Online cards issued under the government's flagship rural jobs scheme will now include the beneficiary's 12-digit 'Aadhar' number issued under the Centre's multi-crore unique ID project that has drawn more brickbats than bouquets.
Over the next three months, state governments will update the registration data, including Aadhar numbers, of beneficiaries under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in an exercise to weed out ghost cards.
"This will help us assess the coverage of the Aadhar scheme and help us link MGNREGA with the number," a rural development officer told ET.
The data updation will be part of the rural development ministry's "upgradation and cleaning" of job cards issued under MGNREGS, the government's largest social sector scheme that guarantees a minimum of 100 a day for 100 days of work. The scheme covers more than 12 crore Indians in rural areas.
The Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI), led by former Infosys chief Nandan Nilekani, has the government's mandate to collect data and issue 'Aadhaar' numbers, which can help people open bank accounts, buy cell phones and access welfare programmes.
"The exercise is not to make the UID number a mandatory clause for demanding job under the scheme," the official said, adding that the UID numbers will be registered along with other details in the job cards.
The move, which will test the spread of UIDAI among beneficiaries of MGNREGS, will also help create a database for convergence with insurance schemes such as the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) and Aam Admi Bima Yojana.
Over the next three months, state governments will update the registration data, including Aadhar numbers, of beneficiaries under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in an exercise to weed out ghost cards.
"This will help us assess the coverage of the Aadhar scheme and help us link MGNREGA with the number," a rural development officer told ET.
The data updation will be part of the rural development ministry's "upgradation and cleaning" of job cards issued under MGNREGS, the government's largest social sector scheme that guarantees a minimum of 100 a day for 100 days of work. The scheme covers more than 12 crore Indians in rural areas.
The Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI), led by former Infosys chief Nandan Nilekani, has the government's mandate to collect data and issue 'Aadhaar' numbers, which can help people open bank accounts, buy cell phones and access welfare programmes.
"The exercise is not to make the UID number a mandatory clause for demanding job under the scheme," the official said, adding that the UID numbers will be registered along with other details in the job cards.
The move, which will test the spread of UIDAI among beneficiaries of MGNREGS, will also help create a database for convergence with insurance schemes such as the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) and Aam Admi Bima Yojana.
"The MGNREGA job card database will include BPL status, RSBY status, backward-class status and Aadhar number. It will be the starting point for convergence of important social schemes and the UIDAI as a verification system," a senior official of the Planning Commission said.
The UIDAI project has already collected biometric data for 20 crore Indian residents. Another 40 crore people will be covered in the project's second phase.
The income-tax department, too, has decided to record Aadhar numbers of those applying for a fresh PAN card.
The UIDAI project has not had a smooth sailing. In 2011, many government departments sought to have their own verification systems as the implementation and success of UIDAI seemed uncertain.
Concerns were raised by several ministries that mandatory linking of UIDAI with MGNREGS could lead to deserving beneficiaries being left out of the scheme.
A parliamentary committee also raised questions on the feasibility and viability of the programme. However, activity under UIDAI picked up from this year, with the authority launching online authentication pilots in Jharkhand, and ministries agreeing to cooperate to help lay the foundation of Aadhar on a larger scale.
In March, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh had indicated a willingness to cooperate with the UIDAI and help widen the project's reach through the MGNREGS.
"The single-largest demand for UIDAI will come from MGNREGA. If NREGA can succeed, so can UIDAI," Ramesh had said. The ministry has asked Banks and Post Offices that handle MGNREGA accounts to record the Aadhar numbers of beneficiaries.
The move to renew job cards under MGNREGS comes at a time when the finance ministry has cut this year's allocation for the UIDAI scheme by 17.5 % to 33,000 crore and the rural development ministry's fund utilisation under MGNREGS has stagnated at 64%.
Source:-The Economic Times
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