J&K Govt begins creation of Family IDs for every household

SRINAGAR: Jammu & Kashmir government is set to roll out an ambitious initiative to assign unique Family IDs to every household across the Union Territory, which, according to senior J&K officials, aims to “revolutionize public service delivery, eliminate duplication and enhance the transparency of government schemes.”

The initiative was the focal point of a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo at the Civil Secretariat on Friday. The meeting brought together key administrative and technical officials, including the Principal Secretary Finance, MD/CEO of J&K Bank, and Secretaries of Planning, IT, RDD, H&UDD, and other senior officers from JaKeGA, BISAG-N and Planning & Monitoring departments.

According to an official statement, the Family ID system will serve as a singular and authoritative data source to streamline citizen access to welfare schemes, reduce documentation burden, and improve planning and targeting across government departments. “This system will offer invaluable insights into the traction of beneficiary-oriented schemes and ensure every eligible citizen receives the benefits they are entitled to,” Chief Secretary Dulloo said.

The Family ID is also expected to address a major pain point in governance—the repeated requirement of documents by multiple departments for similar purposes. By establishing a unified source of verified household-level data, the administration hopes to reduce red tape and resource duplication, while also improving public satisfaction.

Secretary, Planning, Development & Monitoring Department, Talat Parvez, provided a detailed presentation on the program’s background and strategic goals. He emphasized that the initiative would act as a game-changer in bridging the gap between citizens and public services, particularly in rural and underserved areas.

Secretary, Information Technology, Dr. Piyush Singla, assured that the IT infrastructure needed for the project is in place. He highlighted the department’s readiness in terms of both resources and expertise to roll out the initiative across the Union Territory. Dr. Singla also underlined the crucial role of BISAG-N in providing the required technical support and capacity-building assistance.

The meeting also deliberated on using existing datasets from the Public Distribution System (PDS) and Ayushman Bharat–Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) as the foundational sources for constructing the Family ID database. Officials discussed the future need to accommodate changes to Family ID data in the event of births, deaths and migration.

Participants unanimously agreed that the successful implementation of Family IDs would mark a major step toward data-driven governance and foster more inclusive, targeted, and efficient service delivery in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Family ID project, once rolled out, is expected to serve as a model for other states and UTs aiming to modernize citizen-government interaction and administrative efficiency.