The digital version of the UK government’s ID program, designed for ex military personnel, was introduced on Friday. According to Sky News, this ID will result in passports, driver’s licenses, national insurance cards, and many other documents being stored virtually rather than in a shoebox or in a drawer under socks.
Why did the UK government start this plan?
In order to confirm people’s eligibility to live and work in the UK, the government has announced the use of digital identification cards.
The effort, according to the government, intends to decrease illegal immigration by making it more difficult for people without permission to find work.
According to ministers, one of the main reasons people come to the UK illegally is the opportunity to find employment. According to the BBC, companies would no longer be able to rely on paper-based verification techniques or National Insurance numbers, which are now used as part of proof of the right to work, under the new system.
According to a government official, “At the moment, it is quite easy to borrow, steal or use someone else’s National Insurance number and that is part of the problem in the shadow economy—people sharing National Insurance numbers for example. The idea is that having a picture attached would make it—in theory—harder to abuse that system,”
Why is identification needed?
The digital IDs will be app-based and stored on smartphones similar to digital bank cards or the NHS App. They will include details including the holder’s name, nationality, date of birth, residency status, and a photo.
“You will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have digital ID,” Sir Keir said when he announced the plan. That’s how easy it is.”
Ex-soldiers will be able to easily verify their status in person starting today, Friday, October 17, and it will incorporate the data that is currently on their physical card together with security measures that safeguard their private data.
The digital veteran card, according to ministers, will demonstrate how the technology functions and allay public worries about security and privacy.
How can veterans access their digital identification?
Veterans can now store their login credentials in the Gov.uk One Login app on their smartphones. The government had previously said that an app called Gov.uk Wallet would be used to hold digital credentials, including the veteran card. As additional government-issued credentials become accessible online, it now declares that it will “transition to talking about [One Login] as the Gov.uk Wallet.” According to The Guardian, the credential will be encrypted and saved within the app, just how a rail or concert ticket is kept in an Apple or Google wallet.
The government says it is safer than physical IDs, and access will need verification with a fingerprint or facial ID. The Ministry of Defence will hold a different version of the credential, and if more IDs are added, the data will stay with each issuer and in the citizens’ app. This ensures that there isn’t a single database of all ID data, which some have warned may be a “honeypot for hackers.”
Is It Similar to India’s Aadhaar?
India’s digital ID system is well-established. Compared to the UK’s proposed scheme, India’s digital ID system, Aadhaar, is substantially bigger and more comprehensive.
About 80 million authentications are processed every day by the system in New Delhi, which saves people’ fingerprints, eye scans, pictures, home addresses, and phone numbers.
While the UK’s approach is partly modeled after Aadhaar, there are major structural differences:
Every Indian resident is assigned a 12-digit number under Aadhaar, which is meant to replace a variety of paper papers. Every adult and child older than five is required to provide biometric data. For tasks like applying for new SIM cards or opening bank accounts, the system authenticates users. Additionally, it sought to expedite government benefit disbursement by giving recipients immediate access to basic services and identification verification.
The UK’s digital ID and Aadhaar appear to be identical.
Other apps available in India include DigiLocker, which allows you to save all of your critical papers in one location, including your driver’s license, Aadhar card, Pan card, Digi Yatra, and many more.
India appears to be using a similar strategy for the UK’s digital ID. The UK is launching Gov.UK Wallet, similar to DigiLocker. During his first visit to India a few days ago, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer praised India’s ID system as a “massive success.”
Starmer spoke with Nandan Nilekani, co-founder and chair of the Indian computer services company Infosys, who oversaw the government agency in charge of supplying the ID database more than ten years ago, as part of his trade-focused trip to Mumbai.
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