Kathmandu, August 15 The parliamentary State Affairs and Good Governance committee has endorsed the National Identity and Civil Registration Bill, which states that more than dozen bits of general information, including biometric information, of a citizen will be included in national ID card. There will be different ID cards for foreigners residing in Nepal and Non-Resident Nepalis. The government will also collect general and bio-metrics information of foreigners and NRNs as prescribed by the regulation. The bill’s proposal was passed by the panel on Wednesday after clause-wise discussion, and is likely to be tabled in the House of Representatives on Sunday. If the HoR meeting on Sunday endorses the bill, it will be sent to the National Assembly, the Upper House, for approval. Following endorsement from both the houses, the bill will be sent to the president’s office to be enacted as law. The National ID card has two sets of information for Nepali citizens — information on the card (outside) and information inside the card. Information on the card will include name of the concerned person, his/her surname, date of birth, gender, nationality, ID card number, photo, issued date and name and signature of the authorised person who issued the card, permanent address, type of citizenship card and numbers in the citizenship card (those who have obtained citizenship card). Information stored in electronic chip in the card include name of the concerned person, his/her surname, date of birth, gender, nationality, ID card number, photo, issued date and name and signature of the authorised person who issued the card, permanent address, type of citizenship card and numbers in the citizenship card, bio-metrics information, names of parents, names of grand parents and name of spouse. Those who have obtained citizenship cards and those who are eligible to obtain citizenship cards can apply for the National ID card. The government will also issue National ID cards for children. According to the bill, the government will also collect general and biometric information of foreigners and NRNs. Information of those who are working in diplomatic missions, tourists and NRNs will be obtained by the government. “In the case foreign nationals information to be collected will depend on the nationality of the concerned person and his/her visa status. Required data of a foreigner will be stored inside electronic chip of the card,” Prem Kumar Rai, secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, told THT. The government had already started distributing National ID cards in the country one month ago. It stopped distributing ID cards following criticism from the main opposition Nepali Congress in the House. This prompted the government and the panel to initiate clause-wise discussion of the bill. The government will draft a procedure under the bill for obtaining general and digital information, including bio-metrics. Although, the national ID card has more than dozen bits of information, it will not replace citizenship card or other public documents. Information on the National ID card  Name, surname, date of birth, gender, nationality, ID card number, photo, date of issuance and name and signature of the authorised person who issued the card, permanent address, types of citizenship card and numbers of the citizenship card (those who have taken citizenship card) Information stored in electronic chip of the card  Name, surname, date of birth, gender, nationality, ID card number, photo, date of issuance and name and signature of the authorised person who issued the card, permanent address, type of citizenship card and citizenship card number, bio-metrics information, parents’ names, grandparents’ names, name of spouse