No Aadhar (foundation) for AADHAR?

“In the Indira years, the slogan was ‘ garibi hatao'…. In the 1970s and 1980s, people's aspirations had focussed on basic essentials – roti, kapda, aur makaan…. Since the reforms in the 1990s, the emphasis moved to… bijli, sadak and paani. In recent years, as growth has accelerated and access to basic infrastructure has improved further, aspirations among the poor have shifted again…. Today, it's all virtual things – it's about UID number, mobile phone and bank account…. With that, they can access services, benefits and their rights…. We are looking at a post-Aadhaar world.”

– Nandan Nilekani

This was the Nanadan Nilekani’s big idea behind the AADHAR Scheme. AADHAR as per Mr. Nilekani, is going to change the India and push it into a modern era with services at doorstep. But it seems Mr. Nilekani and his boss Mr. Manmohan Singh, the PM, planned things on a virtual base rather than real. After spending more than 2000 crore and boosting the benefits of the scheme, still a main question remain unanswered in the mind of public- What the hell I will do with the AADHAR card?

Since its inception in February 2009 the AADHAR has been severely criticized by many for pushing the scheme too fast without proper assessment of the use/benefit and technological feasibility. No feasibility study was done until 2010. The project was not questioned because it was the pet project of our Prime Minister. The recent studies by independent sources and government itself show, the much hyped AADHAR scheme itself lack an Aadhar (foundation).

What is AADHAR?

Aadhaar is a 12-digit unique number which the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) will issue for all residents in India. The number will be stored in a centralized database and linked to the basic demographics and biometric information – photograph, ten fingerprints and iris – of each individual. It is easily verifiable in an online, cost-effective way. The official estimates for the project is whooping 18,000 crore (US$3.59 billion).

AADHAR- False promises.

The first and foremost myth in AADHAR is about the efficiency of its biometric system. The UIDAI uses two biometric verification system- Iris scan and Fingerprint scan. Both these look perfect in James Bond movies but not in real world scenario. The error rate in both the biometric system is very high especially in Iris scan. Nandan Nilekani’s men moved forward without looking into the technical viability of the systems. UIDAI’s Biometric Standards Committee itself severely criticized the UIDAI for not looking into the reliability of biometric systems. The maximum expenditure in whole of AADHAR scheme is on biometric systems and its operation which has been outsourced. According to Proof-of-Concept Study (PoC) the error in biometric verification for single best finger verification is around 6-7%, this may look small but considering the 120 million people its around 7-8 crore people. The PoC is silent on the reliability of Iris scan verification. The report also cites that the exclusion rate will be high among people above 60 years.

The scheme is mainly intended to provide genuine verification for people especially who are availing many government schemes. But most of the beneficiaries who come under this are either agricultural labourers or construction labourers and these people have faded finger prints or almost no finger print due to harsh working conditions. This means rejection of these people (exclusion) at the time of verification and the rejection rate will be high upto 15%. Considering the 60% of population who come under this group the 155 percent rejection rate will be disastrous.  

AADHAR- Lessons unlearnt.

AADHAR is not the first of its kind in the world. United Kingdom and United State have schemes similar to this. UKs National Biometric identity card which was also started with much fan fare meets its end in 2009 after severe criticism about the effectiveness and reliability. The UK’s Border Agency, who had scrapped the biometric system in busy airports, informed the stunned Home Affairs committee about the massive errors in the biometric fingerprint system.

AADHAR- Identity theft and Fraud.

Mohammed Ali, one of the many data entry supervisors, was shown to have enrolled 30,000 people in just three month. At first it may have been seen as a great feat but truth is otherwise. Many of the 30,000 people enrolled never existed, like numbers were issued to people with false names such Mango, Coriander. And the funniest part of this whole episode is the reliability of biometric. The operator who is enrolling people have to log into the computer using only his fingerprint. Mohammad Ali left the job in the middle of this three month span and his account was being used by some one else who was easily able to log in with no rejection from fingerprint verification system. This itself shows how reliable are the biometrics and breaks the myth about fraud proof AADHAR.

Another major issue left unanswered is the question of data protection. India don’t have any legislation to prevent data tampering and data protection. With most of the AADHAR system run by private companies who in turn employee on contract basis or do outsourcing, the safety of data is severely compromised. With data of millions of people available in just one click and no data safety mechanism, massive identity theft is inevitable.

AADHAR- Why so hurry?

It is still a mystery why PM Manmohan Singh and Nandan Nilekani hurried the project without creating any Aadhar for the AADHAR scheme and without any parliamentary debate. As of now with whooping thousand crore budget the only one benefiting is the Indian corporate sector involved in the project. With live evidence from UK and US regarding the failure of such biometric identity scheme, should the Nation go ahead with it?