Indonesia Gets Electronic ID Cards

In 2010, Indonesia launched a pilot project to provide national identification number or electronic identification card (e-KTP) to around 172 million people (population above the age of 16 years)… Since the beginning of the Single Identity Number System over a year ago, approximately 0.15 million people have been issued the e-KTP. The
government is targeting to complete the program by 2012… The card carries 27 data points including blood type, employment status, physical and mental disabilities and biometric fingerprints. The e-KTP is the cheapest identification card in the world, each costing IDR 35000 (USD 4.07). In the future e-KTP can be used as an identification proof for banking, insurance and taxation purposes.

Implications from SFG:
"In the coming years, the presence of proper records will help the government implement various assistance programs, including for disaster affected people. The e-KTP program could also create employment opportunities for the semi-skilled labor force.
"…In the future, the program is likely to employ thousands of people for maintenance of existing records and creation of new records.
"With the implementation of e-TKP program, in the long run, various
kinds of government assistance programs are likely to reach an increasing number of the target population. For instance, poverty alleviation programs such as „Direct Cash Assistance‟ (BLT),
targeting approximately 20 million poor families, has the potential to be successful as e-KTP will be a unique number assigned to the citizens with their employment status.
"Another utilization of e-TKP could be in providing assistance to disaster affected people. More than half of Indonesia is prone to various natural disasters and the most affected are the poor coastal people. The e-KTP can be used as a tool to identify and estimate the number of people affected by the disaster. In case of future disasters such as tsunamis and earthquakes, e-KTP could help various aid agencies to provide assistance to victims.
"However, there are various factors which are likely to delay or hinder the implementation of the program. With targeted completion of the project in 2012, many villages have not yet received the required equipment. Eligible people have to follow a complex procedure to get an e-KTP;apply to local sub-district office for the ID card with a referral letter from the neighborhood head and family registration card. In addition to that, there seems to be no awareness campaign to educate the people about the program."

Implications from IFTF:
Building this kind of system from the ground-up gives leap-frog potential—the benefits and problems of this kind of biomimetic electronic ID system will be seen in these areas first.