Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on Friday directed the NADRA chairman to apprise the cabinet about the benefits of the new smart NIC prior to its formal launch in the country.
Talking to NADRA Chairman M Tariq Malik here at the PM House, the prime minister said the cabinet must be informed about the benefits to the card holders, particularly in use of safe financing and banking facilities through the new card.
The Smart NIC card has 36 security features and technologically is the most advanced card in the world today. The chairman said the Smart NIC card would help the government achieve the objectives of welfare state. It would help the holders of the card access the entitled cash disbursement programmes, financial transactions, branchless banking, health insurance, life insurance and electronic voting. The chairman also told the Prime Minister that 96 percent of the adult population of the country had been registered with NADRA and about 92.6 million identity cards had been issued to eligible voters.
The Prime Minister appreciated the efforts of NADRA to bring Pakistan at par with developed countries which have successfully applied this technology. He said it will be a great source of convenience to the people as they need not go to banks to avail financial facilities.
