ID Cards | 3/14 ID cards to get facelift, security boost

Need Help? (866)610-4308 or (214)331-2551
Your Source for Photo ID Cards and Online Criminal Background Checks

Member's Login

	Login Email Address
	Password
	(Lost Password?)

Home

Our Services

Prices

Free Login

HELP/Support

IDs In The News

Affiliate $$$

Products & Services

Design My ID Card

Custom Lanyard (>100)

Accessories (>100)

Lanyards & More (<100)

Printers

3/14 ID cards to get facelift, security boost

ID cards to get facelift, security boost

Sun, Mar 14th, 2010 11:46 am BdST Dial 2324 from your mobile for latest news

Dhaka, Mar 13 (bdnews24.com)—The Election Commission is planning to issue new, more durable and secure national identity cards within the next five years.

The plan comes less than two years after the caretaker government introduced laminated photo ID last year.

Under the new plan, strong plastic cards (polycarbonate) are set to replace the current laminated ones to stop forgery and abuse, said an EC official.

The commission is looking for $50 million (Tk 350 crore) of funds to implement the new project, said the official.

Secretary of economic relations division Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan on Saturday told bdnews24.com that the EC secretariat had requested the ERD to contact different countries and lending agencies to support its proposed project.

"We've started communicating with development partners and the World Bank has already shown interest," he said.

The project, scheduled for 2011-15, " requires a good amount of money for technical support and software," said EC secretary Mohammad Humayun Kabir.

Earlier, the government implemented a project on drawing up voter lists and national IDs with photographs at a cost of Tk 5.47 billion, of which Tk 3.29 billion came from nine development partners.

An electronic database of about 84.7 million voters was developed with photographs and finger-prints under that project during the tenure of the military-controlled interim government.

The voters were also issued laminated national identity cards, which were printed on offset paper under the same project.

The EC's letter to the ERD on March 2 states that longevity, accuracy, quality and security were crucial considerations for the new project.

The EC feels the urgency of providing IDs made of PVC (melamine paper), PETG (transparent sheet) or polycarbonate (hard plastic).

The project is expected to cost an estimated $50 million (about Tk 3.5 billion).

The law on national identity cards, passed on January 20, also says that errors of the IDs could be corrected through applications and payment of fees, if necessary.

In case of a damaged ID or loss, a new one may be collected against a certain fee.

But if the errors are due to EC's negligence, then there will not be any charges.

The EC will decide on fees and distribution of the new cards after the proposed project takes off, the secretary said.

SEPARATE WING FOR IDS

EC is responsible for preparing and distributing the IDs.

There will be a new section under the EC secretariat named 'National Identity Wing', under the supervision of a director general, election commissioner Mohammad Sohul Hossian told bdnews24.com.

"We've decided to create a separate wing for this issue and to send a proposal to the establishment ministry asking for the recruitment of 125 people. The proposal will be sent soon."

According to the law on national identity registration, IDs would remain valid for 15 years and renewal applications would have to be made at least six months before their expiry.

Moreover, possession of a fake ID or more than one ID, is punishable by up to seven years in prison or a fine of Tk 1 lakh at most.

According to the commission officials, some criminals and certain ethnic minorities living as refugees in Bangladesh have been found to be forging national IDs.

They said that the police had also recovered some fake IDs from different places of the country.

The EC recently cancelled registration of some 50,000 voters during a drive for updating the voters' roll. Most of these fake voters were allegedly refugees.

Free Memebership

Membership is required only for you to log in and manage your account and services.

Click here to get started now.

Our Services

See detailed information on the following services we offer and how they can further benefit your company.

Photo ID Cards

Background Checks

Magnetic Stripes

Accessories

Administration Tools

To learn more click here.

Article Date: 3/14/2010

Source: www.bdnews24.com

Other Sources