Can a number change a Nation?

Aadhaar, the name given to the Unique Identifier project in India, has winner written on it all over it right from the choice of Nanadan Nilekani to lead this initiative. India gave the concept of Zero to the world and that revolutionalized the understanding of Mathematics.

Now, India is again on the brink of giving a number to its entire population that will revolutionize the way benefits have traditionally been handed over to the masses in need. The role that Aadhaar envisions is to issue a unique identification number (UID) that can be verified and authenticated in an online, cost-effective manner, and that is robust enough to eliminate duplicate and fake identities. Consider this number to be equivalent to US Social Security Number that identifies each and every citizen and is utilized to pay the benefits whenever required, except the fact that Aaadhar will be much more technological advanced in identifying any individual (a crying need in India)

According to a Govt study, India is going to have 800 million people in its workforce by 2020. In order to ensure that they are a source of valuable human capital, India must connect them effectively to the services they need in health, education and employment. The reach and impact of the Aadhaar has the potential to transcend traditional approach to identity verification in India. The identity infrastructure in India today is a patchwork of multiple documents that are used as proofs of identity and which include voter cards, PAN, and driving licenses. One unique number has the potential to change forever, how poorest of the poor can be empowered to benefits provided by the State.

The number to be given under Aadhaar will be a 16 digit number out of which the last 4 will be hidden or will not be required for any normal identification process. These 4 hidden numbers will be used in offline verification against the central database in case of problems with fake identities. An iris scan will be used along with fingerprints for collecting biometric data of citizens. About 10 fingerprints, a photo, and iris scan will be collected as part of biometric data per person

Aadhaar will offer significant advantages for children. Child-related programs in India have relied on often inaccurate, aggregate data at school/village /block/district levels, making these programs inherently ineffective. The concept of Universal Child Tracking – the ability to track every child and ensure their all-around development – is gaining ground. An accurate database of children with UID would be immensely beneficial to programs linked to eliminate child labor. Similarly, a massive outreach program to reach out to disadvantaged women and get them a unique number can subsequently be used as a unique handle for a variety of services to be rendered to these women.

Government statistics estimates that India has over 60 million disabled people, and identity for this population is a massive challenge. It is difficult to enforce the law, In spite of a clear law about a certain percentage of employment for the disabled due to lack of clear identification of such individuals. A lot of organizations working for the disabled population will promote the UID, and enable residents with disabilities to register for a range of benefits. India has a significant tribal population of approximately 90 million tribals, mostly concentrated along a few states. The Government has many programs for the notified tribes, and the UID can ensure that help reaches the intended tribals.

In India, unlike in the West, there is no ritual to assign a name to the newly born immediately. These later results in very costly procedure of identifying individuals. Aadhaar can force things like this to change and have the parents assign a name immediately after a child is born so that a unique number can be allocated and inserted into the birth certificate itself. Since the birth certificate is the original identity document, it is likely that this number will then persist as the key identifier through the individual's various life events, such as joining school, immunizations, voting etc. Since the name is a mandatory field in the Aadhaar database, it is essential that the child be given a name before applying for the Aadhaar number.

There are clearly immense benefits from a mechanism that uniquely identifies a person, and ensures instant identity verification. The need to prove identity only once will bring down transaction costs for the poor. A clear identity number would also transform the delivery of social welfare programs by making them more inclusive of communities that are now cut off from such benefits due to their lack of identification. It would enable the government to shift from indirect to direct benefits, and help verify whether the intended beneficiaries actually receive funds/subsidies. A single, universal identity number will also be transformational in eliminating fraud and duplicate identities, since individuals will no longer be able to represent themselves differently to different agencies.

I personally see no reason why this simple number will not transform India to take care of its citizens the way help reaches to the citizens in the western world. This number will help India to further catapult itself out of the tentacles of poverty and ignorance. I invite my readers to think about the application of this unique number that will help transform India into a more egalitarian society.