Pakistan Deploys Big Data to Fight Terror
Pakistan has started verifying identities of over 135 million cell phone users through fingerprints. The massive exercise is being described by Washington Post as the "world’s largest — and fastest — efforts to collect biometric information". The deadline for completion is March 14, 2015.
Several countries, including South Africa and India, have recently implemented broad systems for collecting and storing their citizens biometric information. But analysts and communications experts say they can’t recall a country trying to gather biometrics as rapidly as Pakistan is doing, according to the Washington-based American newspaper.
In addition to setting up biometric verification systems at tens of thousands of retail points run by carriers, the cellphone companies have launched massive advertising campaigns and sent mobile vans around the country to accelerate the process. About half of all SIMs have so far been verified.
The companies are warning subscribers that their SIM (subscriber identity module) cards will not work unless the owners' fingerprints are entered and verified against the database maintained by the National Database Registration Authority (NADRA). They have to show their computerized national identity cards (CNICs) and fingerprints. If the scanner matches their print with the one in a government database, they can keep their SIM card. If not, or if they don't show up, their cellphone service is cut off.
The current SIM registration drive is part of the government's new counter terrorism campaign. Cellphones have been used in the past to detonate explosive devices as well as to make extortion calls. Identification of SIM cards is expected to discourage such acts of terror and help track down the perpetrators.
The use of Big Data like Pakistan's biometric database is not limited to catching terrorists and criminals. It can also be used to significantly improve governance. Here's how Tariq Malik, the architect of Pakistan's NADRA, describes it in a recent piece for Forbes magazine:
BIG Data can now be leveraged for a variety of public uses, and re-uses. It can strengthen the link between citizens and state to enhance state capacity, and its applications are varied—ranging from disaster management to social service delivery.
Collecting, storing and processing structured and unstructured information is an endeavor that is both massive and meticulous. But thanks to advancing big data technology, it’s more feasible today than ever before. BIG Data can now be leveraged for a variety of public uses, and re-uses. It can strengthen the link between citizens and state to enhance state capacity, and its applications are varied—ranging from disaster management to social service delivery.
Consider Pakistan’s National Database And Registration Authority (NADRA) that houses one of the world’s largest multi-biometric citizens database, consisting of ten fingerprints, digital photographs and biographic attributes of each citizen. More than 121 million identities are stored in this database. When floods suddenly hit Pakistan in 2010, over 20 million citizens were displaced. Government wanted to provide monetary subsistence and aid for the rehabilitation and reconstruction effort; however, the problem was that while traditional aid could be dropped via helicopter, cash could not. They were further challenged with verifying claimants; specifically, identifying whether or not they belonged to a calamity hit area.
How could Pakistan support those affected by the disaster? The NADRA had a simple task to perform: cross verify citizen thumb prints with information stored in its database, then check their permanent address. The result was nothing short of miraculous. Essentially, big data allowed policymakers to know who the victims were and where they lived at the time of the crisis. Smart cards were quickly loaded with cash to help victims with rehabilitation efforts. More than $1 billion U.S. was disbursed without a single misappropriated penny. The process was swift and transparent, and international auditors were taken aback.
All of this made international aid donors happy, since it cut down their cost of administration, eliminated doubts of corruption and narrowed the trust deficit. But more importantly, the state enforced its writ and citizens realized for the first time that the state is there for them in times of need.
At last count, just 800,000 of Pakistan’s 180 million people paid direct taxes. Integrating data across various government databases, then reconciling it with the citizen database along with NADRA big data analytics helped identify 3.5 million tax evaders. It is estimated that if a basic minimum tax rate were applied, Pakistan would have $3.5 billion right away. Although big data analytics is no substitute for radical reform, it at least generates a healthy debate for tax reform.
It’s been argued that state capacity is essentially “extractive capacity”; the ability to effectively tax its citizens and plough it back for public welfare. Advanced data analytics on big data provides an important linchpin in this ongoing debate. As NADRA’s experience illustrates, many fragile states face an even more basic challenge: the ability to accurately count and register its citizens. To collect and process big data in a way that does not compromise citizen privacy can have powerful development externalities, including the ability to build state capacity through tax collection—and avoid approaching the International Monetary Fund with a begging bowl.
Big data analytics for government is a rapidly evolving field, offering exciting opportunities that, when explored and applied, can help fragile states uncover powerful and effective methods for optimizing governance.
Related Links:
Haq's Musings
NADRA Case Study
Pakistan Leads in Biometric IT Services
3G-4G Rollout in Pakistan
Is India's AAdhaar Copied From Pakistan's NADRA?
Mobile Broadband in Pakistan
Several countries, including South Africa and India, have recently implemented broad systems for collecting and storing their citizens biometric information. But analysts and communications experts say they can’t recall a country trying to gather biometrics as rapidly as Pakistan is doing, according to the Washington-based American newspaper.
In addition to setting up biometric verification systems at tens of thousands of retail points run by carriers, the cellphone companies have launched massive advertising campaigns and sent mobile vans around the country to accelerate the process. About half of all SIMs have so far been verified.
The companies are warning subscribers that their SIM (subscriber identity module) cards will not work unless the owners' fingerprints are entered and verified against the database maintained by the National Database Registration Authority (NADRA). They have to show their computerized national identity cards (CNICs) and fingerprints. If the scanner matches their print with the one in a government database, they can keep their SIM card. If not, or if they don't show up, their cellphone service is cut off.
The current SIM registration drive is part of the government's new counter terrorism campaign. Cellphones have been used in the past to detonate explosive devices as well as to make extortion calls. Identification of SIM cards is expected to discourage such acts of terror and help track down the perpetrators.
The use of Big Data like Pakistan's biometric database is not limited to catching terrorists and criminals. It can also be used to significantly improve governance. Here's how Tariq Malik, the architect of Pakistan's NADRA, describes it in a recent piece for Forbes magazine:
BIG Data can now be leveraged for a variety of public uses, and re-uses. It can strengthen the link between citizens and state to enhance state capacity, and its applications are varied—ranging from disaster management to social service delivery.
Collecting, storing and processing structured and unstructured information is an endeavor that is both massive and meticulous. But thanks to advancing big data technology, it’s more feasible today than ever before. BIG Data can now be leveraged for a variety of public uses, and re-uses. It can strengthen the link between citizens and state to enhance state capacity, and its applications are varied—ranging from disaster management to social service delivery.
Consider Pakistan’s National Database And Registration Authority (NADRA) that houses one of the world’s largest multi-biometric citizens database, consisting of ten fingerprints, digital photographs and biographic attributes of each citizen. More than 121 million identities are stored in this database. When floods suddenly hit Pakistan in 2010, over 20 million citizens were displaced. Government wanted to provide monetary subsistence and aid for the rehabilitation and reconstruction effort; however, the problem was that while traditional aid could be dropped via helicopter, cash could not. They were further challenged with verifying claimants; specifically, identifying whether or not they belonged to a calamity hit area.
How could Pakistan support those affected by the disaster? The NADRA had a simple task to perform: cross verify citizen thumb prints with information stored in its database, then check their permanent address. The result was nothing short of miraculous. Essentially, big data allowed policymakers to know who the victims were and where they lived at the time of the crisis. Smart cards were quickly loaded with cash to help victims with rehabilitation efforts. More than $1 billion U.S. was disbursed without a single misappropriated penny. The process was swift and transparent, and international auditors were taken aback.
All of this made international aid donors happy, since it cut down their cost of administration, eliminated doubts of corruption and narrowed the trust deficit. But more importantly, the state enforced its writ and citizens realized for the first time that the state is there for them in times of need.
At last count, just 800,000 of Pakistan’s 180 million people paid direct taxes. Integrating data across various government databases, then reconciling it with the citizen database along with NADRA big data analytics helped identify 3.5 million tax evaders. It is estimated that if a basic minimum tax rate were applied, Pakistan would have $3.5 billion right away. Although big data analytics is no substitute for radical reform, it at least generates a healthy debate for tax reform.
It’s been argued that state capacity is essentially “extractive capacity”; the ability to effectively tax its citizens and plough it back for public welfare. Advanced data analytics on big data provides an important linchpin in this ongoing debate. As NADRA’s experience illustrates, many fragile states face an even more basic challenge: the ability to accurately count and register its citizens. To collect and process big data in a way that does not compromise citizen privacy can have powerful development externalities, including the ability to build state capacity through tax collection—and avoid approaching the International Monetary Fund with a begging bowl.
Big data analytics for government is a rapidly evolving field, offering exciting opportunities that, when explored and applied, can help fragile states uncover powerful and effective methods for optimizing governance.
Related Links:
Haq's Musings
NADRA Case Study
Pakistan Leads in Biometric IT Services
3G-4G Rollout in Pakistan
Is India's AAdhaar Copied From Pakistan's NADRA?
Mobile Broadband in Pakistan
Comments
The second phase of biometric verification for individuals who have two SIMs issued on their CNIC will has started from 27 February and is scheduled for completion on 14 March. To have their cancelled SIMs reissued, individual customers should pass through the biometric verification process and the SIMs will only be delivered on the address provided.
The third phase will be conducted from 14 March until 12 April. The Biometric Verification System (BVS) imposed by the government is an attempt to increase security by preventing terrorists from using mobile SIM cards for attacks.
http://www.telecompaper.com/news/pakistan-completes-biometric-check-of-72-mln-sims--1068046
The cellular teledensity was 8.3 percent about 10 years ago but proactive policies of successive governments helped the sector to achieve growth and the tele-density in mobile phone sector jumped to 54.6 percent in 2007. A data compiled by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) revealed on Sunday that the cellular teledensity remained sluggish this year because of registration process of millions of SIMs by telecom operators.
Revision of mechanism for selling SIMs and limitation of SIMs on one CNIC also suppressed growth of subscribers. In December last year, the tele-density was 73.11 percent.
However, effective marketing campaigns by the operators stimulating subscription of cellular phone companies in urban and rural areas attracted 0.72 million new users to join subscribers’ base of five telecom operators in one month from December 14, 2014 to January 15, 2015. Moreover, the teledensity in the country including fixed, Wireless Local Loop and mobile phone has reached record 76.74 percent by January 15. The teledensity is defined as number of customers per 100 people. Hence it is roughly said that 76.74 percent of Pakistanis own and avail telephony services through different technologies.
http://nation.com.pk/business/02-Mar-2015/cellular-mobile-teledensity-hits-73-32pc-with-136-4m-subscribers
The Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) also confirmed that he had established a connection with the National Database and Registration Authority. The NADRA link will make it possible to view the details of all arrested suspects, as well as access fingerprints and other essential detail, said Khawaja.
The database’s main server will be housed at the Central Police Office, where it will also be accessible to the IGP Sindh, IG Karachi and other senior police officers.
All formalities regarding logistics support and staff for networking the databases of all police stations have been completed.
Meanwhile, director IT Tabassum Abid said that 196 police stations have already been linked through a separate computer networking project.
The DIG CIA will work with the director IT to make use of the existing infrastructure and trained staff to make recommendations for additional resources, in order to ensure the effective use of available resources and the timely completion of the project.
http://www.biometricupdate.com/201504/pakistan-police-to-digitalize-criminal-records-for-centralized-biometric-database
http://findbiometrics.com/integrated-biometrics-tech-to-track-teachers-in-pakistan-26302/ …
Integrated Biometrics technology is helping the Pakistan Education Department to identify teachers in remote villages, the company has announced. Pakistani authorities are using the company’s Columbo fingerprint scanner to match the identities of 150,000 teachers in rural and remote areas against its own database.
The project is funded by the World Bank, with the Integrated Biometrics technology having been selected by contractor Intellitech, which is said to have considered multiple options before settling on the Columbo scanner.
The Columbo fingerprint scanner is FBI-compliant and uses light emitting sensor (LES) technology allowing it to function well in a range of environments. Its technology has proven appealing in a range of applications, with the scanner having been integrated into BETHCOM access control systems and Mobizent’s Intermec CN70e mobile device.
The case of the Pakistan Education Department is a little different, of course. The aim of the project is to develop real-time attendance monitoring in schools in remote villages, which of course could have very positive impacts in the country’s education system. Speaking in a press release, Integrated Biometrics CEO Steve Thies commented, “The fact that our products are being used to improve education for hundreds of thousands of children is incredibly humbling and rewarding.”
Security & surveillance in Pakistan
Unlike in most countries with mandatory registration, SIM cards (in Pakistan) are also biometrically verified against the National Database and Registration Authority’s (NADRA national database, often by fingerprint.
Pakistan has one of the world’s most extensive citizen registration regimes – over 96 % of citizens reportedly have biometric ID cards, including the Smart National Identity Card (SNIC), which contains its owner’s biometric photo, a computer chip,
address and parental information. ID cards are commonly required to access services ranging from opening a bank account to getting a passport. Nevertheless, serious misidentification errors can occur and forgery is rife. Interception across Pakistani networks is pervasive; some of it is also unlawful. A Supreme Court hearing about a case concerning phone tapping revealed that the ISI tapped 6,523 phones in February, 6,819 in March and 6,742 in April 2015. The case,
dating from 1996, was brought following evidence that the then-Chief Justice’s phone had been tapped. At time of publication, no details about the procedures and process for intercepting communications had yet been publicly released.
Since 2004 network providers have been required to comply with requests for interception and access to network data as a standard condition of the PTA’s award of operating licenses to phone companies.
https://www.privacyinternational.org/sites/default/files/PAKISTAN%20REPORT%20HIGH%20RES%2020150721_1.pdf
#Pakistan #telecom companies lead the world telcos in using big data: Teradata CTO. #BigData
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1151447/telecommunication-tech-expert-dives-big-data-potential-pakistan/
The telecom operators (telcos) currently working in Pakistan are fast becoming an example even for telcos of developed countries, which are catching up with some of their best business practices, placing Pakistan among the top tier in the global telecommunication sector, said Teradata Corporation Chief Technology Officer Stephen Brobst.
The reasons, he said, are clear – Pakistani telcos are investing and competing with each other in technology and data analytics with multinational companies always leading the competition and making the market’s overall structure efficient and sophisticated.
“Globally, telcos are our biggest clients, generating a major chunk of the company’s revenues by efficiently using data analytics. The presence of extreme competition within multinationals has pushed the country among top-tier ranks. Global telcos are now picking the best Pakistani brains to adopt some of their best practices,” Brobst said in an interview with The Express Tribune.
Teradata Corporation is a US-based company dealing in analytical data platforms and analytics solutions.
The company is also working with some government departments like the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) analysing the data to identify population demographics, support intelligence and investigation and other such cases.
Teradata also provides analytics to governments for tax compliance at corporate as well as individual levels. The company had worked with the Punjab government in the healthcare sector.
Brobst said they jointly worked with the province to prevent the dengue virus and have successfully used those findings in other countries as well.
The core of this technology is analysing the data rather than keeping it for record. “We live in a digital era which means data is the new currency. Traditionally, a lot of data technology was for record keeping or transaction processing, whereas we are based on analytics, how to understand people’s behaviour, network planning and how to make better decisions based on the data,” he added.
Brobst further said the country can use this technology to streamline its energy issues, banking system, large-scale manufacturing, healthcare and education.
In power companies, smart metering is the solution which can exactly detect how much data is consumed at which hours unlike analogue meters where one has to visit all the meters in order to analyse.
The company is looking to work with K-Electric, but the power company faces issues in installing the smart metering system. He said once K-Electric manages to get the exact data, then they will work with them for further innovation via data analytics.
“This will help in eliminating electricity theft and energy crisis, the world is benefiting to some extent, however, this technology will start emerging in Pakistan in the next five years.”
“We are now in the 21st century and the world has only three options now in terms of doing business – either you are in the data business or you will be in the data business or you will be out of business,” he said.
National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC) has inaugurated Pakistan’s first ever National Data Centre in Islamabad. The inauguration ceremony held in the capital was attended by Minister of IT Ms Anusha Rahman Khan, Chairman PTA Dr. Ismail Shah and various professionals from the IT industry of Pakistan.
Pakistan is the first ever SAARC country to implement the e-governance model. After successfully converting over 6,000 files to e-government by the Ministry of Information Technology, the government last year decided to replicate this model in all ministries/divisions and attached departments.
So, in that respect, the main aim behind the newly inaugurated data centre would be to help the government implement its e-governance agenda. This National Data Centre will comply with the Tier-3 standards and other than e-governance also assist in e-commerce and e-health.
Speaking at the event, Chairman NTC Viqar Rasheed Khan said that the Data Centre will be added with the latest IT features and it will be highly technical. “The Data Centre will provide the facilities to the government bodies with different services in data communication as various other private service providers are offering to their clients.”
IT Minister Anusha Rahman also stated that the National Data Centre for e-governance is the top priority right now.
National Telecommunication Corporation signed a contract with Inbox Business Technologies and Huawei earlier this year in March. The entire process of the data centre’s establishment took place within a time span of 5 months and it is expected that it will be up and running quite soon owing to close working ties between the government and the private sector.
The government began building the system, called Aadhaar, or “foundation,” with great fanfare in 2009, led by a team of pioneering technology entrepreneurs. Since then, almost 90% of India’s population has been enrolled in what is now the world’s largest biometric data set.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who set aside early skepticism and warmed up to the Aadhaar project after taking power in 2014, is betting that it can help India address critical problems such as poverty and corruption, while also saving money for the government.
But the technology is colliding with the rickety reality of India, where many people live off the grid or have fingerprints compromised by manual labor or age.
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An Aadhaar ID is intended to be a great convenience, replacing the multitude of paperwork required by banks, merchants and government agencies. The benefits are only just beginning, backers say, as the biometric IDs are linked to programs and services.
But in rural areas, home to hundreds of millions of impoverished Indians dependent on subsidies, the impact of technical disruptions has already been evident.
After walking for two hours across rough underbrush in Rajasthan to get kerosene for the month, Hanja Devi left empty-handed because the machine couldn’t match her fingerprint with her Aadhaar number.
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The new system hasn’t eliminated attempts at fraud. In August, police in Rajasthan accused two shop managers of linking their fingerprints to a multitude of cards and stealing for months the rations of dozens of clients.
As for trouble connecting to the registry, better infrastructure, including steadier internet connections, will eventually also help, Mr. Pandey said.
For now, Mr. Prakash has found a way to cope without climbing trees. After scouring the village, he set up a shack in a spot with enough bandwidth to allow his fingerprint scanner to work.
It is hardly efficient. He issues receipts in the morning at the shack, then goes back to his shop to hand out the grains. Customers have to line up twice, sometimes for hours.
Mr. Prakash has applied to the government to operate without biometric identification, but his request was turned down, he said. “They said: ‘You have to keep trying.’ ”
Also includes Nanadan Nilekani and Pramod Varma of India's Aadhaar
2016 was a year of innovation and explosive growth in the identity industry. Over the course of a 15-day open nomination period, we received over 1,000 nominations for 355 individuals. After compiling all of the nominations, the top 100 were selected based on the following selection standards:
Industry clout & influencer status
Number of publications & professional speaking engagements in 2016
Number of total nominations
Time in industry
The 2017 OWI 100 represents pioneers, innovators and pace setters who are working to advance inclusion, improve products and services, keep personal data safe, and to ensure and protect individual privacy. The list ranges from individual entrepreneurs to members of large organizations, and covers both public sector and not-for-profit industry advocates.
We are pleased to announce One World Identity’s Top 100
Pakistan Citizen Portal App has been shortlisted for an award at the World Government Summit in Dubai, an official of the KP government said on Twitter.
The World Government Summit is an annual event held in Dubai which brings together leaders in government for a global dialogue about governmental process and policies with a focus on the issues of futurism, technology and innovation, as well as other topics.
Atif Khan, Deputy Director of E-Governance, Government of Khyber Paktunkhwa, said that the finalists will be announced in the 7th edition of the three-day event in Dubai.
"We are shortlisted in the top 3, " he confirmed to The News, expressing the hope that Pakistan would win the first position.
He said it would be an honor for Pakistan if it wins the prize that would be announced on February 12.
Khan also claimed that it is for the first that any government app has been shortlisted.
Pakistan Citizen Portal is an integrated citizens grievance redressal system connecting all government organizations both at federal and provincial levels.
Mitek, BioCatch, Auth0, and Tascent add talent
https://www.biometricupdate.com/202106/tariq-malik-returns-to-lead-pakistan-digital-id-efforts-amid-biometrics-leadership-appointments
Pakistan’s cabinet has approved the return of former National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) Chairman Tariq Malik from his position as chief technical advisor to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Dawn reports.
Malik has also served the World Bank’s ID for Development initiative, and is part of the World Bank’s Technical Experts Group (TEG).
He left Pakistan’s national digital ID authority in early-2014 following an acrimonious dispute with the government of Nawaz Sharif.
https://www.codastory.com/authoritarian-tech/pakistan-biometric-identification-nadra/
Established in 2000, NADRA has been internationally celebrated for designing and maintaining a national database that holds the personal and biometric information of 98% of the Pakistani population. The World Bank has referred to the organization as “the single source of truth for identification data” in the country. The authority — which falls under the jurisdiction of the interior ministry, but operates as an independent corporate body — has since helped to implement identity-related projects in Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and South Sudan.
But, as thousands of Pakistanis can attest, NADRA is also a perfect example of the dangers of unchecked digitization, of how centralized databases can be wielded against people who don’t fit the state’s idea of a model citizen — to the particular detriment of women, working-class people and ethnic, sexual and religious minorities — and how such systems can push someone like Gulzar even further into the margins. The information collected by NADRA, staggering in its volume and increasing by the minute, is also maintained in the absence of legal safeguards, meaning that there is no way of knowing how it has been, will be, or could be used in the future.
https://www.nadra.gov.pk/local-projects/social-protection/digital-census/
For the first time in Pakistan, NADRA proposed a comprehensive “IT Solution” to carry out 7th Population and Household Census of Pakistan, “THE DIGITAL CENSUS”. Span of this activity is covering the whole country, in 628 Tehsils comprising approx. 185,000 Census blocks. The activity shall be performed using android based smart devices, equipped with android based house listing and enumeration application synchronized with GPS & GIS.
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PBS organized an extensive training for census enumerators in 27 districts across Pakistan to ensure uniformity & quality through the process.
Pakistan’s first digital census will provide valuable information about population growth, urban-rural ratio, gender, age, literacy, languages, religion, disability, migration, ethnicity, and economic activities.
https://www.globalvillagespace.com/pakistans-first-digital-census-pbs/
The last batch of 17,600 tablets powered by an indigenous solution from Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has been received by the chief statistician of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) Naeem uz Zafar ahead of a planned digital population and housing census.
This brings the total number of tablets supplied for the exercise to 126,000.
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The last batch of 17,600 tablets powered by an indigenous solution from Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has been received by the chief statistician of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) Naeem uz Zafar ahead of a planned digital population and housing census.
This brings the total number of tablets supplied for the exercise to 126,000.
According to an agency announcement, NADRA also played an important role in distributing the tablets to all the 495 districts, braving the odds to complete the exercise within a period of nine days.
The digital ID authority also made available about 100 experts to help in the training of over 90,000 enumerators who will be deployed on the field when the census begins.
After handing over the tablets, NADRA Chairman Tariq Malik also visited the facility offering some technical services to the census preparation process at the PBS.
Malik hailed the census as a huge step further towards a digital Pakistan: “The digital census is a step that pulls Pakistan out of ancient past and opens doors of a modern future. From scribbled responses on millions of paper sheets to real time validated data in apps on secure devices with satellite imagery – is a step towards digital Pakistan. Big data from digital census will become the foundational system for evidence based policy making for Pakistan.”
The solution from NADRA was developed in just three weeks and includes an Android-based house listing and enumeration application synchronized with GPS and GIS systems, data center and call center services, a web portal and other associated services.
NADRA is the official technology partner of the PBS for the upcoming population and housing census which is the 7th in the country but the first-ever to be done through digital means.
Biometric vehicle registration
NADRA also recently concluded a deal to henceforth conduct biometric checks on vehicle owners as part of efforts to combat fraud in vehicle transfer and ownership processes.
The deal sealed between NADRA and the Sindh Department of Excise and Taxation and Anti-Narcotics will be carried out through the ‘Sahulat Program,’ according to reporting by The Nation.
The first phase of the biometric program will run for three years.
Sindh Excise and Taxation and Anti-Narcotics Minister Mukesh Kumar Chawla praised the partnership saying it will help curb the phenomenon of vehicles operating with fake documents.
NADRA recently partnered with telecoms operators for a new fingerprint system to register SIM cards in Pakistan.
@rogueonomist
Not everyone is registered with NADRA. 9% of males, and 24% of females are NOT registered with NADRA. Only one-third of children are registered.
Via
@bilalgilani
https://twitter.com/rogueonomist/status/1649094123683745792?s=20
https://www.biometricupdate.com/202305/nadra-launches-nishan-pakistan-platform-lets-startups-leverage-digital-identity-stack
The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has launched the Beta version of Nishan Pakistan, a platform to enable small and medium sized businesses in the country make the most of its digital ID stack.
NADRA Chairman Tariq Malik said in a tweet that Nishan Pakistan is a game-changer platform designed to empower commercial startups and young entrepreneurs with secure and contactless biometric verification through secure data sharing with NADRA.
He said the platform, which offers a world of endless possibilities and a plethora of use cases for businesses including customer identification through biometrics, is the first of its kind online, secure and open digital identity authentication platform in the country.
Malik added that the platform offers an API gateway and a cutting-edge sandbox that enables a smooth integration with other systems and will provide a set of services that will help businesses with “a seamless, consistent and connected experience,” and also contribute to ongoing efforts of making Pakistan a truly digital nation.
The official said in another message that the novelty will set the stage for the kind of market-creating innovation that ignites “the economic engine of a country, creates jobs and augments profits that fund public services and promote change culture in the society.”
Nishan Pakistan has been rolled out for user acceptance testing and NADRA is looking out for feedback to improve the functionality of the platform and also help in its plans of creating a strong digital ID system.
Subscriptions to the platform are opened and interested businesses can submit applications and wait for the approval process to be completed in 10-15 days, according to a promotional video.
In April, NADRA announced the market launch of the automated fingerprint identification system (AFIS)) it developed domestically.
Atyab Tahir
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/navigating-nadras-journey-towards-greater-inclusion-digital-tahir
3. Leverage RAAST:
NADRA's symbiosis with #RAAST, Pakistan's instant payment system, can redefine how government benefits reach citizens. Mirroring India's Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS) and Kenya's M-Pesa, this system can enhance the speed, security, and convenience of government-to-person (G2P) payments. #DigitalPayments #NADRA #RAAST
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A conversation with a friend recently propelled me towards an intriguing exploration. He asked for my perspective on enhancing the role of Pakistan's National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), akin to India's Aadhaar system. That thought-provoking question led to the genesis of this article.
NADRA, since its inception in the 90s, has greatly influenced the landscape of data collection, storage, and usage in Pakistan. Representing one of the world's most comprehensive citizenship databases, it has facilitated various administrative and governance processes, from issuing the Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) to passport services and beyond.
In the global #DigitalRevolution era, the Aadhaar system shines as a beacon of #PublicService transformation and inclusivity, urging us to recognize NADRA's transformative potential. With its comprehensive reach and capabilities, NADRA is poised to act as a significant change catalyst, steering us towards a more #DigitallyInclusive Pakistan.
1. Interoperability and Integration:
NADRA must facilitate seamless integration with other government systems, across national to local levels. Taking a leaf from Estonia's X-Road platform, a secure data exchange layer connecting multiple databases, NADRA can contribute to an efficient, citizen-centric administrative system. #DigitalIntegration
2. Financial Inclusion:
Aadhaar's success is tied closely to promoting #FinancialInclusion. NADRA, too, can kindle such progress in Pakistan. Facilitating default bank accounts linked to CNICs, NADRA can launch a financial revolution, integrating the unbanked into the mainstream financial realm.
Brazil used its citizen registry to deliver emergency COVID-19 aid to 67 million Brazilians, reflecting how such an integrated approach can create real impact. Similarly, NADRA, in sync with financial institutions, could provide Pakistani citizens with much-needed financial assistance. By leveraging its extensive database, NADRA can further aid in credit scoring and risk assessment for loans, extending credit facilities to previously underserved segments. #FinancialInclusion #DigitalBanking
3. Leverage RAAST:
NADRA's symbiosis with #RAAST, Pakistan's instant payment system, can redefine how government benefits reach citizens. Mirroring India's Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS) and Kenya's M-Pesa, this system can enhance the speed, security, and convenience of government-to-person (G2P) payments. #DigitalPayments #NADRA #RAAST
4. Privacy Protection:
Robust data protection measures are paramount as NADRA expands its influence. Fostering public trust requires a transparent mechanism for data access and sharing, coupled with guaranteed data encryption. The European Union's GDPR provides a robust framework for such an endeavor. #DataProtection