[Reader-list] The Bollywood identity: India's ID cards challenge- 168

[Taha Mehmood]

Dear All

There's more spin here- the informed author of this learned piece
wants us to believe the following.

1. The pilot programme. Around 100 million identity cards are expected
to be handed out as part of an extended pilot.

Where was a pilot program UIDC talked about? When was it mentioned?
Who mentioned it? As far as I know, there's not going to be a pilot
program for UIDAI. There was one for MNIC. but MNIC is being renamed
as UIDC.

2. India has around 100 million internal migrants who often fall foul
of corrupt territorial officials. Selling the scheme to central and
state-level ministers and their minions, Nandan concedes, will be his
first big test. Ministerial powers should help - a bit

Just look at the tone here, 'Selling the scheme to central and
state-level ministers and their minions'. The deeply patronizing tone
of this idiot. Minions. Really? I think a billion Indians must make
their voices felt against this seemingly plain transfer of funds, this
blatant redistribution of money to IT sector, this crass, shoddy way
in which investment in social capital is being ignored. And 100
million internal migrants??? Isn't that too small a figure!!!  Just
10% of us are internally displaced?

3. Success however will be a true revolutionary leap forward for the
world largest democracy. As George W. Bush said, "A billion people, in
a functioning democracy. Ain't that something." If this programme
actually delivers, then the world will have to agree "Ain't that
something!!" and be very humble.

So does -revolutionary leap- these days mean creating a -vendor
driven- identity market for plastic tokens? Where sometimes -domain
expertise- of Israeli Jews in numbering people comes in handy?

Ha!

Please read the story below for more illuminating perspectives.

Warm regards

Taha

http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2009/07/27/237048/indias-id-cards-challenge.htm

The scene is set for another modern Indian classic. It involves
previous failures, deep systemic corruption, anti-terrorism, political
ideology and ambition, at least two billionaires, a cast of 1.2
billion people, and a battleground for local and global outsourcing
giants competing for the spoils of a multi-billion-dollar set of
contracts and a truly life-changing three-year project that the eyes
of the world will be watching and scrutinising for ideas and copycat
re-enactment elsewhere, writes Robert Morgan, director of outsourcing
consultancy Hamilton Bailey.

Act One - the presidential palace in New Delhi 25 July 2009, the two
billionaires meet. Bill Gates and former Infosys Technologies founder
and co-chairman Nandan Nilekani against the background of the
conferment ceremony of the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize. The talk is of
Nandan's new role as government minister in charge of the Unique
Identification Authority of India.


The talk is of ID cards as critical to improving the delivery of
social services, subsidies and other government programmes while also
strengthening national security. Some1.2 billion people unified by
biometrics and plastic.

Corruption siphons as much as 80% of the funds meant for India's poor,
according to studies from Harvard Business School and the World Bank.

Gates' ambition was made clear with the words: "I'll certainly commit,
Microsoft wants to be a partner.".

"It's the mother of all IT projects," said Nandan. The gauntlet has
been thrown down.

The halls of IBM, HP, CSC, Accenture et al reverberated this same
desire. Projects this big are rare in today's credit crisis
outsourcing market. India must not close its doors to competition -
but it will be a first for India, having reaped huge benefits from the
world's free market

Could this be the first real project where Microsoft's move into
formal structured and head-on competition for the provision of
outsourcing services is finally displayed?

Closer to home, Infosys has not hidden its ambition, although Nandan
will not participate in supplier selection.

Tata Consultancy Services is also interested. In 2007, it issued ID
cards to rural workers with short-term government contracts in Andhra
Pradesh state. Wages of 2.5 million workers, previously outside the
formal economy were deposited into Indian Post Office accounts. "This
resulted in verification of identification and a clampdown on fund
leakages," said S Ramadorai, CEO at TCS.

Act Two - The pilot programme. Around 100 million identity cards are
expected to be handed out as part of an extended pilot - almost twice
the size of the UK's dying ID cards programme.

India believes that it can roll out this IT project for 1.2 billion
people for around £3bn, against the UK's £5.3bn - a bargain.

India has around 100 million internal migrants who often fall foul of
corrupt territorial officials. Selling the scheme to central and
state-level ministers and their minions, Nandan concedes, will be his
first big test. Ministerial powers should help - a bit

Avoiding an outsourcing-UK-style NHS contract disaster will be the
second big test. The Indian government has very little experience of
outsourcing contracts of this size and complexity

Success however will be a true revolutionary leap forward for the
world largest democracy. As George W. Bush said, "A billion people, in
a functioning democracy. Ain't that something." If this programme
actually delivers, then the world will have to agree "Ain't that
something!!" and be very humble.