4G Identity Solutions wins contracts from UIDAI

A press release from the company said the devices could be used in the UIDAI Proof of Concept (PoC) tests.

The tests are aimed at establishing a definitive baseline for biometric data quality under Indian conditions. Subsequent to these tests, the devices and the data collected in the PoC will be used in the UIDAI's biometrics Center of Competence, the release said.

The UIDAI is headed by Mr Nandan Nilekani, who resigned as co-Chairman of Infosys Technologies Limited in July last year to take up the challenging assignment.

It has the mandate to issue a unique identification number to all 1.2 billion residents of India, without any duplication of identities, in order to improve the efficacy of service delivery of various government programmes.

According to the release, the UIDAI had chosen to capture iris, fingerprint and facial biometric features as the primary mechanisms for ensuring uniqueness. In December 2009, UIDAI invited global bids for supply, installation and commissioning of biometric and fingerprint devices.

The release said 19 companies, including the largest Indian integrators and hardware producers, participated in the bidding process which 4G ID won.

"The size, diversity and nature of India's population, and adverse field conditions each add unique challenges to achieving uniqueness through biometric features," Dr Sreeni Tripuraneni, CEO of 4G ID, said.

"We at 4G ID know this because of our substantial experience in large-scale biometrics in India. 4G ID is pleased to be able to offer the expertise it has gained in building the world's largest biometric ID databases in India," he said.

The release pointed out that India could not leverage other countries' experiences in designing the UIDAI's biometrics systems and processes because such experiences simply did not exist in terms of scale, diversity, and environmental conditions.

"Therefore, it is necessary to test devices and enrolment processes in various Indian environments," it explained.

"The UIDAI will use the biometric devices to establish a definitive baseline and answer three questions: What practices will result in the optimum quality of captured biometric information? What level of accuracy can be expected by using fingerprints, iris, and a combination of fingerprints and iris? How does this accuracy vary across certain demographic traits such as gender, age and occupation?" the release added.

NNN