The Madras Security Printers Pvt. Ltd has been short listed by the department, which is blacklisted by the Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDIA) for selling personal data to private companies. The company was awarded the contract to distribute biometric cards in India on 2011 but later barred by the UIDAI after it was proved that the company leaked personal information.[break]
"The agencies were found sub-contracting work to other vendors, which is not allowed as per empanelment condition," The Economic Times online has quoted a senior official of UIDAI in a news published on October 4, 2011 edition.
"Though the department has short listed two other companies, Indra Sistemas SA Spain and IRIS Corporation Berhad, Malaysia, the office is all set to award the contract to the tainted company," claimed an official on the condition of anonymity. He claimed that the department has kept the company in number one position in technical bid and has asked it to submit financial proposal by July 17. It is alleged that the company has been shortlisted under political pressure.
"We have asked the shortlisted firms to submit their financial proposal. We will select a contractor within two weeks," Sarad Adhikari, technical director at the department, said. He said that the government aims to digitize driving license and bluebook by the next 15 months. He said that the department has forwarded names of short listed companies to the Asian Development Bank that has provided $2.3 million to the government plan to digitize the license and bluebooks.
"We cannot judge companies from the report published in media," he said, adding, "We have informed the ADB officials about the decision and they have not raised any question about the companies."
Meanwhile, security experts expressed serious concern about the government decision to shortlist a blacklisted Indian company punished by its own government for leaking personal information.
Earlier, the government had scrapped Machine Readable Passport (MRP) printing deal with an Indian company on grounds that the contract posed threat to the national security and sovereignty.
The public and the media had created intense pressure to compel the government to withdraw decision.
The government aims to digitize over 60,00,000 licenses and 16,00,000 blue books by 2015. The electronic license is expected to deter the use of counterfeit licenses.
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