India’s defense ministry is embarking upon a pilot program aimed at developing radio-frequency identification (RFID)-based smart cards for Indian army, navy and air force personnel.The ministry will choose a consultant contractor for the project, which will have to analyze existing access control systems, infrastructure, processes across locations and software requirements for each military service.
Ministry sources tell Aviation Week that the high-profile exercise is being initiated to tighten security across all three branches of the Indian military. The RFID cards will include the latest biometric features; an initial batch of 3,000 will be produced for three designated locations. The project will take into account the requirements of each service, geographical factors, network infrastructure and the user base. The technical specifications of the components, sizing, timelines and estimated cost will be worked out independently for each military branch.
Three months after the first set of cards is issued, the ministry expects a report on the effort, based on the inputs from users and access control experts. Once fully implemented, these cards will be similar to those issued by the Pentagon.
The Indian Institute of Technology (Kanpur) will be involved with the development of smart card operating system (SCOSTA-CL). Based on the OS provided by IIT-Kanpur, an algorithm and design architecture will be formulated.
(Full report in AW)
