India has launched an ambitious program to fit each of its 1.2 billion residents with an Unique identification number (UID). Each number will be tied into three pieces of biometric data: fingerprints (all ten digits), iris scans (both eyes), and a picture of the face. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) will begin processing people in various locations around the country. UIDAI aims to slowly roll out the program and to ID 600 million people in the next four years! This is a mammoth program. While residents are not mandated to get a UID, a growing list of services including social welfare and even some bank accounts will soon require the identification number. If successful, this will be the first biometrically verified universal ID implemented on a national scale. India is forging new ground, drawing both fears and hopes of what a national ID number may bring with it.

Ostensibly the UIDAI was formed, and the idea of UID green-lighted, to help those 440 million Indian people who were found to be below the poverty level in 2002. The nation has an extensive series of social welfare programs—everything from medical support to home heating fuel subsidies—but many of these services are ripe with corruption and bureaucratic stagnation. Many of India’s poorest citizens do not have ID cards, bank accounts, or even addresses that they can use to register for social services. Often the money for these programs ends up in the hands of middle class families tricking the system by using false identification schemes. With the UID, India hopes to give every resident a means of accessing welfare services as well as cut down on fraud. To the UIDAI, the purpose of a national ID is to enable the government to get help to those who need it.

Ultimately I wouldn’t be surprised if the UID, with its biometric data, could be used as a means of payment (when linked to a bank account), or as an access key to homes and cars. Purchase a meal with your fingerprint and unlock your door with the twinkle in your eye. Similar results could be expected in other nations that adopted biometric identification systems.

The UIDAI also points out that the UID is just a number, not an ID card. Each Indian state will still be responsible for issuing licenses and identification cards. The actual UID number will not contain any intelligence; that is, it will not code for anything. It’s only a random string of digits, making it harder for hackers to exploit the system. UID’s will be given to every resident of India, no matter their citizen status.

The registration process has also been made transparent. When a resident is interviewed for the UID, they can see everything that the processor does via an outwardly facing computer screen attached to their laptop. Residents provide their name, date of birth, gender, father’s UID (if applicable), mother’s UID (if applicable), and address (if applicable). Fingerprints, picture, and iris scans are collected at the same time.

-singularityhub.com




Identification papers have been standard the world over for decades. In some countries like the U.S., the identification paper is the driver’s license, without which many business activities cannot be transacted.  

India now goes one step further. Every person is to be registered and receive a unique identification number. That means without carrying a driver’s license, a passport, or an identity card, the person can be identified. This number is unique and permanent. Is this the mark of the beast? We don’t think so because according to Scripture, the mark is to be placed on or in the right hand or the forehead. While this new ID produces a number strictly for identification, it is definitely another step toward the ultimate ID, the mark of the beast.

Beside the article there is an illustration with the words, “Will the future be filled with cool technologies and endless opportunities or will our own creations lead to eventual doom?” Doubtless, the latter is right because based on Revelation 13:14, the ultimate image relating to the mark is manmade. 

(For more on this subject, read Preparing for the Mark of the Beast, Item 1061, $16.95.)

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