Bangladesh Election Commission Begins Issuance of Biometric IDs

“The ID cards are currently being distributed in certain wards on a trial basis, with officials expecting to have them rolled out across Bangladesh by December of this year.”

Bangladesh’s Election Commission is now issuing biometric ID cards to citizens, reports online news site businessnews24bd.com.

The ID cards are being issued to citizens at various sites across the country, with citizens being asked to submit fingerprint and iris biometric data for registration. The cards will reportedly be used for a number of other civil applications besides voting, with authorities evidently aiming to turn the national ID program into something like India’s Aadhaar ID system, which is used for purposes ranging from subsidy distribution to ATM banking.

The ID cards are currently being distributed in certain wards on a trial basis, with officials expecting to have them rolled out across Bangladesh by December of this year.

The initiative may reflect a growing interest in biometric identification among government authorities in Bangladesh, with the country’s telecommunications ministry having recently instituted a requirement for mobile users to register biometric data for their subscription profiles.

Source: businessnews24bd.com