Kolkata, Dec 8: Application of the biometric database of unique identification number (UID) could be expanded beyond the proposed cash transfer scheme of the union government, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) chairman Nandan Nilekani said here Friday.
"We have built the world's largest database where 270 million people are enrolled and 220 million are already issued numbers. We are planning to build a database of 1.2 billion people," Nilekani said here.
Nilekani, who is heading the UID scheme Aadhaar, was speaking at the "INFOCOM 2012" seminar, organised by Business World.
"The first application that we are launching with the ID system is electronic cash transfer of money to peoples bank accounts. But it can also be used for electronic crediting of rice and wheat in the public distribution system (PDS)," he said.
Saying that Andhra Pradesh was already using such a system, Nilekani hinted that it could be expanded for implementation in other states as well.
He said: "An electronic verification system (based on the database) can also be used to buy a SIM card across the table with no paperwork. In future, people can also build health, credit and skill records on it."
"So basically, we are creating an application infrastructure that allows people to build newer applications around the database," he added.
Electronic cash transfers is the first application of Aadhar platform, which is a 12-digit number developed by UIDAI.
