Biometric-wala

An encounter with the newly sought-after craftsman who fashions an identity for you—or, at least, a UID card

01 October 2011
Bechu Lal at work at the Lajpat Nagar UID registration centre.
SHIVAM VIJ FOR THE CARAVAN
Bechu Lal at work at the Lajpat Nagar UID registration centre.
SHIVAM VIJ FOR THE CARAVAN

CONTRARY TO WHAT HIS NAME SUGGESTS, Bechu Lal Yadav, 29, isn’t a seller of goods. He is a recordist of identity. And he is among a new breed of technical professionals who have come up overnight—the Biometric-walas.

Originally from Bhadohi district of Uttar Pradesh, Bechu Lal makes biometric “smart” cards for zero balance bank accounts. They may resemble ATM cards, but in the absence of ATM machines in villages, the second embedded chip is used to verify the card through thumb impressions and record cash transactions. He owns a few such zero balance smart cards himself, and is proud of it.

Bechu Lal had been making these cards for the company eGramIT when the firm discovered an even bigger client than retail banks: the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). Across the country, companies like eGramIT have been subcontracted by UID “registrars”, which fall into almost any kind of government department or agency, to help issue Aadhaar (12-digit identification) numbers.

Shivam Vij is a freelance journalist based in New Delhi. He is a fellow with the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting, Washington DC.

Keywords: UID Unique Identification Authority Aadhaar number identity biometric registration Shivam Vij
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