Draft bill on UID numbers soon: Nilekani

A draft bill on the unique identity project would be made public within the next one month, 'Aadhar' (formerly Unique Identity Authority of India) chairman Nandan Nilekani said on Tuesday.

"We need an act to govern a regulatory body like UIDAI. The draft of the Act will be put for public discussion in the next four weeks," he told reporters on the sidelines of an interactive session on the unique identification number organised by the Confederation of Indian Industries in New Delhi.

Nilekani also said Aadhar, which aims to provide a unique identity to the residents of the country by next year, needs to partner with various agencies like the Registrar General of India for a "universal coverage" of the exercise.

"You need multiple partners for a variety of reasons and a universal coverage for the UIDAI," he said.

Nilekani told participants in the session that the UID numbers could act as a tool to drive financial inclusion of the rural and poor people.

"Lack of identity is hurting people and blocking progress. Aadhar can help in the 'know your customer' guidelines that banks have. It can reduce friction for the poor person who is trying to access public services like banking," Nilekani said.