UID, financial sector audit by World Bank & L-1 Identity Solutions
UID, financial sector audit by World Bank & L-1 Identity Solutions
Please note the backdrop of the announcement by Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee seeking evaluation of India's financial sector by IMF and the World Bank. He claimed that the the ministry has voluntarily sought a full-fledged Financial Sector Assessment Programmee.
Earlier, on 23rd April, 2010 L-1 Identity Solutions, Inc. signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between L-1 and the World Bank was signed as part of the launch of the initiative at a World Bank Spring Meeting event attended by many developing country Ministers of Finance and Communications. It claimed that this collaborative relationship with the World Bank is meant to improve the way governments in developing countries deliver services to citizens as part of the launch of the World Bank eTransform Initiative (ETI).
The World Bank's ETI seeks to leverage Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to build a knowledge sharing network that helps governments of developing nations to leverage the best practices of practitioners like L-1 and others to improve the delivery of social and economic services. The knowledge sharing network will focus on areas such as electronic Identification (eID), e-Procurement, e-Health and e-Education; areas vital to promoting the participation of citizens in democratic processes, such as voting, and helping undocumented citizens get access to health and welfare programs. The World Bank has a long history of promoting similar initiatives and is currently funding 14 projects related to e-government and e-ID around the world.
"The speed and precision with which developing countries administer services is dependent upon many factors, not the least of which is the ability to verify the identities of those receiving services," said Mohsen Khalil, Director of the World Bank's Global Information and Communication Technologies Department. "L-1 brings valuable expertise in identity management to the initiative's knowledge network. Together with L-1 and other vendors, we look forward to building systems that better administer critical government services and reduce identity-related fraud that can dramatically increase costs of social and economic programs and prevent aid from getting to those who need it most."
Robert V. LaPenta, Chairman, President and CEO of L-1 Identity Solutions added, "We recognized early on that this program aligned with the goals and objectives of our Company and that there was tremendous value in our participation. We believe that identity management solutions and services can make a significant contribution to society and undocumented citizens in developing countries, bringing them out of anonymity and helping establish their place and participation in society and affirming their rights to benefits they are entitled to receive as citizens."
Robert B. Zoellick, World Bank Chief met Chairman of the UID Number project on December 4, 2009. Prior to this CEO of Yahoo! Inc, Ms Carol Bartz, offered to help India with the UID programme in November 2009 and Bill Gates, Microsoft Co-founder met Nilekani in July, 2009.
L-1 Identity Solutions works with US intelligence agencies and has signed a MOU with Unique Identification Number Authority of India (UIDAI).
Gopal Krishna
Member
Citizens Forum for Civil Liberties
New Delhi
Mb: 09818089660, 07739308480
E-mail:krishna2777@gmail.com
India seeks financial sector audit by IMF, World Bank
January 11, 2011
After carrying out a comprehensive health check-up of the financial sector in 2009, India has sought an assesment under the Financial Sector Assessment Programme (FSAP) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
“India did a self-assessment (by the Committee on Financial Sector Assessment, or CFSA) of its financial sector in 2009. This has given us the confidence to get our financial sector evaluated by international financial institutions like IMF and the World Bank. We have voluntarily sought a full-fledged Financial Sector Assessment Programme,” Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said at the second International Finance Conference at the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta.
Referring to the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC), Mukherjee said the government would set up a Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission to rewrite and clean up financial sector laws.
“Without prejudice to the autonomy of market regulators, FSDC will undertake macro-prudential supervision of the economy, including functioning of large financial conglomerates, and address inter-regulatory coordination issues,” he said.
FSAP, established in 1999, is a comprehensive analysis of a country’s financial sector. In developing and emerging market countries, FSAP assessments are conducted jointly with the World Bank. In these countries, FSAP assessments include two components: a financial stability assessment, which is the responsibility of the Fund, and a financial development assessment, the responsibility of the World Bank.
India’s first self-assessment of its financial sector was carried out by CFSA, set up by the Indian government and the Reserve Bank of India in September 2006. The report, which came out in 2009, stated that India’s financial sector was generally sound, resilient and fairly liquid. It pointed out corporate governance in the co-operative sector, funding constraints of non-banking financial companies and lack of up-to-date data to gauge household indebtedness as concerns.
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