Smart national ID cards

The Election Commission's (EC's) move to introduce smart national identity cards (NIDs), replacing the existing ones, has evidently been prompted more by practical needs than any cheap motive. In fact, the NID card a citizen of this country now proudly possesses cannot quite match the elevated position it should have done. A laminated card with a picture of the holder, it is indeed a poor document both in look and performance. It can easily be fraudulently copied. Even the stamp-size photograph of the card holder is, more often than not, barely recognisable as his or her own. For a country aspiring to be digitised, a national ID card of this low quality, which does not moreover guarantee foolproof security, by all accounts is a mismatch. So, the need for a smart national ID card proves overriding.
Now according to a report carried in this newspaper, the ball has started rolling with the EC forwarding a French company's tender offer to the Cabinet Purchase Committee (CPC) for its approval. Involving an estimated cost of Tk 7.9626 billion, the EC project seeks to produce and distribute 90 million ID cards. It has appropriately been titled, Identification System for Enhancing Access to Services (ISEA). In place of the poor security features of the existing NID, its replacement will have more than 25 such features - ones that will guarantee that it cannot be used by anyone, other than its holders, and with any ill motive. The smart card will be truly smart by ensuring its importance for enjoying various public and private services as a genuine citizen of the country. The advantage then will prove to be a disadvantage for the non-nationals, particularly those intent on living here illegally for any ulterior purpose. This is important because in the recent past both the Rohingyas from Myanmar and members of other extremist groups from abroad did reportedly come to Bangladesh in order to stay here and engage in activities suiting their alleged ill-designs. Now the mandatory provision of smart ID cards for citizens will make the task of challenging anyone posing to be a national of Bangladesh, when in fact s/he is not, easier.
Now a document of this order needs to be stored centrally for developing a national data bank. The pool of information may require to be widened a little more for this purpose. But this has to be done in one-go. Or, otherwise, another such extensive programme or project will have to be taken up to do the job. That the enormous expenditure on the existing NID card project now all set to go waste should be a lesson for everyone. In a digitised system, a national data bank is all the more necessary where a whole lot of bureaucratic procedures can be avoided in matters of public or private services or criminal investigation. Before finalising the NID project, the authorities concerned should explore the possibility of developing a national data bank with a little more extra expense. Its benefit is likely to be far greater than the little extra expenses required.