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Kerala Govt. to issue biometric cards for maritime security

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Abhigna
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KOCHI, INDIA: In order to defend the country against infiltration by seaborne terrorists or pirates, the State Government of Kerala, has decided to issue biometric identity cards to seafaring fishermen in the state.

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The National Informatics Centre (NIC) in Kerala will issue 800 fishermen in the state with machine-readable biometric cards, in the first phase of the project. The project is scheduled to begin in September this year and it aims at including nearly 300,000 fishermen. Currently, the NIC already has a national database of 300,000 registered fishing vessels.

Post authorities at harbours will be provided by the State Government. Besides that, authorised landing centres with card readers, linked to a central server will also be facilitated. Once the facility is in place, vessels will be permitted to go to the sea only after the authorities have biometrically verified their registered crew.

The government will issue sea-accident insurance only to vessels that follow this procedure. This initiative has been declared by the State government to lure boat owners and crew to get the identity cards.

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Of the 300,000 registered fishing vessels in the national database of NIC, 25000 operate from Kerala. The registration certificates of these vessels will be replaced with smart cards that can be read by law enforcement officers patrolling the seas.

Through handheld devices (to help read smart cards) or by messaging the registration number to a central server, authorities can access boat information, such as outstanding fines or legal history, crew details and equipment on-board.

A digitised map of India's seaboard is being developed to enable maritime security agencies and police officials monitor the real-time location of fishing vessels.