In the decade since India created a government agency to collect residents' data for Aadhaar, the world's largest biometric identification scheme, a lot has happened. Aadhaar has been a resounding success – in purely numerical terms at least – achieving nearly universal coverage in a vast country of 1.3 billion people. And at the same time, it has been a dreadful failure, underlining the limits of relying on data to digitally reboot the Indian system and transform people's lives.
Worse, Aadhaar, a Hindi word that means “foundation”, might actually have been regressive. It has put many Indians off the whole idea of e-government and the notion that an ID card, a PIN number and a fingerprint scan can magically end the hassle of dealing with the state, rendering all transactions smooth and instantaneous.
In fact, Aadhaar has become a synonym for invasive government and attempted control in India today. The 12-digit Aadhaar number, which is tied to a person’s name, gender, address, date of birth, and the biometric information recorded from 10 fingerprints and both irises, is now being seen as an assault on privacy. It is also regarded as an insidious tool that might facilitate mass surveillance by the state for political or communal ends. In September, a lawyer for petitioners challenging Aadhaar’s reach and sweep told the Indian Supreme Court that it was an “electronic leash” to which every resident of India was tethered.
That was emotive language but it reflected the heightened passions around this issue. How did it all go so wrong? On the face of it, Aaadhar seemed like a simple plan to digitise basic information about people living in India, making it easier for them to access government services. It should have been liberating for a densely populated and often chaotically administered country such as India. In his 2015 book Rebooting India, Nandan Nilekani, the architect of Aadhaar, who founded India's largest tech company Infosys, described the biometric ID scheme in poetic terms. It is a way, Mr Nilekani said, to "make every Indian, no matter how poor or marginalised, visible to the state".
But just how visible, to whom, in what way, to what extent, and why, have become the difficult issues for Aadhaar. For the past few years it has been embroiled in controversy over the Indian authorities' attempt to make the Aadhaar number mandatory for every transaction by a resident – from tax payments to bank accounts, mobile phone numbers and even the simplest of online purchases. Meanwhile access to food aid and healthcare for the poorest, most vulnerable Indians, has not been eased by Aadhaar. Nor have loan applications by farmers.
There have also been reported data leaks, theft, misuse and overuse. In January last year, an Indian journalist bought a bootlegged Aadhaar database with details of one billion Indians for 500 rupees (about $8). It called into question the rigour with which the Indian authorities secure Aadhaar data. Around the same time, Reetika Khera, a development economist at Delhi's Indian Institute of Technology, publicised the results of a survey she conducted with other economists in Jharkhand, eastern India. Their comparison of villages that did and did not implement the Aadhaar system for buying grain yielded dispiriting conclusions. Those that complied with Aadhaar suffered more than those that ignored the scheme. Middle class India, meanwhile, grew concerned about the insistence of banks, mobile phone companies and other private service providers to link to their Aadhaar accounts.
Rather than a convenient tool, Aadhaar seemed to have metamorphosed into a monstrous, all-consuming entity that would swallow up individuals and spit them out as a number, as the lawyer arguing against the scheme in the Supreme Court said last year.
There are three points to make about Aadhaar. It is highly ambitious; it could still be a force for good; but it has been grossly mismanaged.
Data collection and streamlined national identity card systems can work well, as countries like Sweden have shown. For 72 years – the entire time India has been an independent country – Sweden’s mandatory national ID number has been linked to tax, school, medical and other citizen records. Swedes see that as a convenience rather than an imposition.
Estonia is a more recent example of using digitised data to make government work well for all who live in the small Baltic country. A digital signature is enough for official documents. An ID card and a PIN allow online voting, legal business agreements and much more besides. Now Estonia even has e-residency, which allows people overseas to incorporate businesses in the country.
Clearly, there is potential for India’s Aadhaar to become a digitised tool for genuine development. But as India contemplates another development tool – branded "artificial intelligence for all" – Aadhaar is a reminder that data collection can’t always address systemic problems.
Business Insights
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TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
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Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable
Amitav Ghosh, University of Chicago Press
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
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A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
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- Golden circle - Dh995
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Types of bank fraud
1) Phishing
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
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Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:
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2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
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The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
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Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Abu Dhabi Card
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 1,400m
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The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Section 375
Cast: Akshaye Khanna, Richa Chadha, Meera Chopra & Rahul Bhat
Director: Ajay Bahl
Producers: Kumar Mangat Pathak, Abhishek Pathak & SCIPL
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE SPECS
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 258hp at 5,000-6,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm from 1,550-4,400rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.4L/100km
Price, base: from D215,000 (Dh230,000 as tested)
On sale: now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Honeymoonish
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SPECS
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
