The Indian government is planning to issue national identity cards to people living in select areas spread across 13 states to kick-start a mammoth project that will eventually involve the entire country. The ambitious project is aimed at addressing major security concerns including the illegal infiltration into India from neighbouring countries, particularly Bangladesh. The National Citizen Card will be a multi-purpose one that will also provide details about the holder’s medical and financial details. The card is expected to take recourse to biometric devices such as digitised thumbprint and retina scans. It will contain data of the holder in an info-chip that lists out 20 strands.
