Context :
NATGRID
to turn lens on digital print of people, firms …………….. Business Line / 27
April 2023
Platform to
provide Central, State agencies, real-time 360° intelligence
Extract :
The
National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) is ready to scale up surveillance by
offering real-time 360 degree profiling
of individuals and other entities to authorised Central and State agencies for
intelligence gathering and law enforcement purposes.
Information will be collated from airports, railways, PAN
records, banks, passports, Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), telecom service
providers, vehicle registration
data, the National Population Register (NPR), open source intelligence (OSINT), corporate details, and any
other source.
The centralised database that NATGRID is developing will capture all digital footprints a person or a company leaves in financial
and government dealings, and also have an inbuilt feature of flagging
suspicious transactions, a feature now the Financial Intelligence Unit has to track
“dubious” money movement.
This secured data harnessing effort would happen in
two phases. As part of the Phase 2 of the solution being developed by NATGRID — an innovative information technology platform — data
analytics, OSINT tools and web-based applications, such as of Facebook and
Twitter, will be integrated to
provide complete digitised information packets for national security usage,
according to government sources aware of developments.
The data analytics
software will use entity, face and
speech resolution applications for profiling. Further, the NATGRID intends to eventually hyphenate
OSINT tools and web-based applications to capture
full-circle description that would give a larger picture about an entity
or an issue which can be focussed as well as amplified with the help of human
intelligence, empowering authorised agencies enormously, the sources said.
They
said the OSINT tool to be incubated
will have the potential to extract entities, relationships and
other linked written, audio and video information for summarising into a report.
Under Phase 1, the
NATGRID is parallely integrating
telecom companies, the Election Commission of India and airlines onto its digital database.
Once
this connectivity is established, the NATGRID will be able to offer complete
and comprehensive actual time data about an entity or an
issue to 39 Central and State agencies.
PAN
records, bank facilities including credit card details,
passports, Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), company details, railways cargo, immigration, vehicle
registration and the NPR data are
already available to Central and State agencies at a click, the sources said.
It is
learnt the centralised database access
solution is facing challenges like lack of standardisation of data structure which
requires time consuming re-indexing of
voluminous online information.
An authorised government
customer can only access data
by logging onto the NATGRID portal.
Citing
examples of its effective use, government sources said agencies have been able
to expose drug rackets by getting information about pushers from the digital
platform.
The data
infrastructure has adequate safeguards to avoid breach, stressed the sources.
For instance, the end-to-end encrypted
portal can be accessed only after proper authorisation
and authentication, they pointed out.
The Home Ministry is regularly following up on the national
database that is part of the Police Technology Mission — a key project of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi. In that effort to build a comprehensive national
security architecture, a cloud for national security is not a farfetched idea,
observed the officials.
My Take :
Extract :
How can the Central Government go about replacing ALL physical
cards with just one VIRTUAL card ?
If there is a “ Political Will “ ( - and followed by a one year
long, debate with all sections of the society ), then I believe, more than one
method / way , will emerge
As long as the debaters keep in mind the most important aspect
of any proposed method, viz :
The method of “ merging “ of all identifiers [ cards ] , must
NOT require a citizen to fill up any FORM , online or offline
Following is my suggestion :
Ø Central Govt to launch a
online portal called,
www.SUIIC.gov.in ( Single Unified Identity for Indian
Citizen )
By appropriately enacted Law, Central Govt
will order all CARD ISSUING AGENCIES to upload their “ Card Related Databases “
onto SUIIC web server and continue to do so DAILY for new additions to their
databases
Ø SUIIC will use AI - Machine Learning - Big Data
Analytics etc., to merge / collate
all kinds of structured / unstructured databases pertaining to all kinds of
Cards / unique IDENTIFIERS, issued by any entity, to any citizen
These will include Mobile
Service Providers and E Mail
ID providers
Ø This
exercise will lead to creation of UNIQUE PROFILE for each citizen, and named :
YUP
( Your Unique Profile )
YUP (
with unique serial number ) will be that SINGLE CARD which replaces all CARDS
Ø YUP will also be the name of a
Mobile App supported by SUIIC web server
Ø Any
citizen can download the YUP (
absolutely VOLUNTARY ) , open it on his smart phone
, enter his mobile number / E Mail ID and take a SELFIE of his own FACE
Ø The
Mobile App will automatically and instantly, upload the FACE IMAGE onto SUIIC
database and the matching YUP of
that person
Ø SUIIC
will embed into the FACE PHOTO , all data of all the CARDS ever issued to that
person ( using STEGANOGRAPHY ), and send it back to the owner’s mobile phone
Ø Just
under the FACE PHOTO, there will be a DROP LIST of all the Cards / Identifiers
which have been embedded . Touching any item, will reveal the actual Physical
Card
Ø This
will enable that citizen to EDIT his personal data online and click SUBMIT
Ø Anytime
required in future, that citizen can show that YUP photo to any party
Ø There
will be no compulsion for any citizen to use YUP . He may continue using his
Physical Cards, if he so desires
===================================================
This is a very broad “ CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK “ – and certainly
not comprehensive by any standard
Eg :
Going beyond merging / aggregating / unifying , all existing
physical cards belonging to a person, what about :
Ø Enabling him to use YUP to create ( for the first time ), an
altogether different card ?
Ø Enabling a person to create a
new Voter Card, upon attaining the age of 18 ?
I urge Shri Ravi Shankar
Prasadji to get this examined by some eminent technologists
Following is what ChatGPT has to say about SUIIC / YUP :
Advantages of your
suggestion:
·
SUIIC and YUP can be used as unique identifiers for individuals, similar to a
national ID number, making it easier to verify identity and
track transactions.
·
The
use of SUIIC and YUP could potentially reduce
instances of fraud and identity theft since
they would be tied to a person's biometric information and would be difficult
to replicate or steal.
·
SUIIC and YUP could potentially provide a more secure and private alternative
to traditional payment methods since
they would not require the sharing of personal financial information, such as
credit card numbers or bank account information.
·
The
implementation of SUIIC and YUP could potentially improve financial inclusion since they would provide a means for
individuals without traditional forms of identification or banking access to
participate in financial transactions.
Disadvantages of your
suggestion:
·
The
implementation of a new identification system such as SUIIC and YUP would
require significant investment in technology and
infrastructure, which could be costly.
·
There
may be concerns about the privacy
implications of collecting and storing
individuals' biometric information, as well as potential misuse or abuse of this information by authorities or other parties.
·
The
adoption of a new identification system could face resistance from individuals who are wary of government or
corporate control over their financial and personal data.
·
There
could be challenges in ensuring the
interoperability and compatibility of SUIIC and YUP with existing payment systems and
financial institutions, which could limit their adoption and use.
With Regards,
Hemen Parekh
Related
Readings ( 17 ) :
Ø One
Small Step ……………………………………….. …………………….10 Jan 2020
Ø Password
Paralysis ? ……………………………………………………….
15 Feb 2020
