Around 50 lakh citizens in three districts of Chhattisgarh would be provided with unique identity numbers under the first phase of the UID 'Aadhar' project in the state.

According to official sources, the Unique Identification Authority has selected Raipur, Bilaspur and Durg districts of Chhattishgarh in the first phase, aiming to issue identity numbers to 50 lakh people in its project implementation.

The authority set up to collect data for the issue of tamper-proof biometric identity cards to citizens, has authorised the Planning as well as the Economic and Statistics department in the state as the nodal agency in this regard, they said.

'Aadhar' is the brand name for the 12-digit unique identity number.

The project aims at effective governance and will ensure that delivery of government programmes can be directed better besides providing citizens with unique identity numbers that will serve as their ticket to be part of the inclusive growth, Planning Secretary R S Vishwakarma said.

Under this project, besides photograph and population details, impressions of all the fingers will be taken. Kids aged below five will be photographed with their parents. The unique IDs can be used to open bank accounts, and acquiring driving licenses as well as passports, he said.

Also, the project intends to issue these numbers with help of services of both the government departments and agencies, as also banks and insurance companies and other firms interested in it through special training to their employees for its effective implementation, he said. .