Okay, so the unique identification number that Mr Nandan Nilekani’s organization UIDAI will provide is voluntary, at least to begin with. Later on, as different government and private agencies pick up the cues on what amazing services it can facilitate it might become something you cannot do without.

“Sooner or later, you either hibernate or get a number.”

But how does one remember this randomly assigned unique number (which apparently will have no intelligence embedded in them unlike in many existing systems), asked Sujatha Ramdorai, a mathematician from TIFR when Nilekani was delivering a public lecture today at the Indian Academy of Sciences on its platinum jubilee.

“If people can remember 10-digit cell phone numbers, this would be easy to remember too. If not, you can store it in your cell phone…err, even tattoo it somewhere”, Nilekani said almost non-chalantly. Fielding all kinds of inane and intelligent questions from a hall packed with scientists and soon-to-be-scientists, Nilekani at least disclosed one thing: “only the laptop and powerpoint presentation” that he claims to have on this project today belie the calculated work he’s been undertaking to keep his promise of delivering the first identification numbers within 12-18 months from August 12, 2009.

You can read in detail about most of it in this recent WSJ interview. But what isn’t here is the fact that as far as technology is concerned he is looking at an open-access platform that could be embedded in any business software/application — that’s a long shot at building business cases for the agencies and institutions he intends to work with such as banks, insurance companies, oil ministry, state governments, etc.

The system would work on any wire or wireless line and all one would need is a cell phone and a fingerprint reader. “All of which can be assembled from off-the-shelf components for Rs 5000—it’s going to be an open architecture”, he adds casually in response to a question on what kind of platforms and software he is looking at.

Hmm … IT folks get ready to build applications for if Nilekani is right, then the use of this ID number is limited only by our imagination.

And what are the identification parameters? While it’s still being worked out, it could likely be biometric data comprising 10 fingerprints, iris scan and photograph.

Quizzing him at the end, a scientist said he was having problem with fingerprint identification in his building since he was old and his fingerprints were getting blurred; his younger colleagues didn’t have any such problem. How would UIDAI solve this?

By having 10 fingerprints, said the chairman of UIDAI. “If one or two fingers don’t match there are others, don’t worry.”

But it seems people just can’t stop worrying. Someone asked: “What happens if a person dies?”

“He takes the ‘Number’ with him, wherever he goes.”

Well, Nilekani will indeed have to launch a massive public awareness campaign once he is closer to issuing those “unique numbers”. Good news is, he seriously means to do that.