--- layout: default title: "Much at Stake for Tech Sector in UID Project" description: "A Times of India report examining how uncertainty around the UID project could affect India's technology sector, following objections raised by a Parliamentary Standing Committee." categories: [Media mentions] date: 2011-12-12 source: "The Times of India" authors: ["Pranav Nambiar"] permalink: /media/much-at-stake-for-tech-sector-in-uid-project-times-of-india/ created: 2025-12-25 --- **Much at Stake for Tech Sector in UID Project** is a news report published by *The Times of India* on 12 December 2011, written by Pranav Nambiar. The article examines the potential impact on India's technology sector following uncertainty around the Unique Identification (UID or Aadhaar) project after objections raised by a Parliamentary Standing Committee. The article was also published on [*The Economic Times*](/media/much-at-stake-tech-sector-uid-project) on the same date. ## Contents 1. [Article Details](#article-details) 2. [Full Text](#full-text) 3. [Context and Background](#context-and-background) 4. [External Link](#external-link) ## Article Details
📰 Published in:
The Times of India
✍️ Author:
Pranav Nambiar
📅 Date:
12 December 2011
📄 Type:
News Report
📰 Newspaper Link:
Read Online
## Full Text

BANGALORE: With the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance raising a red flag against the National Identification Authority of India (NIAI) Bill to grant the UID (or Aadhaar) project legal status, the project looks set for a slowdown. That could have broad implications for the tech sector that had laid substantial hope on it, especially when global markets are slowing down.

The UID project is estimated to offer IT companies a Rs 15,000–Rs 20,000-crore opportunity. This includes building an ecosystem around the project, comprising biometrics, databases, smartcards, storage and system integration. Since the UIDAI implements an open-system, plug-and-play approach, entrepreneurs and startups can develop applications in numerous areas. Some of the applications of Aadhaar is seen in areas such as food distribution, financial inclusion, and know-your-customer services.

The parliamentary committee has said that the project might be too expensive and duplicates the National Population Register's (NPR) efforts to collect biometric and other data for the national census. Some have also called for a change of collection of data from biometric data, which they consider insecure for smart cards, (as fraudsters can take your fingerprints from objects that you touch). The Cabinet need not accept the committee's recommendations. Thus it is unclear if the UID project will be scrapped, watered down or persisted with in its current form. Some contracts have been granted to tech majors. According to the said current contracts are not significantly large in size and their cancellation will not make a big dent in the companies' books. He added that scrapping of project from a longer-term perspective could be a negative. According to the UIDAI website, Wipro in March 2011 won a contract to supply, install, and commission hardware and software for data centres at Bangalore and NCR. MindTree in April 2010 won a contract for application software development, maintenance and support. TCS, Accenture, HP, Satyam, Intelenet Global, HCL Infosystems and Geodesic are some others that have won contracts.

Ankur Rudra, IT sector analyst at Ambit Capital, said public distribution system and e-governance schemes are expected to spark off more projects requiring technology enablement.

Sunil Abraham, ED of the Centre for Internet and Society, said if changes are incorporated to the Bill, it would not necessarily be anti-technology. The organisation had raised concerns about security issues around biometric data. "There might be a change in the design of the UID project, but technology will remain a critical element," he added.

Siddharth Pai, MD of global sourcing advisory firm Technology Partners International (TPI) India, said that the UID project is a very critical infrastructure from a national perspective and chances of the project being scrapped are little.

He added that tech companies might experience delay in government spends and see a delay in project execution. This may lead to delays in revenue yields. IT company officials also acknowledge that there could be delays in projects which could increase costs for them. None wanted to be quoted on this issue.

{% include back-to-top.html %} ## Context and Background The article was published in December 2011, when the UID (Aadhaar) project was still in an early and contested phase of implementation. Although enrolment had begun, the programme did not yet have statutory backing, and its future depended on parliamentary approval of the National Identification Authority of India Bill. At the time, the UID initiative was seen as a significant opportunity for India's technology sector, with potential demand for biometric systems, large databases, data centres, and systems integration. Technology companies and startups had positioned themselves to participate in building infrastructure and applications linked to welfare delivery, financial inclusion, and identity verification. The objections raised by the Parliamentary Standing Committee reflected broader concerns about cost, duplication with existing population databases, and the security of biometric data. The uncertainty described in the report captures an early moment in India's debate over digital identity, highlighting tensions between ambitious technology-led governance initiatives and questions of oversight, design, and long-term sustainability. ## External Link - [Read on The Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/much-at-stake-for-tech-sector-in-uid-project/articleshow/11077855.cms)