Unique ID project: Wipro leading candidate to win bid

Wipro is set to roll out India's largest e-governance project for the employee state insurance corporation in August 2010. CNBC-TV18's Kritika Saxena finds out if this will keep Wipro a step ahead in the race for winning the Unique Identification (UID) project bid.

Below is the verbatim transcript of her report that aired on CNBC-TV18. Also watch the video.

Big or small, every IT company is standing up to be counted for the Rs 120 crore unique identity project. But CNBC-TV18 learns that Wipro may have the edge since it is Wipro that has handled the entire conceptualization of the deal.

Says Ranbir Gill, Head-Government & Defence, Wipro, "The first phase of the UID implementation, the project consulting which was assigned by the government of India two years back was taken up by Wipro. That phase has been completed and the detailed project report (DPR) has been submitted by Wipro. There is going to be a large IT component in this and since we were involved in the phase one we will definitely be involved in phase two also."

Wipro has also handled one of the largest e governance projects for the employee state insurance corporation. CNBC-TV18 learns that the project will be available online for 1 crore ESIC users in August 2010.

"There are a total of about 3 crore plus people who have to be called over to the enrolment centre and their biometric details have to be captured, their photographs have to be taken and an identification card has to be issued," says Gill.

Wipro says that the automation, database structuring, hardware infrastructure development and networking capabilities used in this project are similar to that required for the UID project. But the challenge will be if they can match the skill used to connect 1 crore people to cover over 1 billion of India's population.