Most Aadhaar holders believe data safe, subsidies assured

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Most Aadhaar holders believe data safe, subsidies assured

NEW DELHI: Most adults in the country have an Aadhaar card and trust that their data is safe, a report by social impact advisory group Dalberg has found.

Around 80% of people with an Aadhaar card also believe the unique identity has made government subsidies, such as rations and pensions, more reliable, the report, funded by the Omidyar Network India, said.

It, however, also highlights that 90% of people with Aadhaar believe, incorrectly, that providing the unique identity number is mandatory for bank accounts.

Around 33% of the people who have tried to update details related to their Aadhaar identity also said the process was difficult, according to the report, titled State of Aadhaar 2019. Aadhaar’s newer digital features have also yet to be embraced, it said, with nearly 77% of holders never using features such as mAadhaar, QR code, virtual Aadhaar or masked Aadhaar.

The report sought to understand the usefulness of Aadhaar — launched ten years ago from Tembhli in Maharashtra — since the government’s national household data has been sketchy on its usage so far. “There is a huge opportunity for Aadhaar-enabled inclusion of vulnerable segments, whether it is enrolling the balance section of people, updation of their records or creating awareness about new feature of Aadhaar, which is currently low right now. So, that is the great unfinished agenda,” Roopa Kudva, managing director of Omidyar Network India told ET.

Aadhaar has been a game-changer, and is a significant feature in the lives of nearly 1.2 billion people, she added. The report points out that 95% of people have Aadhaar and use it once a month on average, while around 8% of people — an estimated 102 million people, of whom 75 million are children — still do not have the unique identity.

Retired Supreme Court Justice BN Srikrishna, who was present during the launch of the report, highlighted some implementation issues with the unique identity number. He said that immediate solutions should be found to issues such as biometrics of old and poor people not being accepted. The potential linking of Aadhaar, which can be used to profile people and lead to snooping, also “worries” him, he said, adding the personal data protection Bill should be passed soon.

RS Sharma, Chairman of Trai and former director general of UIDAI said, there will always be a certain percentage of people who experience issues with a new solution. “It’s a governance issue, not a technology one. And a solution is what is necessary.” He also said common service centres should be re-allowed to update Aadhaar details to address the lastmile issue “pain point”.

The report also said that 30% of homeless and 27% of third-gender residents do not have Aadhaar. Also, 90% of residents in Assam and 61% of residents in Meghalaya do not have an Aadhaar card.

“Almost 90% of the people trust that their data is safe with Aadhaar, but that may also be their prime concern. People worry that too many things are linked to the same number and they may lose access to it someway,” said Gaurav Gupta, partner and Asia regional director of Dalberg.

One big lesson for policy makers from this report is that 95% of people who do not have Aadhaar want one, but do not know how to get it, he said. Reaching the last mile will make Aadhaar more inclusive, Gupta added. According to the report, improvements in on-the-ground processes related to Aadhaar can significantly enhance the lives of many residents. “The social safety net could be appreciably strengthened for the nation’s most vulnerable groups — such as people who have low levels of education, are homeless, or identify as third gender — by offering additional support to those who need Aadhaar but cannot acquire it,” it said.

The Aadhaar updating process also needs to be streamlined. “As more services are linked to Aadhaar, easy access as well as seamless updating and authentication will become only more critical,” the report has suggested. While digital troubleshooting could be one of the options, it may not work for a substantial percentage of the population due to low digital awareness.

There is also potential for Aadhaar to support greater interstate integration and portability of welfare and other services, it said.

Source:- https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/most-aadhaar-holders-believe-data-safe-subsidies-assured/articleshow/72233557.cms