Eye scans and finger prints could be the first step to bringing India's rural population out of poverty Photo: Adib Roy (flickr)

No birth certificate, no bank account. No government ID, no loans or assistance programs.

In India, many rural poor don't formally exist, and can't access the very programs designed to help them.

A new initiative to assign ID numbers to every Indian resident in order to provide equal access to economic assistance programs is just taking off. The program is unprecedented in size, attempting to gather iris scans, fingerprints, and residence data on 1.2 billion people. The biometric data would be used to assign foolproof ID numbers, similar to social security numbers in the US. The Unique ID project would allow those most in need to access the government programs aimed at them. It would also open doors for people to move freely to find better jobs or education.

The current identity system often shackles rural residents to their homes. Without any formal identification, they must work with the go-between of a local official. They are unable to move away because without ID, nobody could verify their identity. By cutting out the middle man and providing official identification, you cut out potential corruption and pay offs while increasing opportunities by opening the doors to banks, subsidies, not to mention the rest of the country.

The Unique Identification system is a unique example of private corporations and government working together to benefit society— a relationship that makes many Indians uneasy. However, the program is voluntary and the use of fingerprints and iris scanning is meant to minimize fraud and corruption. The program does not require users to be Indian citizensand the demographic information collected is no different than what would be found on a US Census form.

However, while potentials are undoubtedly huge—opening doors to government subsidies, loans and banking systems—the drawbacks and criticism drawn are also worthy to note.

• The program is billed to be as much about poverty alleviation as national security, which raises the question, who will have access to this data and to what end?
• A biometric data collection of this scale has never been attempted. The second-largest program after this one is the US-Visit visa program, which has data on only 100 million people.
• Much of the benefit has not been adequately proven or assessed, or could be solved with more cost-effective, low-tech solutions like improving assistance programs already in place

With the UID program, India's rural residents can, for the first time, formally exist... and may be able to access new levels of economic freedom, just by getting a set of digits.