Indian Government will create fingerprint database of 8 million Criminals

The ministry of home affairs has issued the request for information for inviting companies to implement the project -National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS).

The central finger print bureau (CFPB) has pioneered the automation of fingerprints through its Automated Finger Print Identification System (AFIS) in 1992.
Currently CFPB is maintaining 10,93,408 Ten Digit Finger Print Record slips of convicted and arrested persons.
Since Karnataka digitized its fingerprint data in 2001-02, the debate for National Automated Fingerprint Identification System is on high priority agenda.
Karnataka was the first state to do so.
The current request for information (RFI) comes after months of deliberation on NAFIS.

Key Highlights

The ministry of home affairs has invited companies to implement the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS) to collect fingerprints of 80 lakh criminals in the country and put in place a robust web-based system to identify criminals.
The project is on the lines of the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) of the FBI in the US.
The project is expected to-
- Create a repository of fingerprints of at least 1.5 crore criminals,
- Enhance the ability to discern crime patterns and modus operandi across states,
- Communicate with state police departments to assist in crime prevention.
As per the request for information (RFI) floated on November 17, Bidders have to quote for-NAFIS, its database, Operating system, communication, anti-virus, storage to accommodate 8 million criminal fingerprints and should be ready to scale it to up to 15 million fingerprints in the next five years.
NAFIS will be hosted at the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) and implemented on a turnkey basis by the solution provider selected through a bid process.
The NCRB will allocate separate space for each state at the NAFIS centre.
Each state will have complete control over their data and read-only permission is given to other states.
Provision will be made for states which already have AFIS to share their data with NAFIS using bridge software without disturbing their operation.
NAFIS will be installed at NCRB premises and CCTNS connectivity will be used to provide access to all users.

About AFIS

Automated fingerprint identification is the process of using a computer to match fingerprintsagainst a database of known and unknown prints.
Automated fingerprint identification systems (AFIS) are primarily used by law enforcement agencies for criminal identification purposes, the most important of which is the identification of a person suspected of committing a crimeor linking a suspect to other unsolved crimes.

Significance of AFIS

As everywhere in the world, in India too, biometric-based security is being given the top priority for addressing the following serious concerns/issues/threats:
- Multiple enrollments in electoral, welfare, driver licensing or similar systems.
- Ill-legal immigrants, cross border terrorism.
- Lack of background checks for job applicants for highly sensitive posts and educational personnel.
- The emergence of biometrics technology in India has witnessed the engagement of a diverse set of global players, each with their own agenda and role.
- Overall weak preparedness and privacy technologies at security prone areas such as air/sea ports, banks, offices, etc.
The AFIS system in India will eliminate the need to process and retain paper fingerprint cards and thereby, will accelerate the identification process.

About the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS)of FBI, US

In July 1999, the fingerprint identification function was automated in the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS).
This national, computerized system for storing, comparing, and exchanging fingerprint data in a digital format permits comparisons of fingerprints in a faster and more accurate manner.
It is located in, and operated by, the Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division of the FBI.
IAFIS provides three major services to its customers.
- First, it is a repository of criminal history information, fingerprints, criminal subject photographs, as well as information regarding military and civilian federal employees and other individuals as authorized by Congress.
- Second, it provides positive identification of individuals based on fingerprint submissions.
- Third, it provides tentative identification of individuals based on descriptive information such as a name, date of birth, distinctive body markings, and identification numbers.
IAFIS's primary function is to provide the FBI a fully automated fingerprint identification and criminal history reporting system