Smart Card Driver's License Solution in India Could Lead to National Standard

    PAOLI, Pa.--Jan. 8, 2002--As a result of the success of the Gujarat project, more Indian states are issuing tenders for smart card based-driver's license solutions in an effort to create one standard for driver's licenses in India.
    Further discussions are moving to the possibility of one standard so that individual state databases would be in a position to validate the identification of the individual based on biometric features, such as a fingerprint or an iris scan during the enrollment process.
    "If a person with a valid smart card driver's license from one state travels to another," stated Frank Barbalace, Senior Business Development Manager for ORGA USA, "and seeks to obtain a driver's license in that state under a different name, the system will red flag them. This same system could work in the United States as well."
    Gujarat was the first state in India to implement a smart card-based driver's license. The project, which began in early 1999, was coordinated by ORGA in association with Smart Chip Limited in New Delhi. The driver's license, which contains an embedded chip, stores the cardholder's fingerprint, digital signature, and personal information.
    Smart Card Issuance stations provide a one-stop location that allows for the entire process to be completed in one trip. The issuance stations consist of smart card personalization equipment (including a PC, smart card printer, video camera, fingerprint capture device and a signature tablet), as well as customized software.
    To date, nearly two million people have received smart card driver's licenses, with nearly 1,500 cards issued daily. At the project's end, more than 25 million smart cards will be issued.
    Smart Card driver's licenses are produced under high security standards that help prevent identity fraud. The information on the chip is stored safely in a forgery proof manner.
    When smart cards are presented for identification purposes, the individual's fingerprint is compared against the fingerprint in the card on a 1 to 1 basis. This alone improves the chances of increased positive identification. Other uses include storing voting registration, access control, and emergency medical and contact information.
    ORGA Card Systems, Inc, part of the authentos group of companies, is one of the market leaders in the smart card industry. ORGA offers a full range of smart cards, hardware, software, systems, system integration and solutions for the telecommunications, banking, retail, healthcare and Internet sectors.
    ORGA is headquartered in Paderborn, Germany, and operates its Smart Card Center in Flintbek, in one of the world's most modern production facilities for smart cards. ORGA is jointly held by Bundesdruckerei GmbH (89.96%), which in turn is fully owned by APAX Fonds, and DETECON GmbH (10.04%).
    With a workforce currently numbering over 1,600 employees worldwide, the ORGA Group posted record sales of EURO 282 million in fiscal 2000. Subsidiaries, sales offices and joint ventures give ORGA a strong presence in Great Britain, the U.S., France, Singapore, Russia, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Denmark, China, Brazil, Hong Kong, Italy, Portugal, Austria and Lithuania.