New Delhi, Dec. 15: Banks, airlines and mobile operators can turn to Nandan Nilekani’s Unique Identification Authority of India for client authentification.

Nilekani expects to generate annual revenues of around Rs 300 crore through paid authentication services, which will partially offset the costs of the Rs 3,000-crore unique ID project.

“The ability of the UIDAI to offer agencies across the country strong, reliable authentication is the key to its sustainability. The UIDAI will offer resident authentication services for a fee to government and private sector firms,” said an internal draft prepared by the agency.

The UIDAI will start issuing unique identity numbers in the next 12-18 months and plans to cover 600 million people within four years. India will be the first country to implement a biometric-based unique ID system for its residents on such a large scale.

To confirm addresses, entities such as banks, mobile operators and government agencies issuing PAN cards and passports usually make a visit to the houses of individuals concerned. Additional enquiries are also required to authenticate identities.

The process is time-consuming and costs between Rs 100 and Rs 500 per verification. The UIDAI proposes to offer these services for as little as Rs 5 per transaction, while speeding up the process.

The agency that requires confirmation will just have to submit the unique ID, name and address of the client to the Central ID Data Repository (CIDR — the issuer of UID numbers), which will confirm the address. So, the agency will not have to go for a physical verification.

Apart from addresses, the UIDAI plans to provide basic ID and biometric confirmation. While basic IDs will not be charged, the authority will charge Rs 10 for every biometrics confirmation.

According to the UIDAI, address verification may fetch Rs 159.55 crore per annum, and biometric confirmation can bring in another Rs 128.60 crore per annum. The customers for these authentication services are expected to be gas connection providers, LIC policy issuers and the income tax department (while issuing PAN cards).

Credit card issuers and banks providing home loans and personal loans also need to carry out background checks and can be potential customers.

The services will be subsidised for government agencies provided they are registered with the UIDAI.