The Jammu and Kashmir government has taken a major decision to issue a “unique identity card” to every family residing there.
The administration backed up its decision by saying that the purpose of ‘Family ID’ is to provide the benefits of several welfare schemes to the needy people. According to PrernaPuri, commissioner secretary of the IT department, “The aim of creating the database, which will be equivalent to Haryana’s ‘ParivarParivar Prakash Patra’, is that families or individuals do not need to apply for benefits under each individual scheme”.
“Once the data is verified and authenticated in the JK Family ID database, a beneficiary will not need to submit any further document to avail of the service,” he said.
The administration will utilise the information in the family database to pick recipients for social benefits automatically based on eligibility. Every family in Jammu and Kashmir would be recognised by the database, which will also gather their basic information and save it in a digital format with their permission.
Data management must adhere to all applicable laws and rules on data protection.
The J&K Government should develop an information security policy to “thwart threats and secure sensitive and essential data,” the Commissioner Secretary continued.
This move has been welcomed by the Bharatiya Janata Party while the opposition has expressed their reservations.
Senior BJP leader, and former MLC Devendra Singh Rana, who is also the brother of Union Minister of State Dr Jitendra Singh, said, “The J&k administration is planning to create an authentic database of all families in the Union Territory, including each family member. The family will have a unique code. The purpose of this is to facilitate access to the eligible beneficiaries of various social schemes”.