The New India – Digital Foundations

By Sabe Tibbitts

Aadhaar, the largest national identification scheme in the world, is the equivalent of a social security number for all Indian citizens.

Aadhaar, meaning ‘foundation’ or ‘base’, is a card with a 12-digit number and biometric data. Aadhaar is issued and managed by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). As this is a key part of India’s strategy to resolve numerous barriers to development, UIDAI’s Aadhaar is under the wing of the Planning Commission of India. To date the Indian government has invested over £600m in the scheme. It aims to counter corruption such as fake driving licences or the misuse of government funds, but more positively Aadhaar can also track the effectiveness of these government funds in relieving poverty and need. Since its launch, a range of government schemes now require beneficiaries to use Aadhaar for authentication – with subsidies then paid direct into a beneficiary’s bank account.

Proof of identity has now become a mandatory requirement for many other transactions. Although people in India can still use PAN numbers, driving licences etc. as proof of identity, Aadhaar is now the main instrument of legitimacy at all private and public bodies such as government, banking, travel (railway, air, hotel), and educational organisations. Aadhaar goes deep into the lives of ordinary Indians, from TB treatment under the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP), to sales of alcohol in Haryana. Or from free ambulance services in Uttar Pradesh, to subsidies on rations and kerosene. Aadhaar is mandatory for pensioners, and it has been made compulsory for the registration of deaths. Aadhaar also offers advantages. It makes getting services faster: passports, mobile connections, bank accounts, and many others. The Kotak and DBS Banks, among others, have started offering near-instant bank accounts, while Jio offers instant data connections.

Around 1.12 billion Aadhar numbers have already been issued, to around 86% of the Indian population. The reasons why the Aadhar card is so widely used and accepted are that each Aadhaar is unique, its number linked to biometric and demographic data, proving address, identity and age. Finger prints are required for activation and the document can only be read through compatible technological devices and machines.

Not surprisingly, given the size and scope of the project, there are some problems. The reasons are various: logistical, technical and constitutional.

For example, there was not enough take-up by the December 31st deadline for linking bank accounts or PAN cards to Aadhaar. It has had to be extended, but by only three months to the end of March. Only a brief respite, highly indicative of PM Modi’s commitment to the scheme. Anyone who needs to apply for a fresh PAN card must now hold a valid Aadhaar card. The deadline for linking mobile phones with Aadhaar on the other hand, has already passed on February 6.

As the scheme has matured practical problems have too. The UIDAI has advised citizens to stay away from vendors or outlets that make plastic or PVC smart cards versions of the Aadhaar. Unauthorised printing of QR codes on the card at these shops invalidates the card. The UIDAI has also warned that using these can also make Aadhaar’s data vulnerable to unauthorised sharing. Attempts to allay concerns have reached the point that the UIDAI website, now offers citizens the ability to track usage history to find out where their unique identification code has been used.

There are also legal questions on the extent of the government’s authority in Aadhaar. The Supreme Court has set up a five-judge Constitution bench to hear a clutch of petitions challenging the 2016 enabling law, the constitutional validity of the scheme and the government’s linking of Aadhaar with various services on the grounds of right to privacy.
Similarly, a proposal to make an Aadhaar number mandatory for the enrolment of students entering the NEET 2018 and all other India exams has been the subject of a decision of the Supreme Court. At the beginning of March, the Supreme Court directed the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) not to demand Aadhaar-only identification for these all-India examinations.

Concerns about security are also growing with some questioning the structure of the Aadhaar system. There are suggestions that if Aadhaar was built on a blockchain platform, the database would be immensely difficult to hack. 2018 should be an interesting year in demonstrating the advantages, and perhaps disadvantages, of such an all-encompassing scheme.


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