Issues in national identification database system of Nepal

Abstract

Nepal is a small landlocked country with a total area of 147,181 square kilometers, bordered by China to the North and India to the South, East and West. In order to improve the country's slow pace of development, an e-Governance Master Plan (eGMP) was adopted in 2006. One of the main aims of the project was to improve the social and economic conditions of rural communities, in 38 districts of Nepal, by 20% within the next three years. This was to be accomplished through the Information and Communication Development Program, or ICTD.To guarantee that these aims are met, we primarily need to ensure that all the Nepalese get their National Identification certificates in a phase-wise manner, that we have basic information about them, and that online services are accessible to them. Therefore, a key sub-project has been initiated under ICTD - the National Identification System (NID), which covers all these objectives.The NID project, once completed, will provide multiple services through a single portal, quick retrieval of information of the citizen and will facilitate public services such as health, education, welfare benefits, passport control, tax, voting, criminal records, utility bills, land records, government services with a unique NID.The Ministry of Home affairs is responsible for implementing the project, and it will be supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), who will provide 80% of the total funds needed for the project, under the guidelines of eGMP.Even though the NID project is poised to deliver promising results, there are several hurdles related directly to its implementation. These challenges include political instability, lack of proper management of the project, lack of co-ordination between stakeholders and the lack of adequate skilled manpower.As a member of Project Implementation Unit (PIU) of National Identification System (NID), the author presents in this paper the NID project from his experience, along with the key issues hindering the progress of this project.