Wednesday was a red letter day for Tembhli, a tribal hamlet in western Maharashtra. Ten villagers received 12-digit unique identification numbers. Mr Nandan Nilekani, former Infosys chairman was selected to head the Unique Identification Authority of India.

The unique number is based on personal details of the person, an iris scan and finger print to avoid duplication. Although no date has been set for completion of the process the new numbers will do away with various cards (ration card, voter identification card, etc) employed by the government to identify citizens and replace it with one card with nationwide validity. The project is the largest ever undertaken in the country, with a plan to cover a population of nearly 1.2 billion people. No country in the developed or developing world has ever attempted a project so large in scope. Once completed, the project will help provide proper data for planning and help even the poorest of the poor avail of government schemes and employment. For example, people from remote areas of Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and even Tamil Nadu come to Goa to work on trawlers. Till today police in the states of their origin are unable to provide the Goa police with authentic data about these workers. The unique identification number will change all this for the better. In many ways the choice of a tribal area to launch the project is apt because these people need it more than others. Perhaps, the government would do well to first cover the far-flung and remote areas of the country before extending it to urban areas where a system of identification already exists. The task before Mr Nilekani is enormous but not impossible. Many years back the Election Commission launched the voter identity card and today it has become an accepted proof of identity. The launch of the card is a worthwhile life switch for Mr Nilekani and a giant leap for the nation.