Biometric PAN cards put on hold -Governance Now

Biometric PAN cards put on hold

IT department may not require biometric cards after UID

PTI | April 5, 2010

The Income Tax department's proposal to issue biometric PAN cards has been put on hold so as to avoid duplication with the UID numbers to be issued by Nandan Nilekani's Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI).

The biometric Permanent Account Number (PAN) card was proposed by the then Finance Minister P Chidambaram in 2006 to counter the problem of duplicate PAN cards which were uncovered during I-T searches and raids by police and other enforcement agencies.

The proposed biometric PAN cards would have carried the I-T assessees' fingerprints (two from each hand) and the face.

Such a card, it was hoped, would be difficult to duplicate or manipulate.

But after the UIDAI was set up last year, the Authority decided to create a database of similar biometric information for all residents of the country.

To avoid duplication of effort, a senior Finance Ministry official said, "the biometric PAN card project of the department has been kept in abeyance till the UID is rolled out. In the meantime, the suspension will allow the I-T department to understand and analyse whether after a biometric UID, a PAN with similar features would be necessary or not."

The UID number, expected to roll out by the middle of next year, will capture the fingerprints of all ten fingers, the face and iris of an individual.

The UID Authority is preparing to roll out biometric numbers and hence it would not be appropriate for the I-T department to run a similar project in the parallel, the official said.

The entire effort to have biometric PAN cards was to avoid duplication and stop fraudulent practices by tax evaders and anti-nationals. The UID would achieve the same purpose, the official added.

Once the UID numbers start rolling out, a decision would be taken on whether the database could help the I-T department in stopping the misuse of PAN or still the biometric PAN cards would be necessary to be made, the official added.

The I-T department, in a number of cases, has uncovered several individuals possessing multiple PAN cards or forging the details.

While PAN is a 10-digit alphanumeric number allotted by the I-T department to taxpayers, biometrics is a biological method to identify physical features of an individual.

Comments

Other News

Gandhian movement after Gandhi failed: Ram Guha

The Gandhian movement in India, after Gandhi’s death, failed, says Ramachandra Guha, and blames Vinoba Bhave for it. But the movement found new, fertile grounds around the world and succeeded in bringing about a change in South Africa, the US and elsewhere. It is high time it returned home. Of cour

When religion, politics and Bollywood come together

Tavleen Singh, noted journalist and political commentator, has turned to fiction, with her debut novel ‘The Actor’ (HaperCollins India). Set in the near future, it has a superstar, Amit Singh, turning to politics, when the political landscape is dominated by prime minister Guru Gaynendraj

Cabinet approves setting up of Integrated Transport & Logistics Authority

The union cabinet, chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday approved the setting up of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), called Integrated Transport & Logistics Authority (ITLA), to strengthen research, planning, appraisal, monitoring and impact assessment within the broad domains of Transp

Why foundational literacy and numeracy is key to school education

Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) are often described as the building blocks of education. Yet, their significance goes well beyond a child’s ability to read a sentence, write a response or solve a basic mathematical problem. These foundational skills shape how children understand the world,

When police data becomes the algorithm

For decades, policing has followed a familiar sequence: a crime occurs, the police respond, an investigation produces records and those records become part of the institutional memory of the criminal justice system. Artificial intelligence is beginning to alter that sequence. Instead of merely recording

Before India voted, the framers worried about the referee

“We are making a Constitution forever and not only for today.” Shibban Lal Saksena said this in the Constituent Assembly on June 15, 1949. He was warning that a ruling party might one day choose a loyalist to run India’s elections. Seventy-seven years later, the Supreme Court is wrestli