Aadhaar shows India’s governance is susceptible to poorly tested ideas pushed by powerful people December 27, 2016 · by m rajshekhar This series has flagged a puzzling trend. State governments are struggling to use Aadhaar-based fingerprint authentication in ration shops. At the same time, a rising number of companies are integrating Aadhaar into their databases. This is puzzling because from its inception, Aadhaar, India’s Unique Identification project, was pitched as integral to the modernisation of social welfare delivery in India. Why is it failing at the job it was created for while proving useful elsewhere? The answers vary depending on whom you ask. Former officials of the Unique Identification Authority of India, the government agency which issues Aadhaar numbers and manages the database, blame state governments and banks for poor execution of Aadhaar-based welfare delivery. State governments in turn blame banks and poor internet connectivity and the failures of biometrics-based technology. These are – at best – incomplete explanations. The roots of Aadhaar’s mission drift lie deeper. Share this:Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window) Related
