Aadhaar is a game-changer for India
Claims of profiling and breach of privacy based on the digital identification system are unfounded
Aadhaar has become an important technological instrument to empower the poor. It is concretising the most important objective of Digital India: fostering digital inclusion and empowering the common Indian. Today, 119 crore Indians have Aadhaar in a population of nearly 130 crore. Acknowledged as the world’s largest digital identity programme, Aadhaar stands tall as an Indian innovation.
One needs to understand the power of a smile on the face of a poor MGNREGA worker who had to run from pillar to post to get his entitlements. Now with Aadhaar linkage, MGNREGA wages are directly reaching into the bank accounts of the poor without the extraneous influence of any middleman. It has been widely reported that with Aadhaar linkage, nearly 80,000 fake teachers were found in a small survey of the ministry of human resource development. Aadhaar is saving public money, which in effect is taxpayers’ money. The net savings of nearly ₹57,000 Crore generated by disconnecting the subsidy in case of fake gas connections or fictitious ration cards or fake teachers will be util- ised for more provisions for poor. Is it not a cause to celebrate ?
The Upa-era Aadhaar was without any legislative approval: without any backing by a Parliamentary law. The first thing the Modi government did apart from making Aadhaar robust, safe and secure, was to give it the security of a proper legal cover backed by a Parliamentary legislation. It has ample provisions for safe upkeep, creating a robust accountability mechanism and most importantly, powerful privacy provisions. Unauthorised use of biometrics data can invite severe punitive damages as also criminal prosecution. The core biometrics — the fingerprints and the iris — are duly protected by strong encryption. More than six crore authentications are being done every day, nearly free of cost. The UIDAI does not maintain a database of services or utilities of individuals linked with Aadhaar or individual details such as caste, religion, educational qualifications, medical records etc. Therefore profiling of individuals based on Aadhaar is nothing but an unfounded claim.
Aadhaar is a digital identity to supplement physical identity. Even the core biometrics can be revealed only in case of a compelling ground of national security when a joint secretary makes a request and the same is confirmed by a committee headed by the cabinet secretary and comprising the law secretary and IT secretary and that too for a very limited period. As many as 76 crore bank accounts have been verified using Aadhaar EKYC.
Ordinary citizens have nothing to worry but those who are involved in money launder- ing, or promoting terror funding or other related heinous offences, may have a lot of reason to worry.
From a driving licence to a voter id card containing all the details being routinely available on websites of respective authorities these days, some form of digital identity has become commonplace in today’s world. A digital identity also regulates entry in the Supreme Court or high courts, government and corporate offices or media headquarters. To visit certain countries, one is supposed to confirm identity through fingerprints. Under the relevant Registration Act and Rules, there are provisions that while executing land transfer documents, you need to confirm your signature with your thumb impression — a practice being followed for more than 100 years. Even smartphones operate with fingerprints or face-recognition systems. It is curious to know that in all this, one does not have any objection, but when it comes to Aadhaar, serious objections relating to identity verifications are raised.
The government is of the view that in accordance with the Aadhaar Act, no poor person shall be denied his or her entitlement. These must be provided using other identity documents and efforts shall be made to bring them on Aadhaar. On the issue of privacy, we need to have greater clarity. In the wake of the Supreme Court judgment the ground rule of privacy is well laid out. It is equally important to note that under the garb of privacy, innovation cannot be killed. The government has already set up a panel under the leadership of an eminent retired judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Srikrishna, to recommend a robust data protection law and we expect the report soon.
The UIDAI has recently added a provision for a virtual ID for those who desire virtual ID coverage over Aadhaar numbers.
The success of Aadhaar is finding a global resonance. The World Development Report 2016 said: “A digital identification system such as India’s Aadhaar, by overcoming complex information problems, helps willing governments promote the inclusion of disadvantaged groups.”
The poor man is happy and feels empowered. Aadhaar has given a big aadhaar (base) to India’s digital accomplishments.