Cross Match Technologies, a provider of biometric identity solutions, along with technology partner Smart ID, is working with the Indian government to help register rural residents, such as those in Bihar, for a national guaranteed employment program (NREGA).
Cross Match Technologies, a provider of biometric identity solutions, along with technology partner Smart ID, is working with the Indian government to help register rural residents, such as those in Bihar, for a national guaranteed employment program (NREGA).
NREGA provides an opportunity for adult members of rural households to obtain 100 days of public work-based employment annually. The implementation and management of the program is handled by BeST, a joint venture company between Beltron (Bihar State Electronics Development Corporation) and IL&FS.
To enroll Bihar's citizens into the NREGA program, Beltron selected Cross Match's livescan and fingerprint enrollment systems. The devices are in use throughout remote locations in Bihar, capturing citizens' fingerprint images as 25 million residents register for the rural employment guarantee program. “We are working with Smart ID on this project, where upon completing the biometric registration process, residents' identities can be easily verified when applying for jobs through the NREGA program,” said Bill Dumont, Senior VP of Worldwide Sales and Marketing at Cross Match.
Using Guardian, Smart ID has been able to easily capture forensic-quality images, despite harsh environmental conditions. “Bihar is flood-prone and experiences heavy rainfall annually and very extreme temperatures,” said Nirmal Prakash, MD at Smart ID. “We have experienced temperatures in excess of 113 degrees Fahrenheit and Guardian has operated flawlessly.”
Dinesh Tyagi, CEO (CSC), IL&FS said: “Guardian systems are so easy to use that operators were trained in three working days and are able to enroll 10,000 citizens per day. To date, the government has collected 1.35 million records in the Patna District. We are encouraged by the success of the Bihar pilot and look forward to working with Cross Match on other identity management projects.