(Not Enough) Ado about Aadhaar

For those of you who are Hindi illiterate, Aadhaar is a Hindi word that means foundation. Aadhaar is also the brand name of the Unique Identification (UID) Number - the plan is to provide every Indian resident with one.

When Aadhaar was being instituted, we were told (and I am quoting from UIDAI - UID Authority of India - website), "Aadhaar will empower poor and underprivileged residents in accessing services such as the formal banking system and give them the opportunity to easily avail various other services provided by the Government and the private sector", and "Aadhaar will ensure increased trust between public and private agencies and residents." Both good reasons to adopt a system of identification in a country where a bulk of the population is reeling with poverty and has limited access to some very basic services, right?

Moreover, the whole UID project was going to be spearheaded by one of the most successful Indian entrepreneurs of our generation, Mr. Nandan Nilekani. Forbes Magazine called Mr. Nilekani the Governtrepreneur, for he had given up his job as co-Chairman of Infosys Technologies, and was going to chair the UIDAI project. To understand the significance of Mr. Nilekani's appointment to the top job in UIDAI, you have to understand two things: 1. In India private sector and its abilities (vs. those of Indian government's) to be "efficient" and "get things done" are revered (perhaps mistakenly so, but that is for another discussion another time) 2. Mr. Nilekani is to India's technocrat community what Warren Buffet is to US investors. This seemed like a match made in heaven - one of India's best technical minds was going to lead an effort that would help tackle one of India's most pressing issues - that of delivery of services to India's poorest. So there was almost no reason to question the UID project and what it set out to accomplish, and not many did. Now I have no intention of questioning Mr. Nilekani's commitment to the UID project. In fact, I am certain that if anyone can get UID implemented he can. My only worry however is that the rest of us in India may have hopped on the UID bandwagon far too quickly and without thinking this completely through.

Over the years 'The Hindu', an English language Indian news daily has published some insightful articles about issues relating to UID that haven't been sufficiently addressed. A couple of those articles are linked-to here:
1. Aadhaar: on a platform of myths
2. High-cost, high-risk
3. UID: doubts, concerns and confusions

If you consider yourself an informed citizen of India, I implore you to read these articles, and I promise you that you'll come out informed, if not reformed, at the other end. And yeah, don't forget to spread the word, for this is one of those issues that is going to impact lives of us Indians for generations to come, and we cannot just let it be without a purposeful discussion.

Jai Hind.