NADRA is actively marketing its product globally with the intention of trying to break even as an agency if not turn an actual profit. PHOTO: EXPRESS
At a time when there is more scrutiny of Pakistan’s national deficits than its national assets, it is heartening to note that the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has scored a success. Like all systems, it is not without fault, but the fact is that NADRA is rated among the top 50 system integrators according to the Italy-based agency which determines world rankings for identity verification and registration systems. The NADRA database has been indigenously developed to the point at which the model can be exported, and the Nigerian government has just initiated a Smart Identity Card programme powered by the system developed by NADRA. Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathen was among the first to enrol for the new ID and it is expected that other countries will also be buying into a technology that is a quiet national success story.
The developing African states are all in need of national databases similar to that developed by NADRA and Africa is likely to be a fertile market for our product. Large multinationals, government institutions and agencies are similarly in need of standardised identity mechanisms and procedures, and many will seek a proven ‘off the shelf’ system. NADRA has recently been shortlisted to set up a national identity card system for Sri Lanka, installed a machine-readable passport system in Kenya, a driving licence system in Bangladesh and a civil registration system in Sudan. None of these jobs have been delivered on the basis of charity; NADRA is actively marketing its product globally with the intention of trying to break even as an agency if not turn an actual profit. No system is perfect. A national database is ever evolving as populations expand and move, and new data requirements and services emerge, an environment in which glitches are virtually guaranteed. Caveats aside, the NADRA system has proved to be a domestic success in broad terms that has translated into positive international recognition and a discreet pat on the back is in order.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 22nd, 2013.
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Which are the other 49 top system integrators?