National Database and Registration Authority
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) is a federal department of the Government of Pakistan that is responsible for issuing identification cards to the citizens of Pakistan. Employing more than 11,000 member of staff and having more than 400 domestic offices and five international offices, NADRA is one of the largest organisations in the country.
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[edit] History
The National Database Organization (NDO) was established under the Ministry of Interior as a sister organization to undertake the task of handling the data being collected through National Data Forms during the Population census in 1998. The National Data Forms (NDFs) were designed by a committee of experts encompassing maximum social and fiscal indicators as implements for future planning, documentation of the economy, and for creation of a comprehensive Citizens' Database. To cater to a cohesive and unified approach in both registration and social fields, NADRA was formed on 10th March 2000 by merging the National Database Organization (NDO) and the Directorate General of Registration (DGR). It is an independent corporate body with requisite autonomy.
[edit] Computerized National ID
Since the 1960s, Pakistan has been issuing National Identity Card (commonly know by the acronym, NIC) numbers to its citizens. These numbers are assigned at birth when the parents complete the child's birth registration form (B-Form), and then a National Identity Card (NIC) with the same number is issued at the age of 18. Until, 2001 NIC numbers were 11 digits long. In 2001-2002, the authority started issuing 13 digit NIC numbers along with their new biometric ID cards. The first 5 digits are based on the applicants locality, the next 7 are serial numbers, and the last digit is a check digit. The old numbers are invalid as of 2004.
It is an efficent database system with excellent services
Every citizen is required to have a NIC number, and the number is required for many activities such as paying taxes, opening a bank account, getting a utility connection (phone, cell phone, gas, electricity), etc... However, since a majority of births in the country are not registered, and a large quantity of Pakistanis do not conduct any of the activities described above, most do not have ID cards. Obtaining an NIC also costs 100 rupees(US$ 1.66 - almost the average daily income), and this inevitably reduces the number of people who can afford it.{{FAct} In 2007, NADRA announced that it had issued 60 million CNIC (the C standing for Computerized) numbers, which is approximately one-third of the population. The authority had issued the 10 millionth CNIC on Feb 11, 2002; 20 millionth on June 18, 2002; 30 millionth on Dec 22, 2003; 40 millionth on Oct 1, 2004; and 50 millionth CNIC on Feb 14, 2006 [1].
