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Smart Cards for the Metro in Calcutta

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DQW Bureau
New Update

The smart card will replace the magnetic stripe ticket in the Calcutta Metro. The card will be a credit card-sized plastic of 85/53 mm with an integrated circuit (IC) inside. The IC contains a microprocessor and memory, which will give the cards the ability to process, as well as store information. The card will encapsulate data portability, security and convenience.

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The chip embedded on the Metro card will enable alphanumeric characters to be read or written onto it through special read and write devices. These cards also have an ultra thin antenna for wireless transmission of information. The card is loaded with electronic cash through pre-payments at the counter. Using radio signals emitted by the reader the chip is activated when the contactless card is simply passed across a reading device and is not inserted. 

The valuator or reader will display the value of the card on the display unit and deduct the value of the ride and will write the balance available onto the I/C chip. The passenger may also collect a detail of the transactions including the value remaining and expended. 

This smart card will have the capability of carrying multiple applications. Multiple technology-based applications can reside on a single card, each allocated to their own secure memory areas to ensure their integrity and eliminate program tampering, either by individuals or through program interference. The multiple application cards will support different types of application like healthcare, financial services and travel on the card itself thereby reducing the number of cards in the wallet. 

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For instance patients can carry their medical history on the Metro card, while doctors will be able to access patient information with a similar card of their own. Patient privacy is not only protected but makes the process more efficient and reliable. This open architecture will enable passengers to add applications while maintaining security "firewalls" between these applications. The card will have as many as 16 such multifaceted facilities.

For passengers this will mean convenience with a myriad of other benefits. With a chip a card becomes an access-control with a power to serve multiple applications. When the card is passed over the reader information will not be transmitted across the device, but instead will be processed locally thereby securing information on the card. 

The chip puts a 'firewall' into the hardware, which resides inside the smart card - an intrinsically tamper-proof device. The objective of the Metro authorities is to make instant identification both easy and safe. These cards will have relatively powerful processing capabilities like data encryption, which will provide much greater security than conventional cards in use today.

With a metro smart card, one will have a very simple tool for instant authentication that can be used extensively. There are fewer than one billion smart cards in use and its activities are growing at 30% a year. Asia is believed to be one of the largest markets and with the popularity of using smart cards in Mass Transit Systems India could be a tremendous potential.

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