IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The Department of Social Welfare had announced the smart card scheme, which will help disbursal of assistance through nationalised banks, doing away with the practice using post offices for the purpose.

According to collector Ajay Yadav, the beneficiaries, who presently do not have bank accounts have been encouraged to open one in the nearest bank.

Replying to the demand for grants for food and consumer department, the minister said the smart cards would be issued based on the biometric data obtained by the Director of Census for National Population Registry.

“The Director of Census Operations under NPR is conducting biometric data capturing of 10 fingerprints and iris of citizens to issue unique identification number,” he said, adding that the project would be later extended to all other districts.

Of the total 1,70,500 beneficiaries of eight social security schemes, including the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme, Indira Gandhi National Disabled Pension Scheme, Destitute and Deserted Wife Pension and Destitute Widow Pension in the district, the district administration, in association with 12 public and private sector banks, issued smart cards to 18,500 beneficiaries.

Jakhu said the ration card was an important document even for those who do not get ration. The beneficiaries of below poverty line (BPL) and Antodaya Ann Yojna (AAY) get ration at cheaper rates under various schemes of the government but for the above poverty line (APL) people it serves as a proof of residence.

The state government’s Principal Secretary, Transport, B S Bhullar, NICSI Managing Director Rajesh Bahadur and NIC Technical Director Y K Singh signed the agreement in the presence of transport minister Raja Mahendra Aridaman Singh. Y K Singh said smart card DLs will be issued and applicants’ details digitised using SARATHI software created by NIC-Hyderabad.

Introduction of smart cards in the Rashtriya Swasthaya Bima Yojna (RSBY) scheme has led to empowerment of citizens by effectively preventing denial of services to rightful recipients and a regular evaluation of this scheme was needed for its sustained growth, speakers at a summit here opined.

The first ever summit on ‘Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana’ (RSBY) – a joint initiative of Smart Card Forum of India (SCAFI) and the Government of India was held on Wednesday here.

Smart card technology is becoming commonplace in our daily lives. These cards can add convenience and safety to any transaction. A smart card is a plastic card with a computer chip embedded in it that stores data about the user and his or her transactions. The card's chip can be either a memory chip or a microprocessor. The card data is accessed and written via a reader that is part of a computing system. Smart card-enhanced systems are in use today for several key applications, including healthcare, banking, entertainment and transportation. To various degrees, all applications can benefit from the added features and security that smart cards provide.

All Indians will welcome hightech smart cards. Yet the technological lead has been taken not by the census commissioner but, astonishingly, by Bihar. This state has just completed a pilot project for smart cards in Patna district, called e-shakti (meaning power from electronic governance). These cards use not just fingerprints but biometric matching of the human iris, which is state-of-the-art technology.

Devanti Devi, Dilip Shaw and Bisuandayal Manjhi of the Gonpura panchayat in Bihar will soon be sporting smart job cards that also double up as ATM/debit cards. They are workers under the National Rural Employment Guarantee programme (NREG) and are among 170 men and women in two villages who would be the first to be registered as NREG members through a foolproof biometric verification device.

Chandigarh: Over five crore beneficiaries of the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) will be able to avail the health facilities provided by the corporation at any of its 2,210 health centres across the country by using smart cards.

Under its one of the biggest e-Governance project—Panchdeep— the corporation will issue smart cards to all insured employees and their families. Also, it will make available online the information of the patients, companies and employers under the ESIC Act.

The need for a multi-purpose national identity card has been felt for purposes as diverse as drawing benefits from government’s flagship schemes like NREGA or getting ration from PDS shops.

In Haryana, food and supplies minister Mahendra Pratap Singh distributed the biometric and ration cards from the at the mini secretariat. The cards are being distributed in around four districts including Ambala, Karnal, Sonepat and Sirsa.

Addressing media persons, Singh said the e-governance plan would bring greater transparency and efficiency and the cards will reduce chances of misuse of public distribution items.

Karnataka has been chosen as the pilot state to implement the National Unique Identity (UID) project of the central government.

The National Authority for Unique Identity (NAUI), set up under the Planning Commission, has asked the state to implement the programme on a small scale to co-ordinate data on people, from different agencies.

The smart card will contain student details such as attendance, marksheets, degree certificates, hall tickets, and curricula. The scratch-proof card will also have the student's photograph and be valid for 10 years.

The syndicate also approved in principle, an initiative to incorporate IT based security enhancing system for undergraduate examinations and evaluation. The varsity has already issued a tender notice inviting IT companies interested in implementing the smart card system. The smart card will primarily be a single window system of access for students.

With the PIC - plastic magnetic cards, a person covered under the Employees State Insurance (ESI) or his family members may step into an ESI hospital, dispensary or branch office located anywhere in the country and avail the services he is eligible for.

The smart card project, implemented by software firm Wipro Infotech, is among the largest e-governance projects in the country with a total outlay of Rs 1,182 crore spread over six-and-a-half years.

The smart cards entitle the insured person and his/ her family to step into any ESI dispensary, hospital or branch office of the ESIC across the country and avail themselves of the facilities and services in a hassle-free manner.

Besides allocation of Rs 100 crore each for the financial inclusion fund and the financial inclusion technology fund is also expected to drive the demand for smart cards and identification technologies.

The MNIC is expected to provide a credible individual identification system for improving the security conditions and to help e-governance by improving citizen-government interface, said home ministry officials.