Orissa, C'garh, Andaman Nicobar next on UID proj

Hyderabad, Oct 9: After the UID project officially took off on Sep 29 in a Maharashtra village, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has now set its eyes on Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

An UIDAI official has informed that the UIDAI is gearing up to enroll people in Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the next few weeks.

While the enrollment will begin in Orissa and Chhattisgarh in Oct 2010, Andaman and Nicobar Islands will see enrollment will kick start in Nov 2010.

Deputy Director General of UIDAI (Hyderabad region), V S Bhaskar said that the Hyderabad region covers Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The UIDAI has divided the country into eight regions namely Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Chandigarh, Ranchi, Lucknow and Guwahati, each headed by a DDG.

“In Andhra Pradesh, UIDAI has a target to cover 3.11 crore people in the first phase, covering seven districts. It would cover 50 lakh people in Chhattisgarh and all of the 3.5 lakh people in Andaman and Nicobar by March 31 next year," Bhaskar told reporters.

The ambitious UID project, a showcase initiative of the UPA II government, is headed by former Infoscion Nandan Nilekani. The project has been renamed 'Aadhar'.

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