Every household across the Kashmir valley and Jammu division will have a unique alpha-numeric code, which intends to create a database of families across the region.
In an official communique, the Jammu Kashmir admin has said, it is planning to create an authentic database of all families in the Union Territory with each of them having an alpha-numeric code the objective being an easy selection of eligible beneficiaries of various social welfare schemes.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar released the Digital J-K Vision Document, unveiling the government plan to create an authentic, verified and reliable database of all families of the Union territory.
According to the vision document, “Each family will be provided with a unique alpha-numeric code called JK Family ID. The data available in the family database would be used to determine eligibility through automatic selection of beneficiaries for receiving social benefits.”
“The database would identify each and every family in J&K and would collect the basic data of the family, provided with the consent of the family, in a digital format.” The document further reads that all the applicable laws and regulations in respect of data protection shall be complied with in the management of data.
To thwart risks and protect sensitive and critical data, it said the Jammu Kashmir government plans to work on an information security policy and also envisages formulation of appropriate cyber security framework.
Commissioner Secretary of the IT Department Prerna Puri said the objective of creating the database, which will be at par with Haryana’s ‘Parivaar Pehchaan Patra’, is that families or individuals will not have to apply to receive benefits under each individual scheme.
”Once the data in the JK Family ID database is authenticated and verified, a beneficiary will not be required to submit any more document to avail a service,” she said.
The BJP supported the idea of creating “Family IDs,” while other parties expressed opposition due to concerns about the security of personal information.
The proposed action was opposed by the Congress, National Conference, and PDP.
Former lawmaker and chief spokesperson for the Congress Ravinder Sharma questioned the government’s capacity to defend such digital databases from cyberattacks as well as its intentions.
Rattan Lal Gupta, the provincial president of the National Conference, referred to the activity as “unproductive use of resources.”
“Thanks to Aadhaar, they already have a record on every person. As a result, it is useless to create another database. While individuals go without basic amenities, the administration keeps the personnel busy collecting data, he claimed.
Who the government wished to identify using this information was a question put forth by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
There are numerous issues in J&K that the administration chooses to ignore. Who is it that the government is attempting to locate through this database, now? Virendra Singh Sonu, the PDP’s leader, remarked.
The BJP, on the other hand, applauded the action and claimed that once a verified database is created, those who currently have to wait in line to receive various perks and certificates will benefit. (With inputs from Agencies)