Accenture, a technology-consulting company, has been awarded a 12-month contract to re-engineer and implement the delivery of biometric programme in Punjab, India under the Aadhaar biometric identification programme.
The contract will help the state government of Punjab identify eligible citizens and eliminate duplicate and incorrect records for the Department of Food and Civil Supplies, the firm said on Friday.
The biometric-based service delivery model will provide the government with a simplified process for targeting beneficiaries by ensuring accurate inclusion of recipients, reducing the cost of service delivery by using direct, government-to-citizens payments; while also enhancing programme accountability.
As the project manager and prime contractor, Accenture also will help the state to increase citizen awareness on the goals and objectives of Aadhaar, and support the government with any required legal and policy changes.
Biometrics are unique physical characteristics, such as fingerprints, that can be used for automated recognition. Aadhaar is a 12- digit individual identification number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India on behalf of the Government of India.
“Aadhaar provides a national unique identity to each resident that will be portable, digital and verifiable online. Citizens will benefit from a simplified process of establishing identity. Biometric-based authentication will replace the paper-based verification/authentication being done for residents adding to their convenience,” Nodal officer, Registrar UID Punjab cum Joint Secretary Food and Supplies Department, Government of Punjab, Mr. Parminder Singh, said.
Through the programme, UIDAI said it would be changing the way of life for the country’s 1.2 billion people. By issuing unique IDs through fingerprints, facial and iris images, the programme is giving each resident a unique and provable identity.