Government ID, Smart Cards, Identification and Authentication

Bahraini government working on smart card project

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Bahrain’s Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Smart Card initiative, which will enable citizens to easily travel across member states, has been completed. Minister for Cabinet Affairs Shaikh Ahmad bin Atiyatullah Al Khalifa said in the coming phases, the GCC smart card would also serve as a driver license and bear the holder’s medical history.

Future plans include streamlining the issuance of smart cards in Bahrain and offering around-the-clock issuing centers and ones that operate in the evenings. Work is in full swing in the GCC states to provide the necessary systems and devices that can read the smart card. [end] 

After a nearly three-year delay, the Algerian government has finally launched its biometric passport program.

Magharebia reports that the biometric passports, which contain a contactless smart card chip that holds a digitized photo, fingerprints and signature, were supposed to be released in 2009. But the documents were delayed due to complexities with the operation of the project and the need to thoroughly research and analyze other countries’ experiences with biometric passports.

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Suprema announced that its RealScan-G10 and RealScan-10 line of fingerprint scanners have received final certification from the Government of India’s Standardization Testing & Quality Certification (STQC) to be part of the country’s Unique ID (UID) project.

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The government of India’s Planning Commission has announced that for electronic transfer of benefits to the rural poor, a unique identification number scheme is a more practical option than issuing smart cards, reports The Telegraph.

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The U.S. government has settled an infringement case with Leighton Technologies by agreeing to license its smart cards.

Leighton Technologies, a subsidiary of General Patent, filed a case against the federal government in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in January 2010. Leighton alleged that 54 federal agencies used its six smart card patents without authorization. Leighton’s technology was also used in e-passports.

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Russia has pushed back the launch of its universal eID card to January 2013, reports The Moscow Times.

Originally scheduled to roll out this month, the card is supposed to function as an electronic ID, driver’s license, proof of auto insurance, ATM card and immigration document, along with other possible features.

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India’s government has called a truce in the ongoing argument between the Ministry of Home Affairs’s National Population Register (NPR) project and the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), reports the Indian Express.

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