KARACHI, Aug 10: The task of National Data and Registration Authority (NADRA) is to compile and develop an accurate database of 140 million Pakistanis.

“The NADRA project by any standards is an extremely difficult assignment, given the complexity of our social structure and the influence of numerous intangible factors beyond the control of technology, and “it is still a success story”, said NADRA chairman Brig (R) Saleem Ahmed Moeen at a seminar at a local hotel on Saturday.

He referred to NADRA’s achievements in developing three live databases — an election data of 72 million people, a 1998 census data of 61.6 million people and an ID card ongoing database of 22 million, with 12.5 million ID cards produced in a short span of 10 months.

NADRA is not only carrying out the largest ongoing IT project in Pakistan by providing more than 4,000 jobs to IT trained personnel and having a financial outlay of more than Rs 9 billion, it is also a proactive partner in the government’s quest for documentation and E- governance, he informed.

The NADRA chairman said that electoral rolls for the National and Provincial Assemblies have been prepared under the supervision of the Election Commission of Pakistan. This colossal work of updating the rolls after each phase of the electoral process having more than 72 million records followed by printing of more than 25 million pages was carried out by a highly technical and fully accountable indigenously developed system.

This exercise, he said, was not only appreciated by the ECP but also by a delegation of the European Union for it’s in-built transparency and technical excellence.

NADRA chairman said: “The creation of a national database and the production of ID cards and all other subsidiary projects hinge on the authenticity of the citizens’ database”.

NADRA had to change from manual to computerized registration system. This was a major task as it meant the creation of an Urdu keyboard, standardization of Urdu character set, customization of database for Urdu sorting, Sindhi printing and storing software, establishment of a nationwide wide area network, a central data warehouse and a NIC production facility to name a few components.

Brig Saleem said the government’s vision of ‘good governance’ in the country entailed NADRA to undertake the providing of statistical data of all indicators of governance in all sectors, create an accurate database of its citizens to ensure better facilities and services to citizens.

To achieve these objectives, he informed that NADRA will document the population, produce and distribute national identity cards, conduct data entry and printing of electoral rolls for national and provincial assemblies, child registration, registration of overseas Pakistanis, managing the national data warehouse, motor vehicle registration, a unique identification number (VIN) to each vehicle manufactured or imported in Pakistan.

The NADRA project while being unique is also a daunting challenge if one considers the variances involved, he said and added that characteristics of some of our customers are age group from 18 to 109 years, literacy level from totally illiterate to PhD’s while economic status ranges from below poverty level to extremely rich.—APP