New Delhi, July 30 - India's proposed unique identity project would help the government reduce corruption in the implementation of welfare schemes and ensure that the benefits of such programmes reach the right people, renowned management thinker C.K. Prahalad said Thursday.

'Never has it been implemented anywhere in the world. This would help minimise leakages and corruption will itself get reduced,' Prahalad said while speaking at an industry conference here.

The government's ambitious identity project seeks to give a unique identity number to each of the country's 1.17 billion people.

The government has set up a special agency, Unique Identification Database Authority of India (UIDIA), to execute the project.

Referring to the recent controversies over land acquisition for industrial purposes in India, Prahalad said there has to be 'transparency' in the land acquisition process.