When the Indian government announced a new ID card scheme in January 2009, which would bring some coherence to the more than dozen ID proofs already floating around, it created interest. In June 2009, when Nandan Nilekani was recruited to head the scheme and accorded ministerial status, too, this was the first time a globally recognised Indian technologist had been promoted to the top government ranks. This attracted extraordinary interest. Nilekani himself pointed to the challenges and promises of the project. "No country in the world has done what we are embarking to do, this is the big enchilada," he said. At the same time, he clarified to The Indian Express: "I'm like a mega project manager working with thousands of government agencies, not to mention dealing with the politics of it." His concerns have proved well-judged. While supporters have been enthusiastic about all the far-reaching effects of a UID, from better targeted delivery of public services to better tax collection, detractors in various guises have been equally vociferous. Whether it is those who have raised the privacy bogey or those that are visibly vested in protecting their turfs (by way of alternative, existing ID cards, for example), Nilekani has been convincingly battling these detractors by arguing that social, economic and efficiency benefits of the UID will be worth its costs. Now comes the news that the government has decided to slash the budget of the UID project by more than half, from Rs 7,000 crore to Rs 3,000 crore for the first phase. But even such a curtailment leaves a lot of room for Nilekani's team to prove the worth of the project.
Sure, only 10 crore UIDs instead of 60 crore will be assigned as a result of this budget curtailment. But if this assignment goes through smoothly, if it even begins to deliver the promised low-cost high-volume service and finance penetration, if these deliveries attain a critical mass, then more funds will necessarily follow. These will follow on popular demand rather than government fiat. And let's underline that some of the UPA's dearest schemes of today are intimately tied up with the UID project. The fate of the Food Security Bill behind which the substantial weight of the Sonia-Gandhi-led National Advisory Council has been put, for example, is closely connected to the rollout of the UID project—as is the 'inclusive growth' agenda in general.
