five blocks of Jharkhand within a week.

At a meeting chaired by chief secretary A.K. Singh and attended by UIDAI director-general Ram Sevak Sharma, around a dozen blocks were discussed. It was then decided to choose five of these blocks in consultation with banks that have been chosen to handle the project.

The plan for financial inclusion of the underprivileged envisages payment of MGNREGS wages through micro ATMs set up by various public sector banks, four of which have been chosen for the project here, namely, Bank of India, State Bank of India, Central Bank of India and Union Bank of India.

The chief secretary said the state rural development department had been nominated registrar to register villagers to be given the ID. He assured the authority of the state’s co-operation in implementing the project.

“The 13th finance commission has granted Rs 116 crore to Jharkhand for the next five years to implement the project,” he added.

The authority will name a project manager for the state.

Sharma said the venture would be put to trial for the first time in Jharkhand. “If successful, it will revolutionise the way the banking industry functions in the rural areas,” he said.

According to the authority’s plan, banks will appoint business correspondents at the village level to facilitate payment of wages. Alerts, either via SMS or through the correspondents, will also be sent to rural job workers after their wages are deposited in the bank accounts.

“Biometric impressions of both the worker as well as the correspondent will be taken in a hand-held device for every transaction,” said an official of the authority.

Among the others who attended today’s meeting were rural development secretary S.K. Satpathy, food and civil supplies secretary B.K. Tripathy, health secretary D.K. Tiwary and ADG of the authority Arvind Prasad.


The Telegraph